Steering box problem

[jburt]

Hi, a newbie here and I am in search of some information for my 2000 Montana.
I blew the seals on the rack and pinion and am trying to RnR it. The instructions say "just lift the boot and remove the pinch bolt. This is all well and good if I had the short shaft. Instead, mine is the long (4") shaft and the pinch bolt is just below the firewall. As far as I can tell, the rubber boot goes all the way through the firewall to the column as one piece.
Is there a trick to accessing the pinch bolt with out destroying the boot?

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[melsg5]

One site recommended lubricating the boot so that it slides up easier.

 

[jburt]

Thanks, that would work on the tie-rod bellows but the input cover is a stiff rubber which doesn't connect to the shaft and doesn't compress. I think I have a work around figured out. I'll see when I put the RnP back in tomorrow.