@upallnight, appreciate reply, second pic is of the damaged boot wrapped in a black shiny gorilla tape type material, tried as much as i could to get it in the grooves and around existing boot so it flexes when i turn ....seemed to be ok after a test run...it wont hold i know but maybe long enough till my mechanic looks at it...soooo how hard to replace that boot n would i need re aligning after?

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E53 X5 3.0d SUV prod.date 11/2004 eng.variant M57N Europe Right hand drive N