Volvo RWD 200 Forum

How come nobody answered you yet? Perfectly good question.

If you have a ZF rack, it is easier. That's the one where the boot's small end has a rubber disk about the size of a silver dollar (you have plenty of those right?). The tie rod is disconnected from the steering knuckle, and the new boot will slip right over the tie rod's ball joint.

If you have a CAM rack, there's no disk. The boot seals right down to the rod itself and won't fit over the tie rod end. That means you have to disconnect (unscrew) the tie rod end, so you have to be really sure to measure and mark its position if you want to avoid the alignment fee.

Getting the tie rod disconnected means you have to remove the nut and break loose a tapered cone joint. Easiest is with a tool for this purpose - a ball joint separator. Don't be tempted to use a pickle fork because it will damage the grease seal. Before I run for the tool, I try sharply smacking the eye of the steering knuckle on its end, and 2 times out of 3 the joint will just drop loose, saving me a trip to the tool chest.
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-K (hope springs eternal)

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85 240 steering rack boot replacement 200 1985

posted by chilliwack on Mon Aug 13 04:21 CST 2007
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last visit: Sat Oct 11 07:54 CST 2014

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thanks for the good advice its a 85 240 gl so i think its zf not cam will try to accomplish greatness when part arrives also do i put any type of lubricant inside new boot thanks

98 s90 91000 89 240 dl 194000 85 gl 172000 83 240 turbo 258000 resting with horses

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85 240 steering rack boot replacement 200 1985

posted by ez_pieces on Mon Aug 13 16:07 CST 2007
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last visit: Wed Jun 23 00:37 CST 2010

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A few of details on this job that I struggled with earlier this year (84 model with ZF rack)....

First, I gobbed a bunch of grease around the inner joint and inside the boot when I mounted the new boot. I did some searching on the BB and determined that this was fairly common practice.

Second, I had to work at it for quite a while to get the new boot properly seated on the rack. The grease I added to the inner joint made things super slippery when trying to get it mounted. I recall getting one side on the rack body, then using my pinky finger to stretch the boot to get it all the way around. Practice your French.

Third, the stock boots come with fancy metal crimp bands. Common practice on the BB seems to be using nylon tie wraps. I found some heavier duty ones that I used, then trimmed to length.

Lastly, I did this job over several nights and took over a week from start to finish (too busy with other stuff, and this car is not my daily driver). This means that I forgot exactly where the tie rod ends belonged when I put it back together. After some outrageous toe-in (dragging feeling) when I took it out for a test drive I had to adjust the alignment by eye before bringing it in for a proper alignment.

Good luck!

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85 240 steering rack boot replacement 200 1985

posted by kyle240 on Mon Aug 13 05:08 CST 2007
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last visit: Mon Oct 8 06:38 CST 2007

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I would use a dab of Palmolive on the inside rim of the boot so it climbs easily over the rack tube into the seat, but I forget to bring one and wind up spitting on it. Yeah, a lot less mess than a CV joint.
--
-K (hope springs eternal)

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