Quick Help!! Cv Joint Boot Bands - How...

[taylorRichie]

I found details on grease: http://www.mindconnection.com/librar...easecompat.htm

And i'll just see if checker has the tool designed for it, and more of the same grease

Said and done, I'll probably be into the repair ~3 hoursish It's really not too bad... And if these last me a year or two I'll be prepared with some mecatecs.

[LittleBeast]

My mecatech lasted one day.......

I just installed them on friday and as I was finishing up everything I noticed that the inner driver's side boot had a pin hole sized tear in it. I did not remember hitting it with a screwdriver or anything, I thought I looked it over pretty good before putting them on, oh well. Even just driving down the road slung grease all over down there with 0 miles on it. Next weekend maybe I will replace the boot that already had a tear before I drove it at all. The outer dorman is still holding strong though. Has anyone bought the factory boots? How much are they? That is what I am going to try next I think.

[taylorRichie]

I think Anita ordered some factory ones, but it took a while to get them.

The Factory ones are definitely a thicker material... Probably pretty tough to maneuver on with the steep angle (even my Dormans sucked)

Hope they hold up for a bit.

Why doesn't anyone make Kevlar CV boots?

[Ascinder]

Because you cant weave kevlar tight enough to be able to flex while holding grease. You can also get factory style(thick) aftermarket boots. I have some in the box at my dads house. I'll check out the brand and part number

[taylorRichie]

Yes but you could line the inside with a membrane that is then wrapped in kevlar. (I'd think).

oh well...

[tom4bren]

Richie,

I put Dormans on this weekend. So far so good. The only problem that I ran into is that I used some HD Zip Ties instead of the bands. One of the inners (Drivers side) I didn't get it tight enough and the boot slipped off of the outer race (green cup). At least I can fix it without disassembling anything.

BTW, I'm with you on the grease. The kits come with what looks like about 1/2 of the amount needed (IMHO).

BTW2, in the other CV boot thread recently, I posted a source for a boot that comes highly recommended by a CV shop.

BTW3, Advance Auto sells an OEM type boot but I don't know if it's the same quality as factory. It does come with a Limited Lifetime Warentee. They're about $10 each.

I took some pix of all 3 boots lined up (OEM, MechaTech, Dorman). I'll try to post later today.

[taylorRichie]

Cool... Keep me posted on how everything is going...

I'll be running a trail this weekend, hopefully all goes well.

Can anyone tell me why they don't use a Worm gear clamp on the boots? Seems like a much simpler solution. But I'm sure there's a reason.

[taylorRichie]

Because you cant weave kevlar tight enough to be able to flex while holding grease. You can also get factory style(thick) aftermarket boots. I have some in the box at my dads house. I'll check out the brand and part number

Been thinking about this some more... I wonder if a heavy duty fabric (Carbon Kevlar etc.) with a Gore-Tex membrane would work... Create something like a shift boot, and tape the seams...

Wonder if I can get gore to head up this project

[Ascinder]

I do remember them making a kevlar boot protector cover, but it was more to prevent it being externally punctured, unlike our "accelerated fatigue" problem.

[tom4bren]

"Did you have an extra set of hands?"

Nope - my foul language when things don't go right scares everyone away for miles & miles.

"I just put a floor jack as far out as I could on the lower control arm. Then Jacked it up as high as I could, Rotated the ball joint and the bracket slipped right by on the side toward the rear of the vehicle."

Tried that - it worked much better in theory than it did in practice. What worked for me was: Push, Squeeze, Cuss, Twist ... repeat 20 times. Several large punches helps a lot to line up the holes (don't hammer the bolts in place or try to thread them in - that's how you dork the threads).