Torn steering rack boot

[colinnwn]

When I was under my truck today, I discovered my driver side steering rack boot is torn. Has anyone replaced the boots and have pointers on tools, tips, or best parts?

 

What type of pitman arm puller works best? There seems to be a ton of different styles.

 

Has anyone done the shortcut of the lubed bag over the tie rod end, and slide the boot over the end? It looks pretty hard to do, and you need to be sure the new boot is neoprene otherwise it won't be flexible enough. Other people say it's unnecessary, just remove the end and count the turns, and if you put it back on the same number of turns you shouldn't need to get it re-aligned.

 

Thanks.

[Pathypop]

One of the first things I needed to do when we bought my son's 03 PF in Feb. I used a pitman fork with a small air chisel on the joint, then counted the turns. I'd only used the fork because I already had the tool, but it is a little harder on the joint and rubber than the other "U" types. The hardest part was getting the boot over the rack due to tight clearances with the 4wd. I ended up greasing it and used bent needle nose pliers as a hook to pull it over. The boot is about $15 and comes with a thin zip tie, but I used a heavy duty tie instead. We put new tires on it shortly after, now 6k miles later and no alignment issues.