Steering Boots

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#333366" TEXT="#080000" background="040c8c00dkcfsz.png"> <div> <A HREF="id31.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="1995 3000GT Spyder VR4"><U><B>Back</B></U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#666633" FACE="Arial" ><B>JNS Engineering</B></FONT>     |     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="JNS Engineering"><U>home</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id36.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Powder Coated Calipers"><U>Powder Coated Calipers</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id38.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Remote Top / Remote Start"><U>Remote Top / Remote Start</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id37.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Custom Leather Seats"><U>Custom Leather Seats</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id39.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lash Adjusters"><U>Lash Adjusters</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id40.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Throttle 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TITLE="Clear Cam Gear Covers"><U>Clear Cam Gear Covers</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id42.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Pics"><U>Pics</U></A></div> <div> <I>Steering Boots</I></div> <div> Rubber on a 15 year old car is likely to be reaching end of useful life.  My steering boots were torn and required replacement so I purchased the folowing parts:</div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="560" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="150"><div> Mits Part Number</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="149"><div> Description</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="47"><div> Qty</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Cherry Hill Mits Cost (each)</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="150"><div> MB501711</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="149"><div> Bellows, Steering</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="47"><div> 2</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="181"><div> $18.29</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="150"><div> MB527650</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="149"><div> Tie Rod End</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="47"><div> 2</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="181"><div> $30.15</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <B>Pre-removal</B></div> <div> All three plastic under carriage panels have to be removed.  There are several 10mm, some 12mm, and a half dozen or so plastic snap screws to remove.  Then both the left and right  member have to be removed.  The left member is the one on the driver's side.  In addition to the 14 mm bolts there are a couple of the plastic snap screws holding the plastic crank cover to the left member.  The right member has the oil cooler bolted on as well as the clamps holding the O2 sensor wiring.  Loosen them and pull out the left and right members.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="18864180.png" border=0 width="612" height="792" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> My steering boots were pretty bad.  The driver's side boot was completely torn in half while the passenger side was split and nearly torn in half.  Here's how the driver's side looked:</div> <div> <IMG SRC="17900a80.jpg" border=0 width="1024" height="680" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> And here is the passenger side:</div> <div> <IMG SRC="17b00a80.jpg" border=0 width="1024" height="680" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> I loosened the nut on the tie rod end and backed it up until the thread stopped.  Then I measured the distance between the nut and the tie rod end and recorded it.  Then I did the same for the passenger side.  With these measurements I should be able to put on the new tie rod ends without needing a new alignment.  At least not right away, LOL.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="17d00a80.jpg" border=0 width="1024" height="680" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <bR> <div> Here's a picture of the passenger side boot, the band that holds the boot to the steering gear, and the old tie rod end.  Here you can see the clamp is kind of like a watch bracelet in the way it closes.  To remove it you pry up the little tabs that are holding the end of the band and then pull the end of the band away from the body of the band.  It should open enough to move of the boot, then you can slide the boot down the inner tie rod and off.  I was considering reusing the tie rod ends but the boots were split.  For the tie rod end removal I was going to buy a tie rod end puller but the store clerk discouraged it and said I just needed to pound it out.  So I removed the cotter pin and loosened the castle nut but left it near the top of the thread so that the rod wouldn't fall too far when I pounded it out.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="17f00a80.jpg" border=0 width="1024" height="680" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <bR> <div> Here's a shot of the passenger side with the boot removed.  I cleaned up the ball joint and regreased it before putting on the new boot.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="18100a80.jpg" border=0 width="1024" height="680" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> Here's a picture of the old and new boots.  Perfect replacement.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="18300a80.jpg" border=0 width="1024" height="680" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> Here's a picture of the old and new tie rod ends.  The new ones have grease fittings where the old ones didn't.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="18500a80.jpg" border=0 width="1024" height="680" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> I threaded on the new tie rod ends only to the point where the distance matched what I had recorded earlier.  I had to rotate the rods slightly to fine tune and then I reattached the tie rod ends.  Should be good for another 15 years!!  When I finally have the alignment checked I'll update whether my measurements were good enough.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="18700a80.jpg" border=0 width="1024" height="680" ALIGN="BOTTOM" 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