steering rack boot

[RichardF]

I set about changing the rack boots on my LHD Syncro yesterday, starting with the driver's side. The gaiter is febi BILSTEIN, and seems good quality, but I was unable to stretch it over the rack end - the same problem mentioned by noggintom above.
My slightly arthritic old fingers don't have the strength they once had, especially in such a tight space, and I had to give up after some damage to my fingers and knuckles and a lot of cursing....
A friend, with whom I discussed the problem on line, suggested loading the boot onto a piece of tube and sliding both into place, which gave me the following idea, which worked, and might be of enough interest to add to the Wiki instructions.

Find a round plastic bottle, slightly larger in diameter than the end of the rack housing end, tapering smoothly to a neck small enough to get the larger end of the boot easily over. French milk bottles do the job.
Cut off the top, to form a funnel about 5 or 6 inches long. It can be cut shorter later on if necessary - better than cutting it too short to begin with.
Split the piece you cut off lengthwise, and grease the outside of it. This will be referred to as the “tool”

After cutting off the old boot and cleaning and greasing the trackrod, balljoint, and rack, use whatever system you prefer to get the gaiter past the trackrod end.

(I usually crack the locknut, run it back against the trackrod end, then remove the trackrod end, leaving the nut to mark its position. I also count threads just in case, and mark the top of the trackrod in case it turns. I then slide the new boot onto the trackrod, over the nut, taking care not to turn either of them, and immediately refit the trackrod end before anything gets moved accidentally.)

Slide the rubber doughnut for the small end of the boot back out of the way towards the trackrod end and pass the whole boot, well greased, over it.

Turn the steerng wheel until the balljoint is as close as possible to the end of the rack on which you are working.

Wrap the tool around the trackrod, with the wider end over the end of the rack housing. Hold it in place while sliding the boot over it into position over the housing. Holding the large end of the boot in position, waggle it a bit to make the tool slip back inside the boot. Now clamp the boot in place securely.

By putting a finger inside the small end of the boot, find a corner of the tool, wind it smaller around the trackrod, and pull it out carefully, being careful not to pull the boot off the housing!
I use a pair of pliers to grip it as it’s pretty slippery by now.

Slide the doughnut back into position and fit the small end of the boot over it. I have found it easier to pull the boot right over the doughnut, then back into its correct position.

I just came across this idea for getting boots over trackrod ends, so I’m going to try a tough plastic bag to do the other side.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrtQwjjLQFA