removing the tie-rod ball-joint at the steering-knuckle, but I had seen a reference for not having to disconnect there and just un-screwing the tie-rod from the ball-joint shaft. Only thing is there were no pics to illustrate the .. point. So I took some pics as I replaced my passenger-side tie-rod dust-boot. .. (U.S. model, 1990, turbo, automatic) .. The one most important step (unless you have your own alignment equipment) is scribe a mark into the tie-rod threads at the lock-nut, on the lock-nut and on the ball-joint shaft. I used a small square file that was passed .. down to me from my grandfather when he had his service station and it worked great (thanks, granddaddy! R.I.P.)! .. .. The other very important step is to make sure the steering rack shaft and tie-rod are as clean as you can get them to avoid any sort of dirt getting into those seals and wearing them out and causing leaks. I've seen so many .. references to dirt getting into an open dust boot and that being the cause of those seals wearing out and leaking. .. Not having to disconnect the ball-joint from the steering-knuckle was such a relief and so much less time-consuming. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. I hope this helps someone out sometime. Thanks to all who have posted and replied about tie-rods, especially Dan (BlackholeZ) :)
Follow Ups
Just the tie-rod dust-boot: the write-ups I found went into - Zuberman12:36:05 05/26/15