Steering boot replacement

[Roadking]

Hi All,

I was just digging around under the hood when I spotted something shiny… that’s odd!
My steering boot on the rack & pinion was torn in half.
I imagine this is an area that needs to be covered if I want the rack to last.

How much of a job is it to replace? How do you replace it?

Any tips?

Thanks!

 

[thekubiaks]

I'd like to know too, I have the same issue. THX

 

[jayhawkexplorer]

Bringing a thread back from the dead. How vital is having that piece repaired to my truck? I just noticed its torn today, but it could very well have been wrecked for a year. The thing is really hard to see and I only happened to find it when I was trying to figure out how to drain the front diff. (Which, by the way, has the drain plug on the damn outside of the diff, where anything that comes out is going right into the torsion bar. Stupid Ford, stupid Ford.)

 

[gijoecam]

That boot keeps the debris off the shaft and prolongs the life of the seal. Without it, the seal and bushings will likely fail prematurely on that side.

To replace the boot, you need to disconnect the adjusting sleeve from the inner tie rod end. The old boot will slide off, clamp the new one in place, and slip it back together. If you remember to ocunt the threads before disconnectiong it, you should not need to get it re-aligned after you re-assemble it. (assuming there wasn't an alignment problem to begin with)

-Joe

 

[jayhawkexplorer]

Could this be the reason that when I crank the wheel at low speeds (such as parallel parking), the truck shudders and feels like its almost going to die sometimes?

 

[410Fortune]

not the same problem, no

 

[jayhawkexplorer]

So is it worth paying the $100 deductible to have that repaired under warranty??

 

[gijoecam]

If it was me, I'd have that repaired, the shuddering repaired, and anything else I could find wrong for $100 ded. If it's just the boot, I'd personally do it myself. Even with a $50 alignment afterwards, you'd still be ahead of the game.

-Joe

 

[jayhawkexplorer]

Any idea what's causing the shuddering?

 

[Blee1099]

The shuddering is caused by your GEM module. There is a TSB on it. Just go to http://www.alldata.com and enter in your info and look in the TSB section. There is a few TSB on shudder/binding sensation. I experienced the same problems and it was resolved after the GEM module was re-programmed.

 

[jayhawkexplorer]

Wow, wouldn't have guessed that. Any idea why that is?? Thanks Blee1099.