A damaged Steering Rack Gaiter can cause so much damage and lead to so much costly repair while seeming like an inexpensive repair!

What Gaiters Actually Do

The gaiter is a simple rubber tube ‘boot’ which seals the top of the steering rack. It keeps the grease in the steering rack and keeps the road dirt out. Without it the rack bar and inner tie rod ends would soon suffer damage.

How Gaiters Split or Crack

The steering rack gaiter hardens off and cracks due to age, heat expansion/ contraction and general road wear. It is very common for a gaiter to get split in a relatively new car due to a knock from debris on the road.

What Happens When Grease Escapes

Once the seal has been broken, the grease that has been lubricated the rack bar can now work its way out within weeks. The dry moving parts can now wear even more quickly.

How Grit Gets In and Does Damage

During its easy to damage a gaiter split but even more damaging are the grit and moisture that then enters the steering rack via the damaged gaiter and then scores the rack bar surface and the pinion teeth. A split gaiter is usually identified as an MOT advisory item, but can cause great damage in just a few months.

Inner Tie Rod Ends Deteriorate Next

This wear will travel down the rack bar until it reaches the inner tie rod ends, typically causing the ball joints to become loose. This can lead to vague steering, a loud clonking noise from the front of the car as you travel over bumps in the road and unusual wear on the tires, often one in advance of the other.

When a Rebuild Becomes Necessary

That damaged gaiter can end up being one of the cheaper repairs for your steering when you spot a split gaiter early on, before it’s caused too much damage to your steering rack. More on Car Steering Rack can be found at https://westernpowersteering.co.uk/vehicles/.

Catching a split gaiter early can be one of the cheaper repairs to your steering. Until it fails though it can and rarely does stay in one piece for long.