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T3TRIS
Samba Member
Joined: October 30, 2017
Posts: 299
Location: Portland, OR
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 Posted: Thu Jun 11, 2020 5:25 pm Post subject: CV Boot warning, check your metal ear clamp & avoid boot failure |
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Hey everyone, just a heads up to check your CV boots before installing them (ours were Rockford boots but others might have the same issue) and be careful or you might poke a hole in the rubber.
The pinch part of the metal ear clamp that holds the boot to the ring was lined up with one of the CV bolt holes. It made it very hard to slide the bolt through and I ended up poking a hole in the boot itself by pinching the rubber between the CV bolt head and the raised part of the metal ear clamp.
I only noticed when I went back under the van to double check the torques and there was some fresh grease all over.
Last edited by T3TRIS on Thu Jun 11, 2020 9:47 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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markswagen
Samba Member
Joined: January 28, 2018
Posts: 1038
Location: san diego
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| Posted: Thu Jun 11, 2020 5:46 pm Post subject: Re: Rockford CV Boot warning! |
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i've had 2 that have had the clamp in a bad spot, out of a dozen sets now.
with care the clamp can be slid around, out of the way, it's not difficult.
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markswagen {mobile mechanic} san diego area all early VW's cared for.
619 201 0310 |
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old_man
Samba Member
Joined: June 19, 2018
Posts: 1381
Location: Newfoundland
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| Posted: Thu Jun 11, 2020 6:24 pm Post subject: Re: Rockford CV Boot warning! |
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| The threads of your bolt look a little worn. |
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khughes
Samba Member
Joined: July 13, 2013
Posts: 747
Location: Phoenix AZ
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| Posted: Thu Jun 11, 2020 6:45 pm Post subject: Re: Rockford CV Boot warning! |
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Thanks for the Tip! I have new CVs and Rockford boots waiting for install and that's good to know. I likely would not have noticed either. Would've been some serious gluteal chapping going on...
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'86 Westy FAS GenV Turbo (Marvin) |
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Syncronoid
Samba Member
Joined: January 21, 2012
Posts: 1111
Location: Stanford, CA and Bend, OR
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| Posted: Thu Jun 11, 2020 8:24 pm Post subject: Re: Rockford CV Boot warning! |
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It's a simple adjustment any competent mechanic could/should address during install. I don't think it's a Rockford-specific problem, but likely just an oversight that got through QA. Do we really need to call out a warning on a specific brand?
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'90 Syncro Westy w/GW2.5L |
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T3TRIS
Samba Member
Joined: October 30, 2017
Posts: 299
Location: Portland, OR
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| Posted: Thu Jun 11, 2020 9:26 pm Post subject: Re: Rockford CV Boot warning! |
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| Syncronoid wrote: |
| It's a simple adjustment any competent mechanic could/should address during install. I don't think it's a Rockford-specific problem, but likely just an oversight that got through QA. Do we really need to call out a warning on a specific brand? |
Good point! I changed the title to make a little less specific.
As far as being a simple adjustment, I wouldn’t necessarily agree.
I’ve never been mechanically inclined but since we’ve owned the Vanagon, I’ve dropped a couple engines (the one in the van and one in my Subaru -unrelated), removed our transaxle and front diff and sent it out to get rebuilt, I’ve revamped the entire engine bay, learned how to fix rust and even weld a little (though it’s ugly), I’ve rebuilt our Syncro gas tank and replaced all fuel lines, I’ve reinstalled the whole darn thing back together adding gauges, redoing harnesses, cleaning things up, troubleshooting and fixing dozens of weird issues, I’ve replaced some bushings, a variety of boots, brakes, etc etc. I wouldn’t consider myself an accomplished mechanic but I think I’m probably more competent at this point than the average Vanagon owner. And it seems that the CV boot/joint deal is a right of passage in Vanagon ownership, something that much less experienced owners might tackle.
With that said, I completely missed that little metal ear clamp pinching potential! I won’t in the future, but I missed it nonetheless and it made a mess that could’ve been worse of course. I also COULDN’T twist that boot on the ring without tinkering with the clamp, and I tried. It was tight.
Also, that boot WAS installed by someone I’d consider a competent mechanic. Before I tinkered with all this, we had our rear joints replaced with 944 and I asked the mechanic to use the Rockford boots. He didn’t think twice and installed them without an issue. Maybe that’s where he was competent and I wasn’t.
I love the Rockford boot, I replaced ours with another Rockford boot! I’m also going to give them a call at some point to let them know. Maybe it’s not something they check for.
Anyhow, I hope this post can help others avoid that issue that I believe is easily missed.
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Guillaume, Jennifer & T3TRIS
87 2-knob Syncro
- 94 Subaru EJ22, 225/70-R16 CLK 16x7 ET37
- Transaxle rebuild, Mexico paint job, Front end rebuild, 320Ah LiFePO4 Battery |
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T3TRIS
Samba Member
Joined: October 30, 2017
Posts: 299
Location: Portland, OR
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| Posted: Thu Jun 11, 2020 9:27 pm Post subject: Re: Rockford CV Boot warning! |
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| old_man wrote: |
| The threads of your bolt look a little worn. |
Thanks for the note, these were new but I used another set regardless!
_________________
Guillaume, Jennifer & T3TRIS
87 2-knob Syncro
- 94 Subaru EJ22, 225/70-R16 CLK 16x7 ET37
- Transaxle rebuild, Mexico paint job, Front end rebuild, 320Ah LiFePO4 Battery |
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old_man
Samba Member
Joined: June 19, 2018
Posts: 1381
Location: Newfoundland
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| Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2020 2:43 am Post subject: Re: Rockford CV Boot warning! |
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| T3TRIS wrote: |
| old_man wrote: |
| The threads of your bolt look a little worn. |
Thanks for the note, these were new but I used another set regardless! |
I could be wrong of the picture could be showing something that is not there. |
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djkeev
Samba Moderator
Joined: September 30, 2007
Posts: 32625
Location: Reading Pennsylvania
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