Questions on Tie Rod Replacement

[TiminIndy]

So I bought new tie rods and boots and plan to replace these next week. Actually, will have my indy install them. I could do it, but his prices are so fair, it's not worth my time to do it. I have a couple of questions on the parts, now that they have arrived.

I bought the full Lemforder tie rod assemblies (32106774336), which were on sale at the time for $51 each (now $65). The pic didn't show the lock nuts and the guy at ECS said it didn't come with them, so I ordered those, but now I see it did come with them, so I have 2 extra! (no question here, just info)

I bought two Lemforder boot repair kits, 32136751026, but now that I'm looking at the diagram below on RealOEM, there is some sort of ring that I don't have. All that is in the package is the boot and the two hose clamps.

Questions:

>Should I try to source these rings? If so, I don't see a part #.

>I see now that I should have ordered the FB-1 grease (83232208093), but did not. I'm sure I can pick some up at the dealer, but for much more than the $10 ECS charges. Do I need the BMW stuff? Do I need a 100g tube for each side?

[80stech]

I think that ring is just an o-ring to help seal the hard plastic boot to the rack. I highly doubt that you need to replace the o-ring or the boots at all. ASFAIK a bit of grease is probably to help slide the boot on and I think you might smear a bit on the exposed part of the rack for good measure. I think almost any grease will do for this.

[Scott ZHP]

The o-ring fits into a groove on the rack. I didn't replace mine, but I did replace the boots and the tie-rods. 100g of grease is plenty for both sides; you only beed a blob where the inner ball sits and a smear on the smaller boot nipple. Don't tighten the small boot clamps until you've adjusted the outer length for alignment.

[Fifty150hs]

Originally Posted by TiminIndy

So I bought new tie rods and boots and plan to replace these next week. Actually, will have my indy install them. I could do it, but his prices are so fair, it's not worth my time to do it. I have a couple of questions on the parts, now that they have arrived.

I bought the full Lemforder tie rod assemblies (32106774336), which were on sale at the time for $51 each (now $65). The pic didn't show the lock nuts and the guy at ECS said it didn't come with them, so I ordered those, but now I see it did come with them, so I have 2 extra! (no question here, just info)

I bought two Lemforder boot repair kits, 32136751026, but now that I'm looking at the diagram below on RealOEM, there is some sort of ring that I don't have. All that is in the package is the boot and the two hose clamps.

Questions:

>Should I try to source these rings? If so, I don't see a part #.

>I see now that I should have ordered the FB-1 grease (83232208093), but did not. I'm sure I can pick some up at the dealer, but for much more than the $10 ECS charges. Do I need the BMW stuff? Do I need a 100g tube for each side?

It's the o ring that sits in a groove in the rack. It helps seal that end of the boot. Didn't replace mine when I did this a couple months ago. The material was still pliable so I didn't see the need. That isn't an o ring that sees a lot of heat and it is always covered so the likelihood of its deterioration is low. Make sure you get it aligned after the replacement.