97 E300D - Replacing Steering Rack Boots
 

Hi. When changing the oil on my 1997 w210 E300D I noticed a partiality disconnected steering rack boot. It seems most people slip the new one over the tie rod. Seems to me to be a risk of tearing the new rubber. Can the tie rod threads be marked at the steering rack shaft, and then unscrew those parts from one another? Then you would have direct access to where you want to install the new boot.

Also, the instructions that came with the Febi boots recommend a special tool to tighten the large clamps. Necessary? Or, should I substitute a more standard clamp?

Thanks

Hello?

Yes you can unscrew the tie rod end from the inner half, so long as you've marked it and return it to its original position. You'll know right away if you didn't get it adjusted back exactly, as your steering will be off by a tiny bit and will require an alignment to set it right. This is the correct way to install these boots - you do not want to force them over the large outer tie rod end.

The provided clamps are probably the Clic/Clic-R type of reusable crimped clamp. They are common on all German cars for CV boots, fuel hoses, etc. Get yourself the correct Clic-R pliers to be able to work with these, they are not expensive.

You can also go the redneck route and cut the old clamp off with some dikes and use a generic screw clamp to attach the new boots - assuming your screw clamp is narrow enough - the Clic clamps are fairly narrow and if your screw clamp is too wide to fit into the boot groove properly, it *will* pop off later.

Torsionbar,
Thanks for the info! Exactly what I needed to know. I want to get this done Sunday, so I'll have to find the priper clamp tool asap.