While I still am being a lazy ass about putting the head back together (i.e. can't find all the timing cover bolts), I decided it was high time to get the bloody left rack boot replaced. How lazy was I? Let's just say it has been cracked pretty much since I bought the car.
Replacing the boot itself is not that hard; the challenge (for me) is to find another clamp. The idea here is to press the large (rack) end of the boot against this groove on the rack's housing (boot has a lip that fits right into the groove), which would hold the large end of the boot in place when the rod extends off the rack.
So, let's talk about all I have tried.
(Large) Hose clamp
A better clamp
I went to NAPA with my now famous spare boot and asked for a clamp that fitted it. The suggestion was once again to use an universal cv boot clamp. Trying to void rolling my eyes, I explained I tried one of those and it did not work. The parts counter guy replied I had not tried the one they had. So, he came back and brought this:
Now that did look nicer than what I had tried before; it had the same style locking thingie as the normal clamps but I could cut it to fit (the one on the background was resized already). At a bit over $2 a pop it sounded like a good idea at the time. I did end up also getting the tool as an impulse buy... it is nice looking but I later was to realize it was useless for my needs.
Ok, ok, let me show the reason it did not work out:
In other words, you have to get to the clamp from the same plane as the clamp (i.e. perpendicular to the boot). As you can see from the above picture, that is just not happening. Only way to properly reach the hump on the clamp you crimp to tighten is from the side (parallel to the boot), through this hole:
Since you cannot change the angle of the head of the tool, that is just not happening. Once again I had to use one of my terminal crimping tools. First, it can go through the hole just fine:
And, I can line it up with the hump on the clamp without many problems (making sure the sides of the hump are either perpendicular to the clamp or just a bit inwards make it much easier to crimp):
Some gentle squeezing and we have a winner:
