Okay,
here's how to replace the steering rack gaiters. Jack the front of the car up, both sides so the whole front end is off the ground. Undo the plastic nuts holding the front undertray on and the two bolts (be careful with these as they can shear) and remove the tray. Turn the steering to fully extend one side of the rack. If not replacing the track rod ends, cut off the old gaiter. This will expose the hex head of the track rod inner end that you need to undo. Place a Spanner on the steering rack end which has flats for this purpose (17mm from memory), and a spanner on the hex on the track rod and undo, counter holding the spanner on the steering rack. Once undone, you'll find a big washer which needs to go back as it came off.
You'll find a groove in the track rod (see picture below) which you should tape over with insulating tape. A few winds should do. Push on your new gaiter all the way over and reverse the above steps reattaching the rod to the rack. then slide the gaiter back over the tape until it engages the groove on the rack, remove tape from the rod and engage the gaiter on that side too. Repeat for the other gaiter.
Sounds complicated, but it's not and it will make much more sense when your down there. the trick lies in taping over the groove and sliding the gaiter on which makes it easy to manipulate into place after it's bolted on.
You will not need to redo the geo as you've not undone the ball joint at the damper end or adjusted and settings. The rod should be tightened to 52lbft.
The picture below (the top arm) clearly shows the groove you need to tape up, push on the gaiter all the way to the end.
Hope it makes sense, I'm not great at write ups but happy to answer any questions.
Regards
GR
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