My kids 86 244 is in need of inner and maybe outer tie rod ends plus new boots. The one on the driver's side is torn and I can see lots of grit at the ball joint at the inner end.

All the parts stores want to know if the rack and pinion is ZF or Cam Gear. All their computers say there will be a metal tag that says if it is a ZF. I was under the car today and couldn't find a tag that says ZF. Ther IS a tag with lots of numbers on the driver's side that pionts up in such a way that it could only be read with the help of a lighted and magnified mirror. I don't have one of those.

Does anyone know any other ways of telling if I have a ZF or not?? I'm so confused.

and you guys saved yourselves a ton of typing!!

Thanks to everyone, especially to Les for the link to the RPR website where I got a really nice diagram from and for Art for the excellent photo of the infamous ZF marking. Also thanks for revealing that cam style boots wil fit in a ZF application.

Given all this good info, I should be able to ascertain the type of system I have and order the right parts. Right now, I strongly suspect it has the cam type system. Then it's just a matter of swapping parts and getting the beast aligned.

One word of caution! Different racks require different spacers between the rack and the cross member on the right side of the vehicle. A Cam gear spacer will not fit the ZF rack and vice versa. BTDT.

Duane

Here's where the label is on the rack.

If the boot is torn you should be able to see the joint. The ZF inner joints are female. The joint is approximately 1.25 in. in diameter and has two flats for a wrench. Mine had no bend over tabs, like on a cam rack, to prevent it from coming undone.

Mine also had cam rack style boots. They had been put on by the dealer previously. So I also got the wrong joints the first time. They Cam rack boots seem to seal fine, I used that style when I replaced my joints.

"Mine had no bend over tabs, like on a cam rack, to prevent it from coming undone."

I wonder if the guy who gave you cam style boots tore up the lockwasher too.

"Does anyone know any other ways of telling if I have a ZF or not??"

The Cam rack will have a dust boot that fits tightly over the steering ("inner tie") rod. The dust boot for the ZF rack fits on a disk, about 1 1/4" diameter... the disk fits on the steering rod.

You can see a picture that shows the differences on the RPR web site:

www.rprusa.com

Click on the RPRSTORE button

From the menu on the LH side on the screen, select "Steering & Suspension"

Under the "Steering & Suspension" drop-down menu, select "240, 260"

Then scroll down until you see the exploded-view drawing of the steering rods, dust boots, tie rod ends, etc.

You should be able to see the difference.

"I'm so confused."

Now comes the "gotcha"... I replaced my steering rods and outer tie rod ends, along with the ball joints and all bushings, just this past April. My car had dust boots which fit snuggly on the steering rods... so I naturally concluded that I had a Cam steering rack, and I ordered steering rods and dust boots accordingly. However, when I got the dust boots off, the steering rods would not fit the rack... because I have a ZF rack! So some goof-ball had put Cam-type dust boots on my ZF rack/steering rods. Just an FYI, something for which to be aware.