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Steering rack boot replacement...........Oh joy!
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lee16v
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2009 8:22 am    Post subject: Steering rack boot replacement...........Oh joy! Reply with quote

I've known about this for a while now because before my last mot I noticed a small split in the nearside boot. Not having enough time to do the work then I spun the boot around so the split was out of sight of the mot tester.........and it passed!
I've been putting it off as it's a pig of a job but I've hatched a plan.........a cunning plan no less.............and I'm off to do it now..........


I'll let you know how it goes.
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JeremyC
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2009 8:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Keep us posted as mine need doing though I do have the fallback position of a spare rack.
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john 33_16v
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2009 12:17 pm    Post subject: Re: Steering rack boot replacement...........Oh joy! Reply with quote

lee16v wrote:
I've been putting it off as it's a pig of a job but I've hatched a plan.........a cunning plan no less.............and I'm off to do it now..........


I'll let you know how it goes.


Is it as cunning as a Fox that has just been awarded an honoury degree for his prowess in the art of cunning?

Actually quite intrigued- does it involve superglue or a bicycle puncture repair kit?

John
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BigAl
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2009 1:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pray tell baldrick, i am in the same possition.....
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33bits
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2009 9:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

cunning sounds interesting, i've sold a few racks to people who only need the boots but would prefer to change the rack than fight with a boot job!
A good friend of mine who is a 33 owner has a trick for changing the boots, he uses a 2ltr drinks bottle, cuts the bottom off, fits it over the end of the rack then covers it in grease to allow the new boot to slide over the bottle. Is that your cunning plan Lee?
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paulhide
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 01, 2009 12:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Fine on non-power racks Alex, but not the S3 variety.
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lee16v
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 01, 2009 9:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well, it worked!

Started with a brand new boot.

Then I cut a straight line through it using the moulding line as a guide Shocked

I then cut a strip off the old boot approx 15mm wide, cleaned all the surfaces well and superglued it on the inside of the new one so it overlaped. (you could cut up another new boot for this as they are cheap)

I then put it over the rack and glued it in place starting with the end nearest the steering arms linkage. Working outwards i then glued each rise and fall of the concetina seperately until i reached the end nearest the wheel. As this end is very tight and wont force together by hand to glue I put a thin piece of wire through the boot ends (thick rubber) and twisted it to make a mini vice( see picture). Once the glue has gone off this piece of wire can be cut off and then the boot ties can be put on. (I also spun the boot around so the join was out the way of prying eyes!)

This is basically a home made split boot. I know there's no substitute for doing the job properly but although still quite fiddly this is a quick way of doing a pig of a job. I'll keep my eye on it to make sure everything stays as it should but I think it will be ok as there aren't the same forces as on a cv boot and the glue is amazingly strong ( I tried parting the strip I glued on and it wouldn't come away even with alot of pressure)
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paulhide
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 01, 2009 9:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nice thinking - must have been those two knocks on the head you received during EXTREME SUNLONGER Twisted Evil
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lee16v
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 01, 2009 9:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Laughing
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BigAl
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 01, 2009 9:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nice one lee,
I was thinking of doing the same thing to mine minus the part where you used a strip of the old one, as mine is in bits. I was going to attempt to glue along the cut, good thinking. Will that strip on the inside foul anything as it’s now thicker? Would it help if the strip is shorter, by the amount of the ends of the new one, so you don’t have to use the small wire? Does the boot compress/expand a lot? Will superglue last as it’s a solid set glue rather than a rubberised one?
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paulhide
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 01, 2009 10:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've still got the glue to use on a CV kit, Al.
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lee16v
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 01, 2009 11:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Al,
I put the strip in to give a bigger surface area for the glue. I don't think just glueing the edges together would work and probably why split cv boots fail so easily because of this. The strip doesn't foul anything and if you look at the third picture I stopped the inner strip short of the ends so the outer diameters stayed the same. The wire clamp is needed as the fit is tight over the end. As for the glue not being rubberised, not sure it really matters as there is no real force on it like twisting. Like I said, I'll keep an eye on it and see how it goes but I don't see any problems. Say for instance it lasts a couple of years.......I'd rather do this every two years than take the rack out at all.
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john 33_16v
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 01, 2009 3:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

lee16v wrote:
I'd rather do this every two years than take the rack out at all.


Agreed. Nice job, the extra strip very clever. I think and hope it'll hold up.

In the olden days when i worked at a garage, and before you could buy those hopeless split cv kits, we had a guy that used to come in about once a month for an expensive genuine subaru cv boot to make and re make his own split boot over and over Rolling Eyes


John
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BigAl
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 01, 2009 4:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

hey lee,
thanks for explaining, i see it now on the right side but not the left.
Deffo going to do this to mine, now where to get the boots from?? no alfa dealers anywhere.
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paulhide
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 01, 2009 5:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sorry Al, threw mine away. Sad
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BigAl
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 01, 2009 6:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
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lee16v
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 02, 2009 11:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Got mine from Mangoletsi Al. Approx £6
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BigAl
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 02, 2009 11:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks Lee. Good to know they are available.
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Sudmeister
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 11:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

That's a top repair Lee, sounds like it should hold but keep us posted.

Alfarama fitted new gaitors to my 33 last week but it ended up costing me £300 (ouch). Pig of a job though and I just couldn't face it. I'll try this next time.

The car goes in for MOT tomorrow, the first for nearly 2 years so hopefully I'll be going again!

John
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lee16v
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 2:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sudmeister wrote:
That's a top repair Lee, sounds like it should hold but keep us posted.


Cheers John. I intend to keep a close eye on it and will report how things are going. Looks like i saved a fair few quid then!

Hope the MOT goes ok and you're back in a 33 again.
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Sudmeister
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 08, 2009 6:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Phew - Got the MOT from a friendly MOT station, they said the brakes were pretty poor but gave me a ticket anyway. So I'm back in an Alfa again! Feels good...
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lee16v
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 10:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

That's good John.......enjoy.

The brakes were pretty poor by MOT standards but pretty good by 33 standards Laughing
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BigAl
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 21, 2009 10:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

lee16v wrote:
Got mine from Mangoletsi Al. Approx £6

I just called mangoletsi and they said last one they sold was last year to a Mrs Harvey in 19 aug 2008 with part number of 9943449. They are now no longer available. Sad
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RFlower
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 22, 2009 11:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just found boots here, don't know how prices compare there in UK, but cheaper than I can get in France

http://www.discountcarparts.co.uk/
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BigAl
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 22, 2009 12:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

4 times the price for the gaiters, waaaaaaaa everything else looks about the same price???
http://www.discountcarparts.co.uk/catalogue.php?sec=4&make_combo=2&model_combo=36&esize_combo=446&year_combo=200002
However I then clicked on the other one
http://www.discountcarparts.co.uk/catalogue.php?make_combo=2&model_combo=36&esize_combo=446&year_combo=200002&sec=4&app_id=911
that looks about the right price but it says not injection!!!

Thanks, is that correct??

Lee can you sell a couple of strips as I don’t think they sell then separately
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