Swing Axle Boots

mschilling · Post by **mschilling** » Tue May 11, 2004 8:21 am

urethane eh? interesting, and how long have they held up? what do you mean by meticulous? difficult to install? are they cheaper than the stock ones? I gotta know as I plan a tranny swap this summer.

betterthanyou1 · Post by **betterthanyou1** » Tue May 11, 2004 9:21 am

Hey Sharkey. Bow Wow has a set of german boots at another store. Im picking them up tonight. Both the box and the boot say "made in germany" I will take a look at them before I buy them of course. Gonna put them on the buggy tonight.

Now all I gotta do is wait for the cam. Get all the seized up oil galley plugs out of the engine, get the studs out of the heads and this thing will be ready to assemble. Im shooting for the long weekend so I can take it camping with me.

Post by **Marc** » Tue May 11, 2004 12:03 pm

Sharkey wrote:One-piece boots don't cost that much more than the split-type, but require many more hours of installation time. You have to remove the entire outer axle tube, which means dismantling the entire rear brake system, shocks, and axle bearings. When you finally get the axle tubes out of the car, you have to use a hydraulic press to press off & on the outer cast iron bearing housings...

Believe it or not, it is possible to install the one-piece boots without pressing the end castings off.
http://www.blueglue.com/archives/vintag ... 00088.html
Note I did not say "easy" or "fun"

The most important step when installing the split boots is to get the axle tube perpendicular to the trans so it's easier to get the seam closed up. While the car is still sitting on the ground, wedge something steel (like a bolt head) between the springplate and lower stop on the torsion housing so that when you jack up the car the axle doesn't drop...you could also chain up the axle or replace the shock with a steel strap to accomplish the same end. Note that if you use the first technique and your wedge does come loose, it can shoot out like a bullet, so stay out of the line of fire...

Sharkey · Post by **Sharkey** » Tue May 11, 2004 6:09 pm

mschilling wrote:urethane eh? interesting, and how long have they held up? what do you mean by meticulous? difficult to install? are they cheaper than the stock ones? I gotta know as I plan a tranny swap this summer.

Me-tic-u-lous -- adj. extremely or excessively careful about small details

This means that I drained the transaxle overnight and wiped everything down a couple of times with fresh rags soaked in brake clean. I raised the car up as high as I could go so that I could be as comfortable as possible while working. I laid a small, consistent bead of silicone along the seam and was very careful to make sure that the silicone wasn't smeared prior to bringing the two edges together. The screw hardware was tightened just enough to bring the edges together without distortion, and I let the silicone do the actual sealing. Small dabs of a penitrating grade of Loctite on all the hardware made sure that they didn't loosen over time. Equally small beads were used on the inboard and outboard openings as well, again, with extra care given to make sure that the silicone wasn't smeared prior to final assembly.

You know, meticulous.

PS: They are a little harder to install compared to the German ones, since the seam on the German boots is wavy and not straight. The urethane ones are also a little stiffer and use a greater number of screws/nuts along the seam. They are about the same price.

Sharkey · Post by **Sharkey** » Tue May 11, 2004 6:12 pm

betterthanyou1 wrote:Now all I gotta do is wait for the cam. Get all the seized up oil galley plugs out of the engine, get the studs out of the heads and this thing will be ready to assemble. Im shooting for the long weekend so I can take it camping with me.

I wouldn't advise it. It would be better to stay close to home for the first 100-500 kms to make sure everything is copacetic, but that's just me.

betterthanyou1 · Post by **betterthanyou1** » Wed May 12, 2004 9:26 am

Its ok I will have alot of support vehicles there. If worse comes to worse we will flat tow it back.
But fear not I will do a good break in before I head up there.

Oh and I got the boots yesterday. They did say made in Germany right on the boot. So I was happy about that. But I did not get them installed because we spend all night getting the old rusted battery boxes out of the buggy. They will be going inside the vehicle this time. I think I may get some sealed Optima batteries and put them in a nice custom battery box.