Swing axle rubber boots

[phil60]

Just as a matter of interest - why must the join not point straight up? Various positions are recommended depending on whose advice you take - 3 o'clock / 9 o'clock, 2 o'clock / 10 o'clock etc but for some reason 12 o'clock is frowned upon. It seems the obvious position so why is that?

[aquifer]

Because the joint/seam doesn’t expand. So when the car is raised and the rear wheels drop down, it puts strain on the boot and would probably cause it to pull off off the hub. I think it has to be 3:00 or 9:00, and not 10/2 for the same reason, but 10/2 is much better than 12/6. At 3/9, the joint can just bend and doesn’t need to stretch.

Edited to add: the only time I’ve ever done it, I did 3:00/9:00 and they’re still holding up after 25 years (or more). I’d be tempted to believe that 4:00/8:00 would be better than 10/2, because of how the boot needs to flex when the car is off the ground. It’s rare that the wheels would ever be very far “up”, but they’re down all the time when the car is lifted. I would think that 10/2 would still put plenty of stress on the seam. I’m pretty convinced that 3/9 is the best position. That way it never “pulls” on the seam, the seam simply flexes.
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[Bobs67vwagen]

Maybe because when the car is jacked up or on a lift and the axles unload and swing down this may put stress on the top of the boot and if your seam is there it might tear.

[Eric&Barb]

Yes the thick rubber seam area of the boot will not stretch or even compress as well as the thinner bubble shaped rest of the boot. Due to this the boot tears up sooner than later when installed in the vertical position.

While we do not totally agree with all the literature VW put out over the decades, in this we do, and is backed up with experience we have had with this.

Below from the workshop manual that is a must for any VW owner to have on hand!!

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[phil60]

That makes sense - thank you all for the explanation

[Eric&Barb]

[Bobs67vwagen]

Eric and Barb some of us who started working on vws in the 1960s (like me) are still here and still working on them although not as quickly. Like you said we learned from trial and error and also from manuals. I still find it wonderful that I can go to the internet and have lots of first hand experience(like yourself) right at my fingertips. Charles Manson was also a vw guy!

[EVfun]

Personally I run them at 10 and 2 to the rear and install the axle boots dry. The swingaxles move up and forward and the suspension compresses, and down and forward as the suspension drops below zero camber. The idea is to bend the seam, but not compress or stretch it. If it is pointed below level (9 and 3) it may leak a little as it isn't a well clamped joint, nothing solid is backing the seam except the washers under the screws and nuts.

VW recommends 9 and 3 to the rear, and the use of sealant.
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[viiking]

[KTPhil]

If you look closely at the boot before you install it, you will see the thickness is not the same all around. It is thinner/thicker at various "clock" positions. It was engineered to resist tearing and stretching for installation at 9/3.
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