What color was the fluid? I recently was working on the suspension and found a leak of a red liquid coming from the boot which turned out to be a power steering fluid leak from the seals on the inner tie rod. Original rack with 235Kish miles on it. Bought a remanufactured one and had it installed. I stayed away from trying in my garage as the from subframe needs to be lowered out to allow for the removal of the rack itself. Look up videos on your tube, it is a lot of work to do.
It might also be any fluid like road water if the boot was torn.....

 

What color was the fluid? I recently was working on the suspension and found a leak of a red liquid coming from the boot which turned out to be a power steering fluid leak from the seals on the inner tie rod. Original rack with 235Kish miles on it. Bought a remanufactured one and had it installed. I stayed away from trying in my garage as the from subframe needs to be lowered out to allow for the removal of the rack itself. Look up videos on your tube, it is a lot of work to do.
It might also be any fluid like road water if the boot was torn.....

it was redish. However my power steering fluid is at the right level. It isnt low. Just out of curiosity what did that set you back for replacing it with a remanufactured?

 

mine did not show low but it is the beginning , possibly, of a slow leak. Might not be an issue to deal with until it affects the steering. My fluid was a bit low...
Set me back about $1100... labor and rack . A local mechanic I use let me grab the parts online and he put it in for me .
If steering is not being impacted it might be worth letting it ride for a bit until it does..

 

I decided to finish the job. The clicking noise is gone. Everything seems fine. I will wait a month or so and pull the boot again and see if there is any fluid. My buddy who is a ford mechanic said to essentially finish the job and roll with it. If it is the rack and pinion I will know soon. He said it will get hard to turn or grind. He said to just keep an eye on the power steering fluid and see what happens. Hey again, I appreciate you responding. Have a great evening

 

Hey first, thank you for replying. I really appreciate it bud. I felt a very very minor click in the steering so i figured it was time for new inner and out tie rods. My power steering fluid is perfectly full. I was thinking of doing the other side (passenger) and see how it responds. There is no fluid leaking (prior to taking off the boot). I am stumped whether to proceed or not.

 

There is no fluid leaking (prior to taking off the boot). I am stumped whether to proceed or not.

Finish the job with both new inner & outer TR. might be a slow leak or seepage from wear and age. Perform PS fluid maintenance and roll with it