1st Gen R53 Cooper S Most liked posts in thread: Steering rack Boots Busted

Sure the bellows would get damaged before a powder coated surface would get damaged, but IF there was any heat used it would not be directed at the bellows at all. I certainly would hope that any possible inadvertent damage caused by the dealership would not be malicious.......

I will take some good pics after I get them off, but in truth, I am not sure this mystery can be solved as the car was out of my hands for some warranty work.

 

Good advice, I plan to take the disassembly slow enough to ensure I can get it back together in exactly the same position. I think you are correct, if I do it right, I will not screw up the alignment. Thanks.......

 

2 repair kits ordered and shipped to my door for $57, not too bad.

Now I wait impatiently as they must be ordered, received by the dealership, then shipped to me. I am guessing 10 days, Ugh! I will definitely make sure to NOT drive my car in wet weather.

Oh and I spoke to a couple of different dealerships and this is definitely not a common failure, I am so glad my car is 'special'. :incazzato:

 

No I do not, and not sure I could use it even if I did have it, as there are some space limitations. I dunno, maybe you don't need much space with the proper tool.

I might have to opt for something more pedestrian, like a common stainless worm gear clamp.

 

After some shipping issues, I finally have the repair kits in hand. I must say that I was very surprised to realize the boots/bellows are actually plastic, I was expecting rubber. I am also not sure what to do with the small tube of lube that came in the kit, I would expect it will become apparent once the old boots are off. Anyway, they look like this:


I will be digging-in to the project in the next few days.

 

Thanks for the clamp tip. I will be taking it apart later today. So let's see what I can figure out as an assignable cause for the damage.

 

Well, job finally complete. I did not really have any problems, just needed a little bit of time and priority to get to it.

The passenger side boot looked a little worse up close and personal. So, here are two pics of that same passenger side boot.


All was normal under the boot, completely clean with no corrosion, yeah. The repair kits came with some lube so I just lubed up anything moving. So, that means the ball/socket joint on each end, and the actual toothed rack on the Driver's side.

It went back together fine, just make sure you do not over tighten the clamps, also you should lightly lube under where the boot ends get clamped. You want to ensure the boot can spin freely, as this is required for toe alignment purposes.

Here is the pass side all buttoned up, nice and perfect:


The Driver's side boot looked absolutely chewed up upon revomal, it almost tore in two as it was being removed.


Also, no debris or corrosion on the Driver's side, whew! Plenty more to lube on this side given the rack is accessible. All buttoned up:

Also in this pic you can see the tape I used for alignment, with the tape and the measurement on how far to screw into the tie rod, I am quite certain I have maintained toe adjustment. So I can skip the alignment shop.

In the final failure analysis, the only evidence remaining that I can point to as a contributing factor are the clamps, they were all at least a little too tight. This would not allow the boot to freely spin around the rack arm as toe adjustments are being made. Actually, on the Driver's side the clamps were much more than a little tight, and that boot was the worst.

Still, I believe there was some sort of mechanical damage. Also, it does not appear that there is any thermal damage of any kind.

While I will never know definitively.........the repair is done, and as far as I am concerned the case is closed.

 

Thanks and yeah, I like it clean, and it takes too much time to keep it that way.

 

My rack was and is still is in good condition with no leaks. And it certainly was not a thermal issue as nothing was melted and there just wasn't any heat damage, it was all mechanical damage. My best guess is still that it was incurred during a warranty visit at the dealership.

Today all is well with my steering rack boots and the rack itself. After plenty of extreme track time driving, a few road trips, and normal street driving it looks and feels just like the day I installed the new boots.