zip ties for CV boots?

[vwlovr]

okay, so i'm doing my front end. new CVs, bearings, and big brake upgrade.

after much cursing, i get the outer CVs off and go to put on the new ones. get them on, get the boots around them. then i got to attach the metal strap clamps around the boot. the only problem is both clamps small and large are totally loose when attached. and they only have one setting really, if you try tighter, the little bumps interfere with the the clamp. kind of hard to describe. but i'm not sure what to do. they are clearly too lose to be effective. the inner CV had a similar type clamp and it holds on great.

so, for the larger side of the boot i tried using two zip ties to see if it would work. i got them on tight enough that i couldn't spin the boot, but i'm not sure it's a good solution. seems kinda dumb. should i go find another clamp? or try something else? wrap the clamping area with something so the clamp is actually tight? the boots are a bit different then the ones i had so i can't reuse the old clamps.

anyone else ever run into this?

[Terry Kay]

<<anyone else ever run into this?>>


No, But I have used Nylon Ties for CV boots many times.

Works mighty fine.
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T.K.

[foodeater]

There are special pliers for those clamps, I dont have them, and I cant remember the work around that I used. But I feel like I may have pinched the clamps after they were locked in place. so there were a couple of "U's" or bumps in the clamp. It was about 6 years ago when I changed the CVs on my Syncro (R.I.P. ).
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[dpdunrite]

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_009998940...921x00003a

Sears sells these

DP
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[vwlovr]

[climberjohn]

Here is a very detailed tech article from our pals at Van Cafe that talks about this very topic.

http://www.van-cafe.com/?ip=1150562894&pa=ip

from the article:
"-Large zip ties (boots may come with metal clamps—use them if you like, but the zip ties are much easier to use, don’t require a special tool to use them, and are less likely to cut into the boot)"

So it looks like zip ties work just fine. Check out this article, as it seems very informative.
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'86 Westy, 2.5 Subaru power
Know your limits. Exceed them often.

[Christopher Schimke]

I tried zip-ties on the front outer CVs of my wifes BMW and although the boot never came off, I would continually find small spots of CV grease on the front wheels. What I found out was that when turning full lock, when the CVs were fully extened on one side and fully contracted on the other, the zip-ties were distorting just enough to allow a small amount of grease to escape. I replaced the zip-ties with the proper metal CV clamps and have not had any further issues.

I guess what I am saying is that I think that zip-ties are perfectly fine for inner CVs on the front and both inner and outer on the rear, but not so much for the out front. There is just too much articulation at the out fronts.
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[vwlovr]

[candyman]

i have been using zip ties on cvs for years. I used to use the worm type clamps, but those seem to come loose before the zipties. i always carry spare zip ties and check them peridocally. Seven years using them and no problems yet. I say, if it works stick with it.

[Pascal]

I got my zip ties from a boat repar shop. They use special ones for fuel lines that have the locking block of the zip tie that are countoured to fit tightly around round fuel lines. Works great for me, but I only use them on the rear of my 2wd Westy.
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