the boots on my rack n pinion are dry no oil and my steering wheel makes a scrat

What is your question?

i have 157.000 miles not untl i heard the not whining but scratchy noise only when turning wheel that i was told the boots on rack n pinion are completely dry Ford told me i needed a whole new stearing gear The ford place in idabel are well known to lie and over charge ive replaced struts almost all underneath but there is a loud clunky sound comes when i hit pot holes Ilive in rural dist. roads are not good my question is does the stearing gear box also include the rack n pinion they want 1990.00 for stearing gear box im not sure if thats what i need a rack n pinion yes for sure thank you

What makes this problem better or worse?

underneath my car rack n pinion

How long has your 2013 Ford Escape had this problem?

i found out last month when the noise started in stearing wheel