Anyone replace this part - steering rod boot? (Pic Inside)

[Hank3]

While rotating my tires today, I noticed the round boot on my driver's side steering rod was ripped and some grease has oozed out. Anyone pointers on replacing this part? Pretty straightforward? Did you guys go with OEM or get it at a local/chain auto parts store? Part #?

TIA

 

[whatusername]

that boot comes with the outer tie rod.. a pretty ez to replace and inexpensive piece. only yhing is u have to get a wheel alignment after u replace it..

 

[Brains]

We replaced both of the tie rod ends recently- we bought some "beck arnley" brand replacements. Pretty much the same things, but i didn't like them as much as the OEM.

It's threaded on the tie rod, and locked in place or something with a bolt tightened up against it.
The tie rod end is pressed into the knuckle, or at least in there really tight... so it's helpful to rent a tie rod puller from an auto parts store like autozone.

The bolt on the OEM tie rod end that attaches it to the knuckle has a slot or a hole cut in it, and a castle nut threaded on it that's locked in place with a cotter pin. I like that method, but the replacements i bought didn't use the castle nut/cotter pin; they're just tightened down like a regular nut/bolt which is sort of difficult since as you tighten the nut the bolt just spins around in the tie rod end's ball joint. Seems cheaper to me too. I put 'em on, but i kept my old ones just in case i can still use them by replacing the boot. Something to note when looking at replacements

 

[Hank3]

What damage can this cause to other parts if it's not replaced soon? I don't know how long it's been like this? I will obviously change both sides when I do it.

 

[pcb]

If dirt or water gets into the ball and joint of the tie rod end, it can rust then get loose and sloppy.

You can wear out your tires pretty quick if the tie rod end has play in it.

Check your front tires for edge wear or feathering.

Lift that corner of the car and grab the left and right sides of the tire and try to wobble it while listening and feeling for clunking sounds.

 

[hornsfan10609]

Honestly 90% of cars I see on a daily basis that are older than 07 have multiple boots torn or missing. It is extremely common and you are unlike most people in actually wanting to fix it. You will likely never notice the difference of replacing the tie rod ends but they will get worse over time with a split boot. To avoid doing an alignment you can count the number of rotations it took to remove the old tie rod and thread the new one on with the same number of turns. Not the ideal way to do it but will get you close to where you need to be and won't need an immediate alignment.

 

[Hank3]

So the part I'll need for each side is #1 in the pic below...guess it's not side specific? $50 each from onlinemazdaparts.com.

 

[pcb]

Yea,... that's it.

Get an alignment after the install.

I drove only 30 miles after replacing my lower control arms before doing an alignment and scrubbed the edge off both front tires in that time.

We're supposed to tow in by 2 mm +/- 4 mm (... I was at 25 mm)

 

[thuzil]

Unless the joint is loose I would not really worry about it too much. Just check for play in the front wheels every once and a while.