Oil/Fluid in Tie Rod Boot?

[gamefreakgc]

I am doing my inner tie rods today and pulled off the boots and found a brownish fluid in the boots. Not a whole lot, but enough to have me concerned.

Is my rack leaking or is this just old grease that's broken down? It's not dripping or any sort of major leak, just enough to be noticeable.

 

[LittleCaesar]

Leaking rack. Drive it until it starts leaking out the boot. Then replace. Or if you have the $$$ now, go for it.

 

[gamefreakgc]

Leaking rack. Drive it until it starts leaking out the boot. Then replace. Or if you have the $$$ now, go for it.

I don't, just bought new brakes and such. I'll drive it till it won't last any longer then.

 

[LittleCaesar]

Yea, I wouldn't worry too much.

But it would be worth your time to keep in the back of your mind as well as to hit the hard line connectors with some pb blaster now and then until it is time to remove them.

 

[02SE]

It's not leaking much. I'd drain out the old ATF, and fill it with new ATF that has some Ester in it. Ester will swell the seals a bit, and might stop the minor leak you have.

 

[gamefreakgc]

Good idea. I'll look into adding Ester. It's a very minor leak at best, considering it has 193k miles and the boots are original (no sign of leaking from the outside).

I'm not new to power steering leaks since I've had other vehicles leak, but this was the first time it was leaking from inside the rack itself.