ZF Steering Rack questions

Ok I got the rack off the car, cleaned it and found the following. The leaking boot (Passenger/RH side) had a few holes, the largest was about

3/8"x1/4" and shaped like a football. I removed that boot and cleaned the connection of PS fluid common to the rack and tie rod. While removing the LH boot (good no holes) I noticed a gurgling sound coming from the RH end. As I squeezed the LH boot fluid was dripping from the RH side, so they are connected together with the plastic flex hose that is zip-tied to the rack It connects the main gear housing to just outboard of the last seal inside the RH housing. Does the plastic hose collect the excess fluid from BOTH ends and return to system. It's positioned at the 3 o'clock (or horizontal) position, if it was on the top too much fluid would fill the boot, if on the bottom it would take all the fluid away.

Do I have a bad rack of just a leak in my RH boot? Some fluid is needed to keep the tie rod ball joint (common to rack) lubricated and with my boot hole the plastic return line can't do it's function?

This is not a total waste of time, I am also replacing the upper oil "pan" seal and the rack needed to be removed. The oil leak was my main concern, but about a few months ago I started getting fluid coming from the RH boot area.

If the boot did not have a hole would I have still had a leak? Am I correct in thinking the plastic (low pressure) line is a return of excess fluid.

I don't fully recognise your description of the connections, but here is my experience of a couple of racks (one a ZF) from some 240s a few years ago:

Fluid in the tie-rod boot meant that the seals inside the rack were leaking. There shouldn't be any fluid in the boots beyond a little added during assembly to lubricate things.

The leak is confirmed by the hole in the boot; this is a classic sign of leaking seals. The boot fills with fluid and sags under the weight. When the wheel is turned to full lock, the top of the sagging boot fouls the tie rod knuckle joint and gets pintched between it and the rack housing.

There is a pipe between the two boots to enable the squeezed air from one boot, as you the wheel is turned, to escape to the other side. The power steering fluid circulates from the pump to the valve housing (the bit that the steering column connects to) and from there is diverted to either side of a piston within the rack tube. There are seals and bearings inside the ends of the tube that should prevent any fluid escaping.

It is possible the replace the seals and bearings, but I found sourcing the parts to be a major problem. A rebuilt rack may be the best option.