Topic: I know its a TA forum, but....

[Magnum]

I know most of you have vehicles other than TA's. And, Trans Am forums are the only one's I'm part of at the moment, so I'll post my question and hope for the best.
I'm going to look at a Ford F350 4x4 crew cab tomorrow. Talking to the guy on the phone he told me that a steering rod boot is broke open. I, for the life of me cant think of a boot on any of the steering, idler, or pitman rods.
He said he's check the cost of replacing this, and is willing to drop the price due to it, but of course, he didnt tell me what the estimate was.
So, please chime in with any advice.

[RENOVATIONS]

I'd assume he's talking about a CV boot. You can buy clamp-on boots that make the job easier/cheaper/faster but it's a good idea to pull and replace the shaft since once the boot rips, moisture and debris can get in the axle assembly.

[turbota400]

Unless it's the small boot that covers the tie rod end.

[Rick]

It's probably the CV one Jeff mentions.  That's pretty common on 4WD trucks.  Not a big deal unless you let it go and crap gets in the joint.  Then it's $$$ to fix.

[Jonnyscotti]

Milly should know the answer to this.

[Magnum]

I didnt think a 4 wheel drive truck had a CV boot? ok, i did some research and low and behold a cv joint is just a new version of a U joint. duh!
U joints arent too bad to change, how about a cv joint?

[Shifty]

I got a F-350 It has a straight front axle it has open universals. The only boots or covers are the rubber cups on the tie rods and ball joints. Unless he has a steering stabilizer which could have a rod boot.  Not all truck have them. The stabilizer are normally a a off road option needed for rough terrain and over size tires.

[Mark C.]

You can try here.

http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/index.php

[y88rick]

depending on what year this 350 is i instantly thing 99 up so they are solid axle trucks with no cv shafts. there are too many gm owners here lol.

[Magnum]

Yeah, I guess the year would have helped. its a1990. I have to go old to stay within the budget. I know the ford trucks older than 96 or 97 had the independant front ends and the years after has the solid axle. i've been looking for a 3/4 or 1 ton for awhile now. trucks are selling like crazy around here, nobody can afford to feed them!

[y88rick]

well they sure can now compared to a month ago its 1998 and older 3/4 ton trucks are i beam set ups and with them anything covered with a rubber boot cannot be too expensive. those do have cv shafts in them. tell him to take a grand off the price just to see what his counter offer is.

[Orange 81 T/TA]

...Could it possibly be one of the boots that cover the small u-joints on the steering shaft (from the column to the steering box)?  That's what I would assume.  No big deal really.

[Magnum]

Well everyone, thanks for the help. I ended up missing out on the truck. It was about an hour away from me and when I called before leaving to go see it, he had sold it that morning. I ended up finding another that was closer, cheaper, but it is an automatic and needs a paint job desperately. straight body, just bad paint.
BTW, he told me it was a tie rod boot.