A few sites say the steering bellows on the rack is a 861 419 831 B.

 

Duly ordered a Febi 03319. Already had some CV joint grease and some jubilee clips.

 

I've got limited access from above (twin carb air filters), but with steering in the right position the bolt of the stirrup is accessible.

 

Disconnected battery earth as near starter motor terminal with a spanner.

The nut can be accessed and a spanner wedged so you can loosen from above.

 

Access from below is also awkward with the Stab-o-shock steering stabiliser on my GK.

 

With car on axle stands and you position from below by pushing a front wheel to point in or out. Removing old split bellows was easy.  

 

Could I make the wide end fit over the rack?

Tried wire, cable ties, improvised plastic tube, 2 chopsticks.

Left the bellows stretched over my largest socket for a week.

Dunked it in boiling water, dried with kitchen towel (because it's gonna be filled with CV grease once on) and still could not get it and a jubilee clip (or even a cable tie)

to fit.

 

Changed from the Febi 03319 to a Febi 08498.

It's got a wider large end and a sleeve at narrow end.

 

There are clips with it but both seemed too large or needed special tools to fit with dire warnings of damage to rubber.

 

Bit of jubilee clip sizing so the fat end of the tube pokes through, steering rack to fully retracted and it pushed on in 15 seconds.

Tighten clip from below.

 

Use a chopstick, or old screwdriver to smear CV joint grease inside the bellows

(sometimes this is in the kit).

Turn rack to halfway out using steering wheel as control arms not connected.

Clean the pack where it emerges. Push the other end on over the groove, tighten cable tie into the groove.

Squeeze the bellows to move grease onto the rack and look that none comes out. 

 

Rack back to part retracted. Remount stirrup, lifting and twisting until the bolt with a washer will slide through.

 

Should use a new locking nut. I didn't have one the right size. 

Did up old one really tight. There's enough thread to put another nut against it with some thread-lock.

  

I need to check I can get full lock both ways. That jubilee clip adjuster might be in the way of full travel. 

 

But anyway a 03319 was no good for me

I suggest using an 08498.

I found my standard 89 HZ RHD gaiter had split 3 days before I had an MOT due, so I hastily ordered a Febi 03318 which was a kit including the boot(861419831B equiv), rack grease and clip. When it arrived, I seem to remember I fitted it by fully retracting the rack and then using a thin screwdriver to gradually ease the edge  of the gaiter over the lip of the rack casing.Luckily, my access was reasonably ok, so it was possible without too much hassle.

 

The only issue I had was getting the supplied clip crimped up. I just couldn’t get the boot plier tool in place to tighten it.I ended up ditching  the metal clip and just used a suitable thickness cable tie instead.

Edited 1 March, 20215 yr by mk2tastic

Good to know.

 

Cable ties are fantastic. You can thread them in place, or put them over pre-shaped like a P and you can sometimes even tighten them one handed. A friend's Golf rear gearbox mount was mended with a fat cable tie.

 

Access was an issue. But the alternative part was so simple,  after loads of unsuccessful fiddling, I had to share it.

I can turn full lock left and right. The Jubilee clip adjuster is close, but not in the way.

 

What size is the nyloc nut that secures the ball joints onto the end of the rack? The one that you didn't have a spare for and had to use threadlock?

Looks like M10 to me, but the pitch could be metric fine. So M10x 1.0 maybe, not M10x1.5 is what i mean by that.

Waded in on this one recently. The right bellows with the very snug end will go over with a lot of persuading. You have to stretch it out in hot water and really get stuck in. The right part has a shorter compressed length, I was worried about the alternative that goes on easy popping off at the small end when compressed. I put the CV grease on the rack teeth not under the bellows. You have to fart about getting the sock off etc. I nipped the adjuster screw up a bit too.

I did use boiling water when I tried.

And squeezed the bellows to move grease on to the rack, but directly applying is clearly better.