Accidentally cut my steering rack boot doing my bushings...DOH!

[Suncoast]

So yesterday afternoon i decided to tackle my steering rack bushings, my steering was really kind of sloppy thanks to this site there were very clear instructions on how to change out the bushings. I was under the truck with the bolts all undone and the rack moved back enough to get the old bushings out. I was using an exacto knife to try and cut the drivers side rubber to make it easier to pull out the bushing when it slipped and put a .5" cut in the drivers side steering boot! Damn Damn Damn!! I few drops of oil came out of the boot as well....Hmmmm is this normal? I'm thinking maybe the rack seal might be leaking a bit...My plan is to try and patch the boot maybe with some kind of sealant I don't really want to pull the tie rod end and replace the boot if I don't have to at least not right now. I'll probably try and run some Lucas Power steering sealant as well to try and swell the seals and maybe buy myself some time. Any input on how to seal the boot again?

As a side note the big washer that everyone says can be pulled off from the bushing between the rack and crossmember was attached to the bushing..the bushing eventually came out whole with the washer attached. The rest of the job was uneventful just ended up taking 4 hours start to finish with taking the tires off. Steering is now nice and tight!

Checked my ball joints while I had everything apart and they're solid!! Woo Hoo I was dreading the thought of having to replace those too.

 

[jgue467]

grease is in boots

so yeah some 'oil' coming out would be normal. well there is the right way, replace the boot and everything else. I mean the thing flexes all the time while turning when you drive normal, when you go over things it flexes more and in different angles, it would be tough to "fix" without replacing it. it doesn't really have seals cuz they're just cv joints with grease all over held in place with the boot-the boot is the seal. maybe someone here has experience on this type of repair?

 

[garrett1478]

better to replace the boot. i just did this on mine last week. otherwise you will be getting dirt and water in there and possibly damaging the inner tie rod or the rack/pinion itself.

you have to disconnect the outer tie rods to do it, so might as well replace those too depending on condition/mileage. i did OTRs, LBJs, and steering rack boots all in one shot. ITRs make sense too, but i may end up replacing the whole rack/pinion assembly and don't want to buy ITRs twice...

 

[cj80cruiser]

You could try some silicone and try it out by cycling the rack to see if it holds. A new boot is the right way to go but you will need to mark your OTR position or you need an alignment afterwards.