Tie Rod Boots

[MIPS]

Dammit.
I installed a pair of ULTRA-POWER ES2107RL inner tie rods in October 2021 and it was pointed out both sides have split their boots.



They are still tight and full of grease because we caught them before the winter but I can't seem to source a replacement for this style of boot with the snap ring, or at least I can find nothing that assures the universal replacement boots will fit the inner rod ends. Any ideas on replacements? Entire replacement inner tie rods have been unavailable for a while.

Edited: Smart-man Me actually took a photo of the assembled inner and outer when I was swapping the tie rods. The style of boot I'm referring to is on the left.

[vangremlin]

Kennedy American lists tie rod end boots but I’m not sure if they are what you need.

They also list inner tie rods.

Good luck!

[MIPS]

At $98USD each from Kennedy if I can order replacement boots for otherwise good tie rods that saves me a *lot* of money.
I know when RockAuto still had them they were something like $30 each.

[AMC of Houston]

Might need to just go with the generic aftermarket universal boots (similar to the non-ringed boot on your other new tie rod).  I keep a selection of them here on the shelf (both tie rod and ball joint boots) just for occasions like this.

[MIPS]

Deliberately put a Dorman on for now.



No rust yet is forming on the surfaces and the rest of the dirt was forced out with a few good pumps of fresh grease. Threads look good BTW. The only reason I mention this is because when I went to tighten the crown nut back on it tightened to a point, then let go and is stuck spinning on the arm so my money is on the threads just stripped out of the crown because I sure wasn't reefing on the wrench. It better not be the arm itself eating its threads...




Put a few more shots of grease in just to fill the cup.



Ultra-Power used a boot marked "E301226". that is not a part I can locate separately, but I am getting hits with other tie rod ends.
The old boot has an upper diameter of 14mm and a base diameter of 32mm. Hard to tell the height because they are compressed when installed but lets say 20mm. So lets say they are 14-32-20. I can get them in 13-30-23 which should be okay and 14-35-24 which is a little large at the base. Grab a set of the 13's and see how they fit when they come in, also buy a new crown nut and get ready to swear as I try and remove the old one.

[vangremlin]

You may also want to check out this website for AMC Acres. This guy bought out Galvin’s AMC parts and moved all the inventory to his place in Colorado. Really nice guy and super passionate about AMC’s.

https://www.ramblerparts.com/

[MIPS]

Replacement boots arrived.  Before actually installing them the measure up extremely close to the original.

[vangremlin]

Looks good!  Do you have a part number and supplier for the new ones?  Thanks!

[MIPS]

"ebay" is all I can suggest as that is where I bought them.
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/321422911809

Just in case the link above breaks, note the specs or the diagram in the previous posts if you have to go hunting for another substitute.

[vangremlin]

Thanks!

[MIPS]

Junk.




Even with normal driving and unsalted roads, after six months the rubber was so badly cracked that the boot split.

Now for those who followed the other thread, this poses a problem now because it seems these last-on-RockAuto inner tie rods don't liked being retorqued more than once and I've done it twice already, so replacing the boots again might result in far more major problems. In that case I advise anyone reading this to take the specs listed above, find better quality rubber boots and use those.