# Steering Tie Rod boots



## brainscratch (Jun 7, 2004)

hello.

i bought some tein steering tie rods to replace my bent and old stock ones. when i was looking to remove the stock pieces i noticed that the steering tie rod boots are worn out and torn. i went to the dealer to see if i could buy new ones and they only offer them as a part of the tie rod assembly. so i was wondering if anyone has replaced the rods with aftermarket ones and what you did about the boots. is there a place i can buy the boots by themselves and would stock boots slide over the thicker aftermarket rods. 

thanks for any input


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## Prelude Guy (Jul 19, 2004)

brainscratch said:


> hello.
> 
> i bought some tein steering tie rods to replace my bent and old stock ones. when i was looking to remove the stock pieces i noticed that the steering tie rod boots are worn out and torn. i went to the dealer to see if i could buy new ones and they only offer them as a part of the tie rod assembly. so i was wondering if anyone has replaced the rods with aftermarket ones and what you did about the boots. is there a place i can buy the boots by themselves and would stock boots slide over the thicker aftermarket rods.
> 
> thanks for any input


I was wondering the same thing. I noticed that the boots on my OEM tie-rods are torn too. WHat purpose do these boots serve??

I've seen people replace them with TEIN, however, NONE of the pics that I've seen had boots on them. That's why I don't understand what the purpose of the boot is. :dunno


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## Kato (Apr 21, 2004)

Aftermarket tie rod ends are usually pillow balls...thats why you usually don't see boots on them...


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## 2Fass240us (Aug 2, 2004)

I bought MOOG tie rod ends for my S13, and my stock tie rods look OK. I bought steering rack boots from Courtesy Nissan, but had to call to get them since I couldn't find them on the website. They come with the metal tie pieces, but some people use black zip ties for the "stealth" look.


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## OPIUM (Aug 18, 2002)

When replacing these boots make sure you make a few marks on the tie rod ends to make sure you screw everything back into the same place so there is little room for error.


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## 2Fass240us (Aug 2, 2004)

OPIUM said:


> When replacing these boots make sure you make a few marks on the tie rod ends to make sure you screw everything back into the same place so there is little room for error.


Good point Opi...I didn't think to mention that. :thumbup:


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## Prelude Guy (Jul 19, 2004)

So, what purpose does the boot serve??

If my boot is torn, does that mean my tie-rod is going bad??


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## Kato (Apr 21, 2004)

Prevents dust and dirt from getting into the joint of the tie rod end...


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