rack and pinion leak... Am I a dead man?

[landev]

Well, my wife has told me "spend any more $ on that car and you're a dead man!" Should I be checking into burial arrangements?


I noticed, when I went to install the new studded snow tires for the '96 E300D that the bellows for the rack control arm was torn. "No problem!" says I... I'll just order a new a new bellows, install, and be done with it!" Wouldn't it be grand if life were so simple? Yesterday, I pulled off the old bellows and was a bit dismayed to find it full of oil, water, gunk, and the like. I cleaned things up a bit and had the wife start the car and turn the wheel back and forth a bit and watched as PS fluid oozed from around the ram (piston... what ever it's called.) Luckily, the phone rang (which distracted my wife) and I (in a cold sweat) tried to look like the situation was under control. The wife thinks that there is a minor problem and I can fix it without much ado... No Problem!-- says I...

So... my question is this: Do I need to hide under the porch, or is this something that can be (somewhat) easily remedied? I am hoping that this doesn't mean "It's new rack and pinion time!"

I have the shop Star manual that states that when you change the bellows, you should check and replace the O-ring... I saw no O-ring (please tell me it's as easy as installing an O-ring!) The shop manual is lacking in the exploded view of the steering assembly... I can't even see where an O-ring would go. Near as I can tell there is no external adjustment for this leakage... I am assuming (being rather pessimistic) I need to tear this whole assembly apart and rebuild (Please...say it aint so!)

So... do I need to rebuild my R&P? Is this even do-able? As I've stated in the past, I'm a cookbook mechanic... i.e. I can get the job done, but only if I have explicit instructions. Is this beyond my ability?

Any help on this would be GREATLY appreciated!


Thanks in advance!

-l-