What part of the track rod is this?

[mginty]

I'm trying to figure out which part the rubber bit is highlighted below. Do I need a new track-rod end or is it a track rod end boot or a replacement boot for ball joint?
Also should I replace both? Looking through my MOT/ service history i seem to have gone through a lot of track rod ends and end boots but not noticed the trend until now.
Is that common?
thanks, as always!

​

 

[ozziedog]

Yes, very common, as the crap that’s served up to us ain’t fit for purpose. I’d start looking at buying stuff elsewhere.

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,,you’re not on your own here

 

[mginty]

Thanks Ozzie,
where do you get your stuff from?
I've managed to figure out that I need a track / tie rod end boot courtesy of the Heritage diagram (#9):

https://www.heritagepartscentre.com/uk/volkswagen/t2-bay/steering/tie-rods-ends.html

 

[ozziedog]

I’m not sure as to who is currently doing the best. Nick at CJ Motors gets all my bits and bobs and I’m pretty sure he changes suppliers on a regular basis trying to chase the quality moreso than the price, so not sure who is best at the moment. But the whole thing is a fiasco that you can’t buy stuff that’ll see the year out.

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,bloody ridiculous

 

[Earlybay1]

Think China imports!

 

[purpledog07]

All the big players seem to sell similar quality when it comes to track rods, crap.
Mine have a plastic/nylon material as the bearing surface for the ball joint!
They rusted within 6 months of fitting.
At least they are cheap to replace.
If the joint is OK, just buy some decent ball joint boots to replace the rubbish they come with. Clean up, fill the joint with lith moly grease and hope it lasts.
I agree with ozzie, I have purchased a lot of varied parts recently and over the years.
I buy from anywhere, as long as the item is the best quality I can find.
The big players are making a lot of money selling their "RARELY FIT" ranges.
I now restore/refurbish old parts where possible and never throw away old bits til the new ones are fitted.
I fabricate parts myself wherever I can usually replacing ally or steel with stainless.
And replace crappy fixings with quality ones.
I assume that nothing will fit and i'm rarely dissappointed. Welding, grinding, drilling and beating/bending may be required.
I paint almost all parts, remove poor chrome and paint instead.