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Christopholi Samba Member
Joined: May 16, 2011 Posts: 234 Location: Vancouver, BC, CANADA
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Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2020 10:29 am Post subject: Rockford CV Boot Failure |
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At the beginning of 2020, I did a full rear and rebuild, including brakes, bearings, CVs and boots. I opted for the Rockford boots, as they have been described as the best available, and I wanted to make sure these lasted a good long time. My previous Moog boots lasted about 6 years. In addition, I've only driven maybe 3000kms or so since the install.
Yesterday, when I was looking under the van for unrelated reasons, I noticed that my right outer boot had torn completely, and the front of the cone had made its way up the axel. The very front of the cone on the left boot was also compromised, but not as bad. I know boots of all sorts can last forever or not at all, but I am very surprised these failed so quickly. Would this be a flaw in the boot, or an install problem?
Some stats:
- 88 Wolsfburg tintop 2.1 Manual
- Rear lift with 84 Westy springs and ~3/4" cutting board spacers and Monroe load helper shocks
- Zip tie applied at ends
I certainly need to replace these asap, but wonder if I should bother with the Rockfords, or install differently?
Thanks for any thoughts or advice.
_________________ 1988 Tintop Wolfsburg Special Edition - "Meatloaf"
RMW 2.5 Subaru, SubaruGears 5MT 4.44 w/LSD, Coast Mountain Hightop |
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Squidfish Samba Member
Joined: November 24, 2004 Posts: 336 Location: 95519
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Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2020 10:58 am Post subject: Re: Rockford CV Boot Failure |
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Frustrating beyond belief, been there! I just did Rockford's this year too and I'll have to check ours now. I'd be willing to bet it was some kind of defect.
I do know Alika Motorsports is in the final development stages of his new boot design.
Good Luck! _________________ 1985.5 - Vanagon Westfalia Weekender Wolfsburg Edition - LH8U - "Penny"
- 2.6i 5-Cylinder 10v (2004) |
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kalispell365 Samba Member
Joined: April 01, 2010 Posts: 889 Location: PNW
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Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2020 11:00 am Post subject: Re: Rockford CV Boot Failure |
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Rockford boots need to have the small end clamped or they self destruct. _________________ 1983 Diesel Vanagon Westfalia chassis with Subaru 2.2l |
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Christopholi Samba Member
Joined: May 16, 2011 Posts: 234 Location: Vancouver, BC, CANADA
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Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2020 11:03 am Post subject: Re: Rockford CV Boot Failure |
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kalispell365 wrote: |
Rockford boots need to have the small end clamped or they self destruct. |
I've read both that they should and should not be clamped. In any event, we put zip ties on at the small end. _________________ 1988 Tintop Wolfsburg Special Edition - "Meatloaf"
RMW 2.5 Subaru, SubaruGears 5MT 4.44 w/LSD, Coast Mountain Hightop |
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vwwestyman Samba Member
Joined: April 24, 2004 Posts: 5688 Location: Manhattan, Kansas, USA
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Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2020 11:04 am Post subject: Re: Rockford CV Boot Failure |
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There is a boot available from your VW dealer that is a part used on current models (so one could presume it is going to be made of better materials than many aftermarket parts, as they don't want to have warranty issues).
A guy on the Bay forums figured this out and ordered one for measurements. Then sent it to me to install and test, which I did on January 1st. Unfortunately I guess I don't drive it enough as it seems I've only put a couple thousand miles on it. I guess this will be a long-term science project!
But just now I crawled under and took a look. All four boots I installed that day are looking fantastic.
Details from when I installed it.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=9244822#9244822 _________________ Dave Cook
President, Wild Westerner Club
1978 Champagne Edition Westy, repowered to '97 Jetta TDI
1973 Wild Westerner
My Thing |
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ALIKA T3 Samba Member
Joined: July 30, 2009 Posts: 6361 Location: Honolulu,Hawaii and France
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Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2020 11:06 am Post subject: Re: Rockford CV Boot Failure |
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gonewesty4good wrote: |
Frustrating beyond belief, been there! I just did Rockford's this year too and I'll have to check ours now. I'd be willing to bet it was some kind of defect.
I do know Alika Motorsports is in the final development stages of his new boot design.
Good Luck! |
The boots are about to get molded as we speak.
I still gotta find somebody to make the CNC flanges at an affordable price.
The whole thing won`t be cheap, but my goal is to warranty it a few years, I dunno how many yet,but so you get what you pay for, it will be easier to swallow the high price tag. I would have to test them first and monitor if my new design prove right. _________________ Silicone Steering Boots and 930 Cv boots for sale in the classifieds.
Syncro transmission upgrade parts in the Classifieds.
Subaru EJ22+UN1 5 speed transmission
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=416343
Syncro http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4...num+gadget |
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Sodo Samba Member
Joined: July 06, 2007 Posts: 9620 Location: Western WA
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Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2020 11:10 am Post subject: Re: Rockford CV Boot Failure |
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Christopholi wrote: |
the front of the cone had made its way up the axel.
.......
or install differently?
Thanks for any thoughts or advice. |
My brother is fussing with his chinese axles right now (20,000 miles and boots falling apart) and noted that his Toyota has 330,000 miles on original boots, CVs and grease too!
As with many many VW problems user error can be a significant factor. User error combined with lesser part quality will compound the problems. I am hearing about Lobro boots not lasting, but how many of those failures are due to installation error?
For awhile there was a Samba 'custom' to NOT clamp the boots, or to just use a zip-tie around the boot. It's possible that this method can work awhile with a soft boot, but I think zip-ties or none is mostly a convenience for DIYs who don't have the special tool or techniques to properly set the steel boot clamp.
This allows the first pleat of the boot to touch the axle. It wears on the rubber on the inside, eventually becoming so thin that the boot separates at the first pleat. If you look at the area of separation and if it's worn to a sharp edge until separation, you can conclude this was the problem.
This is more of a problem with the stiff Rockfords. The supplied metal clamps that come with the Rockfords should be used to keep the first pleat more aligned with the axle, and never touching it.
The first boot pleat will rub harder on the axle if the van has been lifted.
If your outboard (wheel) CV boot isn't clamped, note that water can run down the axle and there is a 'sucking action' that draws water into the boot. _________________
'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb |
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MarkWard Samba Member
Joined: February 09, 2005 Posts: 17155 Location: Retired South Florida
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Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2020 11:24 am Post subject: Re: Rockford CV Boot Failure |
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Lobro with maybe 10 miles on them. All they did was sit in the parking lot.
No inner clamps. Back in the day, we were leaving the small clamp off. The autobahn boots had plenty of tension around the cv shaft. What we found though, was the boots actually needed to "breathe" As they heated and cooled you needed a way for the pressure to equalize. It was not uncommon to see a boot that had "sucked" in on itself.
On the race car, we actually inserted sections of the red straw that comes on WD 40 type cans. We had CV boots actually pop from the pressure build up.
Fast forward, the Lobro boots definitely need something to keep the casting seam from splitting. Disappointing to hear the Rockford boots are failing. They were supposed to be the ultimate solution. _________________ ☮️ |
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jlrftype7 Samba Member
Joined: July 24, 2018 Posts: 3582 Location: Chicago
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Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2020 11:28 am Post subject: Re: Rockford CV Boot Failure |
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Were these 3 or 4 pleat boots. I think someone posted having trouble with the 3 pleat Rockford boots at one point in the last 12 months. _________________ '68 Westy- my first VW and vehicle/Bus- long gone.- sold it to a traveling Swiss couple....
'67 Type 3 Fastback, my 2nd car- gone
'69 Semi-Auto Stick Shift Beetle-gone
2017 MINI Coopers, our current DDs
‘84 Tin Top - Hilga....Auto |
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ALIKA T3 Samba Member
Joined: July 30, 2009 Posts: 6361 Location: Honolulu,Hawaii and France
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Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2020 11:34 am Post subject: Re: Rockford CV Boot Failure |
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Sodo wrote: |
Christopholi wrote: |
the front of the cone had made its way up the axel.
.......
or install differently?
Thanks for any thoughts or advice. |
My brother is fussing with his chinese axles right now (20,000 miles and boots falling apart) and noted that his Toyota has 330,000 miles on original boots, CVs and grease too!
As with many many VW problems user error can be a significant factor. User error combined with lesser part quality will compound the problems. I am hearing about Lobro boots not lasting, but how many of those failures are due to installation error?
For awhile there was a Samba 'custom' to NOT clamp the boots, or to just use a zip-tie around the boot. It's possible that this method can work awhile with a soft boot, but I think zip-ties or none is mostly a convenience for DIYs who don't have the special tool or techniques to properly set the steel boot clamp.
This allows the first pleat of the boot to touch the axle. It wears on the rubber on the inside, eventually becoming so thin that the boot separates at the first pleat. If you look at the area of separation and if it's worn to a sharp edge until separation, you can conclude this was the problem.
This is more of a problem with the stiff Rockfords. The supplied metal clamps that come with the Rockfords should be used to keep the first pleat more aligned with the axle, and never touching it.
The first boot pleat will rub harder on the axle if the van has been lifted.
If your outboard (wheel) CV boot isn't clamped, note that water can run down the axle and there is a 'sucking action' that draws water into the boot. |
I`ve seen so many of these failures, while rubbing is a concern and it can show, what happens with todays material is it doesn`t even have time to wear through then crack, it`s the pleat ( or bellow? what`s correct in english?) valley taking all the stress angle there and cracks open no matter what, even with no rubbing mark noticeable. It`s always on the ends, you rarely see a newer boot separating in the middle.
The outer clamp does set the bellows apart and determine a lot of life expectancy, but with crappy material, it`s such a fine line between bellow space and stress from extension...
I have a set of rubber cv boots from my time capsule van, 35 years and they`re like new and they spent 3 years driving and sleeping outside in AZ before I bought the van. Now they`ve been on the road for 3 years at least here in HI on another van. Still like new. Design is important but material is as important. Factory boots were not clamped at the end, but factory axles had ridges to help.
We can talk all day about this, you won`t make any existing boot last these days no matter whether you clamp the end correctly or not clamped at all. _________________ Silicone Steering Boots and 930 Cv boots for sale in the classifieds.
Syncro transmission upgrade parts in the Classifieds.
Subaru EJ22+UN1 5 speed transmission
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=416343
Syncro http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4...num+gadget |
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Christopholi Samba Member
Joined: May 16, 2011 Posts: 234 Location: Vancouver, BC, CANADA
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Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2020 11:53 am Post subject: Re: Rockford CV Boot Failure |
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jlrftype7 wrote: |
Were these 3 or 4 pleat boots. I think someone posted having trouble with the 3 pleat Rockford boots at one point in the last 12 months. |
I go them from Van Cafe, so I believe they are the 4 pleat. _________________ 1988 Tintop Wolfsburg Special Edition - "Meatloaf"
RMW 2.5 Subaru, SubaruGears 5MT 4.44 w/LSD, Coast Mountain Hightop |
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Christopholi Samba Member
Joined: May 16, 2011 Posts: 234 Location: Vancouver, BC, CANADA
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Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2020 11:54 am Post subject: Re: Rockford CV Boot Failure |
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vwwestyman wrote: |
There is a boot available from your VW dealer that is a part used on current models (so one could presume it is going to be made of better materials than many aftermarket parts, as they don't want to have warranty issues).
A guy on the Bay forums figured this out and ordered one for measurements. Then sent it to me to install and test, which I did on January 1st. Unfortunately I guess I don't drive it enough as it seems I've only put a couple thousand miles on it. I guess this will be a long-term science project!
But just now I crawled under and took a look. All four boots I installed that day are looking fantastic.
Details from when I installed it.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=9244822#9244822 |
Thanks for the link, Dave. Unfortunately, i don't see a part number for the VW boots? Or is it just whatever the Tiguan etc. use now? _________________ 1988 Tintop Wolfsburg Special Edition - "Meatloaf"
RMW 2.5 Subaru, SubaruGears 5MT 4.44 w/LSD, Coast Mountain Hightop |
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raygreenwood Samba Member
Joined: November 24, 2008 Posts: 21520 Location: Oklahoma City
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Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2020 12:34 pm Post subject: Re: Rockford CV Boot Failure |
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ALIKA T3 wrote: |
Sodo wrote: |
Christopholi wrote: |
the front of the cone had made its way up the axel.
.......
or install differently?
Thanks for any thoughts or advice. |
My brother is fussing with his chinese axles right now (20,000 miles and boots falling apart) and noted that his Toyota has 330,000 miles on original boots, CVs and grease too!
As with many many VW problems user error can be a significant factor. User error combined with lesser part quality will compound the problems. I am hearing about Lobro boots not lasting, but how many of those failures are due to installation error?
For awhile there was a Samba 'custom' to NOT clamp the boots, or to just use a zip-tie around the boot. It's possible that this method can work awhile with a soft boot, but I think zip-ties or none is mostly a convenience for DIYs who don't have the special tool or techniques to properly set the steel boot clamp.
This allows the first pleat of the boot to touch the axle. It wears on the rubber on the inside, eventually becoming so thin that the boot separates at the first pleat. If you look at the area of separation and if it's worn to a sharp edge until separation, you can conclude this was the problem.
This is more of a problem with the stiff Rockfords. The supplied metal clamps that come with the Rockfords should be used to keep the first pleat more aligned with the axle, and never touching it.
The first boot pleat will rub harder on the axle if the van has been lifted.
If your outboard (wheel) CV boot isn't clamped, note that water can run down the axle and there is a 'sucking action' that draws water into the boot. |
I`ve seen so many of these failures, while rubbing is a concern and it can show, what happens with todays material is it doesn`t even have time to wear through then crack, it`s the pleat ( or bellow? what`s correct in english?) valley taking all the stress angle there and cracks open no matter what, even with no rubbing mark noticeable. It`s always on the ends, you rarely see a newer boot separating in the middle.
The outer clamp does set the bellows apart and determine a lot of life expectancy, but with crappy material, it`s such a fine line between bellow space and stress from extension...
I have a set of rubber cv boots from my time capsule van, 35 years and they`re like new and they spent 3 years driving and sleeping outside in AZ before I bought the van. Now they`ve been on the road for 3 years at least here in HI on another van. Still like new. Design is important but material is as important. Factory boots were not clamped at the end, but factory axles had ridges to help.
We can talk all day about this, you won`t make any existing boot last these days no matter whether you clamp the end correctly or not clamped at all. |
Actually thats not quite true. I currently have two HUGE automotive suppliers as clients. Freaking huge. Have had numerous "off-campus" conversations over the past 6 years regarding CV, ball joint and tie rod end boots. The problem is two fold....
Yes there are design issues which I will get to in a minute but these are the two main reasons .....and one partial but significant sub-reason
1. The rubber formulations changed right around the time of the last recession primarily because a key ingredient was in short supply (deep back story on why)....but suffice to say it made molding rubber parts that were tolerant to weathering, heat, ozone, solvents and grease more expensive with the most common fluoroelastomer rubber in use (Viton).
There are at bare minimum four families of Vitons each with different ultimate characteristics....and more than one formulation to make each. As these parts went offshore in search of cheaper products....they started using the alternate chemical methods.....with poor results as we have seen.
The other sub-reason....which is significant...in light of the raw material formulation problems....is GREASE SELECTION. All I can legally say here...is that I did some grease/elastomer contact testing for a large OEM automotive supplier 2.5 years ago.....and the results were stunning...and ugly.
The selection of grease and the type of oil base in it and the polarity and pH of the EP additives in it....are critical to the lifespan of the rubbers they will be used with.
So rubber formulation wise....you can get attack from the outside from a combination of weathering, salts and ozone and attack from the inside from improper grease selection.
2. Because of the cost availability issue....these same companies being the same ones that make boots for OEM's....when asked WHY the same part number made by the same manufacturer ....bought through say a FLAPS.....versus being bought through say a dealer.....have such HUGE lifespan differences.....the answer I have been given is ......VOLUME. This affects the ability of the company that orders the parts....to afford tooling and raw materials.
You CAN still get premium rubber formulations ....but you will not get them for cheap unless you are buying trainloads of parts. The OEM's...meaning for instance VW
/Audi group.....they buy their boots from these same companies at millions parts at a time...even if delivered across 5 years. They are effectively buying "futures" in parts.
Their volume discount is so high....they can DEMAND the best quality and molding with NEW tooling. Buying a couple of train cars of the right rubber formulation....makes it affordable.
And....VW and Audi are NOT willing to pay for replacing your axle boots under THEIR warranty time and cost....so they buy the best for the original build and for dealer stocks.....all at one time.
And....they get them for affordable cost with quality molding....because they own the tooling.
The FLAPS cannot compete for the same material and molding quality even when made on the same production line by the same company.
For reference.....I just changed belts and tensioners on my 2012 Golf this past weekend. Its boots are pristine....it has 182,000 miles on it and has lived coast to coast from 100+ weather here in Texas and OK to sub zero with magnesium treatment on the roads up in Iowa. Pristine boots. My 2006 Jetta had the same result.
I have rarely had ANY lifespan/material troubles over the past 10 years on ANY original build OEM boots.
Ok...the design issues:
The problem (in my opinion)....is partly the design of CV boots as YOU probably agree as you would not be designing your own (as I also am). I have not seen your design....but the biggest problem I see is that PLEATS....are stupid.
They "seem" to be necessary in order to have axles that have a wide range of movement...right? And the more pleats....the less stress across the valleys of the pleats at extreme range of motion....right?...at least this is the theory.
Except that pleats have several problems.
1. Once grease gets pushed out of the bearing....it settles behind the first pleat. It never gets back to the bearing unless it gets hot enough to flow. And when it gets that hot (near the drop point)....its TOO HOT for the rubber formulation in most boots...so pleats are stupid for lubrication.
2. Pleats require at minimum a three part mold. That means that in order to have correct rubber cross section across the peaks and valleys in the pleats.....shape and alignment of the mold cores is critical. Its an expensive mold and alignment i hard to maintain as it wears (which molds do).
In reality....if you want to see boot types that have an even greater range of motion than CV joints....and have no pleats.....simply look at PTO boots (power take off unit) on industrial and farm equipment.
They are more similar in design to ball joint boots....spherical....with a cuff on the shaft.
They lubricate better because they are FULLY packed with grease so that grease cannot back out of the bearing or joint.
They survive this mild internal pressure and centrifugal force by being REINFORCED and made of better rubber.
The other design items that have been showing up....and this is smart if the "correct" rubber is just too expensive now....is multi-layer molding. Its easier to make an outer layer of a rubber or thin plastic layer that works for weathering and an inner layer of rubber or plastic that works better with heat, oils and grease.
We first saw this in the new shock/strut boots over the past 7-8 years. They use a THIN....so it stays flexible...polypropylene or similar outer shell...and a neoprene or similar rubber that is oil resistant inside.
See...thats another problem. With the issues of expensive fluoroelastomers like viton...which used to be the go-to rubber for something like a CV boot....you see people changing to rubbers like Neoprene. While its great with most oils....it can have problems with some synthetic oils...and its temp rating is poor compared to viton.
Yes...teh CV boots need to be changed in design and materials. I am working on prototypes myself. Ray |
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vwwestyman Samba Member
Joined: April 24, 2004 Posts: 5688 Location: Manhattan, Kansas, USA
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Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2020 12:45 pm Post subject: Re: Rockford CV Boot Failure |
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Christopholi wrote: |
vwwestyman wrote: |
There is a boot available from your VW dealer that is a part used on current models (so one could presume it is going to be made of better materials than many aftermarket parts, as they don't want to have warranty issues).
A guy on the Bay forums figured this out and ordered one for measurements. Then sent it to me to install and test, which I did on January 1st. Unfortunately I guess I don't drive it enough as it seems I've only put a couple thousand miles on it. I guess this will be a long-term science project!
But just now I crawled under and took a look. All four boots I installed that day are looking fantastic.
Details from when I installed it.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=9244822#9244822 |
Thanks for the link, Dave. Unfortunately, i don't see a part number for the VW boots? Or is it just whatever the Tiguan etc. use now? |
I wish I had put that in my original post, but it is in the page prior (which I think I mention). Anyway, the part number is (per the guy who sent it to me):
1K0498201
And a link to his post after acquiring the boot, with a lot of pics:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=9227602#9227602 _________________ Dave Cook
President, Wild Westerner Club
1978 Champagne Edition Westy, repowered to '97 Jetta TDI
1973 Wild Westerner
My Thing |
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vwwestyman Samba Member
Joined: April 24, 2004 Posts: 5688 Location: Manhattan, Kansas, USA
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Sodo Samba Member
Joined: July 06, 2007 Posts: 9620 Location: Western WA
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Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2020 2:52 pm Post subject: Re: Rockford CV Boot Failure |
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NLA
I’m always late to the party. _________________
'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb |
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Steve Arndt Samba Member
Joined: August 01, 2005 Posts: 1780 Location: Boise, Idaho
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raygreenwood Samba Member
Joined: November 24, 2008 Posts: 21520 Location: Oklahoma City
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Sodo Samba Member
Joined: July 06, 2007 Posts: 9620 Location: Western WA
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Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2020 3:28 pm Post subject: Re: Rockford CV Boot Failure |
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raygreenwood wrote: |
Nah...just maybe shopping in the wrong place!
Here ECS tuning has them....they stock LOTS of genuine VW parts
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Looks like a different part with mostly the same partnumber 1K0498201.
https://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/1K0498201/
I don't see any OEM boots with the flange. _________________
'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb |
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raygreenwood Samba Member
Joined: November 24, 2008 Posts: 21520 Location: Oklahoma City
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Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2020 7:54 am Post subject: Re: Rockford CV Boot Failure |
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Are your original flanges crimped or clamped?
Its worth giving ECS a call and asking them about the part. Their pictures are usually accurate to real stock but you never know.
Ray |
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