Tie Rod Question - Help Please!

[Jim Ed]

My vehicle: 1973 Beetle

The rubber dust seal on one of my tie rod ends is falling apart.
What's going to happen?
I thought that dirt would get in and cause the tie rod end to wear out faster.
It will not break into will it?
TIA!

[Ol'fogasaurus]

My vehicle: 1973 Beetle

The rubber dust seal on one of my tie rod ends is falling apart.
What's going to happen?
I thought that dirt would get in and cause the tie rod end to wear out faster.
It will not break into will it?
TIA!

Yup, that is pretty much it, dirt getting in and losing the lubricant/drying out then wear is accelerated. What caused the boot to fail in the first place, age (boot drying out) or damage?

I don't think it will break immediately but the wear could thin out the metal. Best to fix it now than to push it as steering is a safety item; you want the car to go in the direction you point it, not in the (arbitrary) direction(s) it wants to go.

Lee

[BAJA-IT]

Replace the boot as soon as possible. Clean out the old grease with the dirt in it, ad some more grease, and put a new boot on it. If the TRE (tie rod end) is still tight you should be OK. If not replace the TRE and get it aligned, you don't want to wear out the tires prematurely.

[Jim Ed]

Replace the boot as soon as possible. Clean out the old grease with the dirt in it, ad some more grease, and put a new boot on it. If the TRE (tie rod end) is still tight you should be OK. If not replace the TRE and get it aligned, you don't want to wear out the tires prematurely.

I didn't know you could buy the boots separately.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

I wasn't sure myself: http://www.pacificcustoms.com/AC425100.html

Lee

[Marc]

The urethane boots are popular for off-road use since they don't use a retaining ring so their travel isn't limited..they also don't do nearly as good a job of sealing out the elements, ideally you would only use them on ends that were fitted with grease zerks and lubricated frequently.
The OEM-style rubber ones are available, P/N 113 415 835. Problem is, they usually cost about half as much as a complete new reproduction tierod end so they don't sell well and there's little incentive to stock them.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

I didn't pay any attention other than I found something indicating that the dust covers were out there and available. I just picked one parts house that I had in favorites and did a search but didn't come up with anything the first couple of times. What I thought was an obvious path wasn't; I don't remember what I used for a name but I did finally find the ones I posted and quit. I should have spent more time and found the right ones Ed; sorry I got lazy and didn’t finish the job. Good catch Marc!

Lee