I have an 05 Accord EX FWD 2.4L with 172k miles. I recently took it to the shop because I knew I had a power steering leak. Most of it was from the reservoir and I got that fixed. The shop also noticed my rack and pinion is leaking. My first question would be: is this a common problem for this car? The leak seems to be coming from the tie rod boot on the drivers side. I have been told that I will need to replace the entire rack and pinion. But I have also been told I can just replace the seals by removing the tie rod. The auto parts store has a seal kit available. I am wondering which advice is accurate/better and if anybody knows where to find directions for the seal replacement. I have searched google and my Chiltons manual but I can't find anything for just the seal replacement.

 

with nearly 200k I would just do the whole rack. If its leaking at the seals internally its likely mechanically worn or wearing and a seal kit is just a bandaid.