not too hard. pop the ball joint, unscrew it, pull the old boot off, grease the joint, put the new one on. getting the zip tie on the inward part is the hardest part of this job. i actually removed my strut so i had more room to get in there but this was on the passenger side. don't know on the driver's side as it's shorter. then screw the ball joint back on the same number of times and take it to have it aligned. don't know how pressing it is to do as the joint isn't a cv joint. it only goes back and forth in one plane but i don't like anything broken/torn/leaking on my 94 so i fixed mine. got the boot off rockauto of course.
tony

 

Steering boot. Is this the rack and pinion boot or is this the CV boot? I think it's the rack boot.

If it's rack and pinion boot, best place to go is genuine. Compare the price between aftermarket and genuine. A lot of people (including me) had issues with aftermarket rack and pinion boot.

 

Definitely the rack boot. On phone now so will reply more later.

 

Ahh K.

I'd go genuine. The aftermarket boots I tried on my '85 did not fit (holes too small!).

http://parts.toyotaofcoolsprings.co...-gas-engine/steering-cat/steering-gear-and-linkage-scat/?part_name=tie-rod-boot

Unless you can confirm that an aftermarket boot is going to fit. I couldn't.

 

You don't need to remove the tie rod from the knuckle just separate the inner and outer tie rod.

Here's the part numbers
LH(NO.1) 45535-33010
RH(NO.2) 45535-33010

 

Doh! Oh gosh, I never realized you could just do that instead of removing the tie rod end on the knuckle and then removing the outer tie rod from the inner...

Wow. lol. I guess I learned something new today. I gotta do my dad's inner tie rod, so that method above might make one less stuff to break haha!

 

If you do that, does it still need aligned?

 

Any suspension removal, even if it reassembling it should require an alignment. Some more so than others. If you got a worn tie rod, alignment would be recommend for the sake of your tires.


Ideally when you 'loosen' that bolt where it meets the outer tie rod and don't move it at all until you reassemble the outer tie rod to the inner tie rod, then you should be okay. I've been OK with 'eye balling' it. As long the nut isn't move a significant distant.

*** I just realized if you do the way suggest by removing the outer tie rod end attached to the knuckle, you will still have to remove that tie rod nut anyhow as the rack n pinon boot won't be able to clear the shaft. By leaving the tie rod end attached to the knuckle will be one less work to do. To separate the outer tie rod from the inner tie rod (to put boot on) though, you will need to rotate the inner tie rod to separate it from the outer tie rod since the inner and outer tie rods are threaded.

 

I know, I just had it aligned though

 

You can replace the boot without disturbing the alignment if you are careful. You'll need an extra tie rod nut to keep the original from moving. Loosen the nut, then spin it back finger tight then separate the tie rods. Put the 2nd nut on the inner tie rod to keep the other nut from moving. Stretch the new boot over the nuts (use silicone spray or grease) and put everything back together.

 

you can also stuff some grease on the joint via the tear in the boot to keep it lubed until your next alignment.
tony

 

You should be okay as long as that boot is not completely torn apart. I've had my boot torn for a while and it's been okay. As long as it's not a tear where water can easily get in.

Oh yea, if you got transmission fluid coming out from the boot, you might have a bad rack seals.

 

+1 on john. using a white paint pen, mark the top of the rod so you make sure it don't accidentally spin and then count the number of turns you spin the ball joint off and it will be very close when you put it back.
tony

 

How long does it take to replace the boot on the rack n pinion using the last said methods??

 

An hour or two tops.

 

"Strange, Toyota wouldn't have addressed this by now." - the factory boots fit correctly and don't have these issues (based on the 3 Gen3 Camrys that I have owned), it sounds like someone has put aftermarket boots on (or an aftermarket rack) on yours and that has created this unique issue of improper fitting boots?

 

While we're on the topic of rack boots, there's a quick way to slip on a new boot without removing the tie rod end, just grab a zip lock bag, put it over the tie rod end, then coat it in oil/lube/grease and then slip the boot over. Turn the tie rod end upside down if you need extra leverage. If you still have the factory spring clamp that secures the small end of the boot, get something like a toilet paper cardboard tube and crush it around the clamp so it doesn't tear the boot as you pull it over (make sure that clamp is inside the zip lock bag too). Try not to get oil or lube on your hands/gloves otherwise everything becomes a slippery mess, ask me how I know...

I bought a rakboot kit some time last year, and it was a neoprene boot that was cut to size. It's still on my car, but worth mentioning that neoprene is significantly stretchier than the factory (epdm?) rubber boots. I was able to pull on and stretch that thing like a gorilla and it wouldn't tear, I haven't tried with the factory boots lol. The rakboot kit was nice, but its raksok was just a glorified zip lock bag.