Steering rack boot

[AndreB320i]

Just replaced E46 lower control arm bushes and noticed a torn boot on the steering rack.

Question is, can I undo the 24mm nut that connects tie rods to the rack to gain access ? This nut is inside the boot. It's easier than releasing the outer ball joint (thus far it won't budge). It seems to me that the 24mm "nut" is attached to the inner tie rod, but the ball joint inside the boot should be able to rotate so the nut can be unscrewed from the rack ? Or am I totally misguided ? I don't want to apply excessive muscle attempting to unscrew something that is not meant to go. The only videos I have seen the outer ball joint has been released and the entire tie rod unscrewed from the rack, or the adjustment joint (outside the boot) is broken which I would prefer not to do, even though I will have wheel alignment done anyway.

The new boot has a grommet on the small (outer) side which is split so it can easily be pushed onto the tie rod and the boot itself has a much larger diameter allowing easy movement for access when re assembling.

I have seen kits that include grease, this (Febi) one does not. Does the grease go in the ball joint inside the boot ? If it seems dry or dirty I assume wheel bearing grease will do ?

And lastly, all videos show an adjustable wrench being used on the 24mm nut. Why not a box wrench, surely it is a better fit ? Is it perhaps length providing more leverage with the adjustable wrench ?

 

[AndreB320i]

Job done.

I don't want to start a new thread so I'll continue here for the benefit of anyone who has not done this. This is replacing the steering rack boots without replacing the tie rods or disconnecting the tie rod ends on E46.

You will need to raise at least the wheel on the side you are working on off the floor since you will need to swing the hub out as you undo the tie rod from the rack. Both front wheels is better and with wheels removed to give you room to work and of course safely supported.

You will need a 34mm open ended wrench. I used a fixed wrench, but it seems common to use an adjustable for the job.

Give the tie rods a good cleaning from the old boot to the far end since you don't want to drag any dirt into the new boot when you are fitting.

Remove the clip on the small end of the old boot and cut the boot so that you can slip most of it as far to the wheel as you can. What looks like a 34mm nut will be revealed. This is the end of a stud that screws into the steering rack. Undo this stud, it will rotate in the ball joint immediately adjacent. It may take some muscle to undo so take note of the direction. The hex is attached to the tie rod. Once unscrewed you can swing it out the way and proceed to remove any remains of the old boot.

Clean and pack the ball joint with fresh grease, work it into the joint properly by swiveling in all directions. I used wheel bearing grease which may or may not be optimum, but it's what I had and I figured the joint does less work than a wheel bearing. Some boot kits come with a small tube of grease.

Your new boot should have a much larger diameter opening at the small end than the original OEM part so you can easily slip it over the 34mm hex and move it all the way toward the wheel. You should also have a grommet with a slit which can be pushed over the tie rod when closing up the small side.

You can now screw the stud back into the rack. It's a very fine thread and can be tricky to mate. I managed to cross thread by hand at least once before it was true so only use hand effort until you are certain it is correctly mated. I don't have a means of measuring torque for an open wrench so just made it nice and tight.

Push the new boot all the way back and slip over the large diameter end, some silicon spray helps matters along. I clamped with a (300mm) cable tie as I don't have the correct tool for those steel clamps and didn't want to risk nicking the boot. This boot does not rotate like a CV joint so I'm sure it will be fine.

Push the grommet onto the tie rod at the smaller end and slide up to the correct position and mate with the open end of the boot. Again I used a cable tie. There is a small ridge on the tie rod where the grommet should sit between this ridge and the adjuster nut.

That's it. Easy job to do.

Even though you have not changed the geometry of the steering it is probably wise to have wheel alignment done. I did the lower control arm bushes as well so it's a must as far as I am concerned.