Steering Rack Boot

[Frenchy]

Have you tried contacting a steering rack rebuilding shop? I've found that if you take photos and measurements with you, they often can find a boot used on some other vehicle that can work on yours. I've done this for Citroen Traction Avant racks, and I also now don't remove the rack to get an inner boot near the column shaft - I slit the boot lengthwise along the mold parting line after using a Dremel to scuff sand an area 1/4 in. on either side of the cut line. Then I open the boot like a hotdog bun, place it around the rack, with cut side up, then superglue the edges of the cutline together around the rack. Once the superglue has set, I smear a urethane windshield adhesive over the sanded cutline, or just leave a couple of very thin nylon tiewraps around a couple of the accordion folds to keep the folds lined up, then strap the boot down at one end only to the rack - I let the other end slide if it can move over a closed tubular area of the rack housing, as this prevents the boot tearing apart at full extension of the rack. After all, the boot is just a dust cover, and does not hold any pressure at all, such as a power rack leak - fluid will get out everywhere anyway, so the cutline of the boot isn't required to be fluid-tight - just closed enough to keep out road splash and dirt.

Ken Nelson