Went to get my oil changed and the guy in the pit said that I have a tear in a rack and pinion boot. What is such a thing, where is it on the car, how do I check to see if it's really torn, and how much to get it fixed? I'm a woman and get told things by these places, so I want to check instead of say, 'oh, just fix it'.

He did say that it is not leaking fluid.

it's a dust/grease boot, it won't leak power steering fluid unless something else is wrong. just look under the car at the steering rack and you'll see the boots.

 

if you're not sure where that is - the wheels bolt to the hubs. behind the wheels, bolted to the hubs is the tie rod end. it's at the front of the hub (towards the front of the car), bolted just behind the wheel. if you get someone to turn the steering wheel while looking under the car you'll see the tie rods moving the hubs/wheels. the tie rods come right out of the steering rack - where they come out is where you'll see the rubber dust boots. one on each side. they tear from time to time. i've seen cars run for years with cracked boots, but they should be replaced. you'll want to check the tie rods as well and if the boots are cracked on those replace them. that's the joint that bolts to the hubs and has a little rubber boot on it. if the rubber boot is cracked it should be replaced.

 

the thing is the mechanic may try to sell you on replacing the tie rod ends while he has it apart anyway. if he's honest he should tell you ahead of time, if not they'll wait until it's apart and give you the "it's unsafe" speech. though not a tie rod, i had one unscrupulous shop make me sign a paper stating "this vehicle is not safe to drive and is a serious road hazard"....blah blah blah, it was basically a scare tactic to get a friend to pay outrageous prices. they wanted $389 - i fixed it for $18 and less than an hour of work.

Hi. I think they are talking about the item by the red arrow in this pic. It is at the other end of the outer tie rod end. You can just see the end of the boot in this pic; it's the best pic I have at hand that has this boot in it.

 

Went to get my oil changed and the guy in the pit said that I have a tear in a rack and pinion boot. What is such a thing, where is it on the car, how do I check to see if it's really torn, and how much to get it fixed? I'm a woman and get told things by these places, so I want to check instead of say, 'oh, just fix it'.

He did say that it is not leaking fluid.

there are 3 primary possibiblities:

1. the boot is not torn and the guy was just trying to get you to spend money.

2. the boot was not torn when you drove in and it is now, and he's just trying to get you to spend money.

3. the boot was torn when you pull in and he's just trying to get you to spend money.

 

my experience is limited, but usually these things will go a long , long time before they fail without any outside help. how many miles on the car?

178,000 on a 2001 Forester (bought August of 2000)

IF the boot is torn, and you can afford the cost, and downtime. It's not a bad idea to fix it now.

 

If you can't afford to do it right now, it will go a fairly long time with a tear.

 

Just be aware, that eventually, you will have to replace this boot. With it torn, there is dust, and dirt getting inside it. This dust will wear on the seals, eventually causing a power steering leak. This can take months, or years to get that far though.

 

Hope this eases your mind.

It does ease my mind! How much do you think it will cost to have it replaced?

I do all my own work, so I can't really say what it'd cost at a shop. I'd say 2-3 hours labor, and maybe $40 for the part.

 

I'm sure one of the other people here can chime in to give you better estimates on cost.

it's a dust/grease boot, it won't leak power steering fluid unless something else is wrong. just look under the car at the steering rack and you'll see the boots.

 

if you're not sure where that is - the wheels bolt to the hubs. behind the wheels, bolted to the hubs is the tie rod end. it's at the front of the hub (towards the front of the car), bolted just behind the wheel. if you get someone to turn the steering wheel while looking under the car you'll see the tie rods moving the hubs/wheels. the tie rods come right out of the steering rack - where they come out is where you'll see the rubber dust boots. one on each side. they tear from time to time. i've seen cars run for years with cracked boots, but they should be replaced. you'll want to check the tie rods as well and if the boots are cracked on those replace them. that's the joint that bolts to the hubs and has a little rubber boot on it. if the rubber boot is cracked it should be replaced.

 

the thing is the mechanic may try to sell you on replacing the tie rod ends while he has it apart anyway. if he's honest he should tell you ahead of time, if not they'll wait until it's apart and give you the "it's unsafe" speech. though not a tie rod, i had one unscrupulous shop make me sign a paper stating "this vehicle is not safe to drive and is a serious road hazard"....blah blah blah, it was basically a scare tactic to get a friend to pay outrageous prices. they wanted $389 - i fixed it for $18 and less than an hour of work.

 

Damn Gary. You live too close to Washington, DC.

It does ease my mind! How much do you think it will cost to have it replaced?

 

$50.00 by a reasonable person trying to just put food on the table.

Here's a better pic of the boot in question (left/driver side), circled in red.