When repairing or replacing a steering rack, there’s a very simple step you can do to minimize premature splitting or tearing of the steering rack boots.

After you have swapped in new parts, but before you do the alignment, it is important to loosen the boot clamp that is closest to the tie-rod end of the assembly.

Failure to do this may allow the boot to twist and get kinked as you move the tie rod. This may not seem significant at the time, but after a few hundred use cycles on the road, the kink will eventually cause the boot to tear.

This will allow debris to enter the boot, causing scoring of the rack and eventual leaking and premature failure of the rack itself.

Remember, of course, to tighten these boot clamps after you are done with the alignment!

We hope this tip helps reduce future comebacks on steering rack/alignment jobs. If you have an idea for a future Inside the Brands video, email us at info@crpindustries.com or leave us a comment on our Facebook or YouTube page.