Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Zetec Maintenance Power steering rack dead? or just the boot?

Well, it seems that the passenger side tie rod boot on my power steering rack developed a rip and all of my fluid came out through there and made a huge mess (as well as nearly catching fire). I may be a noob to Fords, but I wouldn't think that the fluid should be in the boot, so I'm assuming that a seal in the rack is shot and I need more than just a new boot. Does that sound right?

What throws me off is that when I squeeze the driver side boot, I can definately hear air moving through the rip in the passenger side boot... Are they supposed to be connected like that, or is the seal on the the driver side shot too? No fluid seems to be coming out of the driver side boot, or in it for that matter, so I'm a bit confused.

How much of a pain is it to fix this? I looks reasonably straight-forward, but I'm wondering if there are any surprises... Any tips or tricks?

Thanks

http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBroker?ForwardPage=/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/1b/d6/6d/0900823d801bd66d.jsp

Time for a new rack. PITA, just did it last summer.

You're right, it is a blown seal on the shaft inside the boot.

The two sides are connected by an air tube to allow air pressures to equalize when turning. Once you get the rack out (or have the replacement in hand), this will be pretty obvious once you know what to look for.

Replacement of the failed seal is not a viable option for a DIYer.

I supported the drivetrain with an overhead support and dropped the whole subframe when I did mine.


Steve