Tie rod ends....cracked boots

[nwquadriders]

Anybody have this happen to them? I was greasing all the fittings up front yesterday, and the dust boot for the ball joints at each steering knuckle had cracked. This evident by a thin little "Squirt" of grease coming out of them.

My question... What do I need to do to fix this?

1. New Dust Boots
2. New Ball Joints
3. Entirely new tie rod ends? (worst option because the one going to the passenger side knuckle is like $90).

I'm starting to wonder if I should just go ahead and upgrade my steering now instead of dropping a bunch of cash on parts, a ball joint remover, etc.... That, and I'm not exactly sure I want to be the one responsible for re-setting my alignment.

Any experience with this would be great

[jeepguylj]

I cant give much help but other than go with a new streeing upgrade and beef it up better then spending money on miscellaneous parts.

[treeofliberty]

I've been looking at this post for a couple days now and trying to decide if I have anything to offer. My rig has also been suffering over the last few months with worn steering and front axle components, causing it to wander on the highway. In my research, using the trusty search tool on a number of forums, I've found nothing to lead me to believe your knuckles would be at fault this early.

IMHO, if you are not seeing other steering issues, it makes no sense to replace anything other than the worn parts: the boots. However, if your steering is sloppy, and you are looking at anything over $100 in replacement parts, that Currie system starts to look like a better investment. But it is easy for me to sit here and spend $3-400 of your money.

Also, I've done my own toe-in alignment and it's not that hard. However, I've found it better to circumscribe a line on each tire to use for the measurements, instead of using the tread pattern.

If you just replace the boots, grab a puller tool from Harbor Freight, or you can borrow one from Auto Zone. The right tool makes all the difference. Be sure to loosen the castle nut but don't remove it entirely, before separating the tie rod end. You build up a lot of pressure and that thing can fly apart when it finally gives. Leaving the nut on there keeps it together.

[maxama10]

www.4x4xplor.com/U-TURN.html

northridge4x4.com/products.php?cat=93&nav=92

www.spydercustoms.com/index2.php

Read through those.