Project of the day- steering rod boot

[Petervs]

Hi All

Well, I replaced the steering rod boot for the second time and I think this time it is improved. The boot covers the opening where the steering rod which connects the steering gear box ( below the steering wheel) to the front axle. The boot is supposed to help keep road dirt out of the compartment below the driver.

The original Prevost rubber boot was attached to the bus frame opening clamped between a rectangular steel plate with sheet metal screws. It is attached to the steering rod with a hose clamp.The original boot was torn to shreds when I first noticed it in 2002. My coach is a 1994.

The original boot was made of 1/8 inch thick rubber, that is 125 thousandths or 0.125. Since it moves back and forth quite a distance when the steering wheel is turned lock to lock, it actually basically turns inside out, the rubber gets distorted a lot and this is what caused it to tear I think. So I replaced it in 2002 with a piece of thinner rubber, I used 0.070 material. I was hoping the thinner material would flex better and last longer.

Well, that one only lasted a few years and it looked like just the first time. Pictures show both sides of the old boot and what it looked like after it was removed. The next post shows my fix this time.