Steering boot repair?

[dclauria]

On my Grand L 4060 , I just noticed today that the right side steering knuckle boot? Has a pretty good tear in it.
It is unlikely to see anything other than snow here in N.Mich until spring.
Can it wait for repair until then?
Also, any thoughts on how difficult a project it is.
Thanks in advance.

 

[DustyRusty]

Fill it with grease and then get some rubber roofing material and make a bandage out of it, and secure it with mechanics wire. Shouldn't hurt anything. I had a wheel bearing fail on my trailer, and I could get a new bearing, but not the seal. I installed the bearings, packed them full of grease, and tied a piece of a rag around the axle where the seal went. Made it home 300 miles away and it was clean enough that all I had to do was install a new seal. When in doubt, improvise!

 

[D2Cat]

I tore a boot on a 4 wheeler so I had some "rescue" tape. I cleaned the boot good and used the tape to patch it up. The tape is available at most hardware stores. I used a needle on the grease gun to inject through the tape to fill with grease.

I actually left it on for a couple of years because it stayed on so good!

 

[dclauria]

Update - I found a Youtube video online that showed how to replace the tie rod boot. Picked one up at my local Kubota dealer and replaced it in less than an hour.

 

[GeoHorn]

Update - I found a Youtube video online that showed how to replace the tie rod boot. Picked one up at my local Kubota dealer and replaced it in less than an hour.

share the link

 

[dclauria]

Here's the Youtube link:

Replacing Kubota Tie Rod Boot the Easy Way - YouTube

Just one "obvious" note -
After replacing the boot I had a hard time getting the tie rod into the right position to thread back into the receiver. Never having done this before, I was trying to push on the wheel to create enough space, while at the same time starting to thread them together. The obvious answer was of course to turn the steering wheel the opposite direction to create more space.