Swing Axle boots, Empi

[zerotofifty]

Are the Empi swing axle urethane accordion style boots any good? Long lasting rubber? Good leak free fit? Are these the best around to buy?

see link ...
https://www.jbugs.com/product/9984.html?rrec=true

Thank You!!!
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[gringoloco2000]

They are crap. They crack soon and tend to leak. I like some from Brazil. Can't recall the brand but they are better.
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'68 Rust Bucket

[Erik G]

[b-man]

If some manufacturer would step up to the plate and produce a quality swing axle boot made of actual rubber that would last 10+ years I’d gladly pay $50 each. I’m sure they’d sell a ton of them if they did.

Pictured below is a new German boot sourced from one of the major suppliers that cost about $15 each. Within one years time one had already cracked open on the top. I did my best to use the correct procedure, waiting until I had the full weight of my ‘56 bus on the suspension before normalizing the position of the boot on the axle tube and then finally snugging down the axle tube hose clamp. It wasn’t leaking but of course it was not doing its job as a dust boot at this point, I drove the bus a few thousand miles like this.

I was replacing the starter and rear main seal so this was my opportunity to have easy access to the axle boots, however knowing all the split replacement boots currently available are pure shit I was struggling with what to use.

I remembered the boots on a 1957 split case that I had pulled off of a rolling pan I had purchased to rebuild my ‘57 oval window might still have some decent boots on it.

While I was scrubbing down the transaxle before storing it away I had been careful not to damage the boots by loosen the outer clamps to allow the axle tubes to rotate without over stressing or tearing the boots. So I decided to get a closer look at them.

They actually looked pretty decent and useable so I removed them and wiped them down with a rag and then cleaned them up using a toothbrush and full-strength Simple Green.

VW logo.

Manufacturer’s name and part number.

I took all these photos because I just had to document having the good fortune of actually finding some ancient German genuine VW replacement boots that were in such nice useable condition. The fact that I had to resort to rescuing and reusing what are probably 40+ year old parts says a lot about the poor quality of the rubber used on just about every kind of automotive suspension replacement part offered today.

These boots exhibit absolutely no cracking whatsoever and are soft and supple. I installed them without any sealer with the seams pointing upwards at 12 o’clock since I didn’t want to stress them in a different direction from where they had previously been installed.

I really had second thoughts about going swing axle just not wanting to deal with the axle boot and axle seal issues but I couldn’t bring myself to not go with a traditional short axle swing setup on my ‘57 build. Unfortunately the only decent boots currently available are the one piece boots, I asked my transaxle builder Scott at Metalcraft Motorsports and he pretty much confirmed that during my visit to his shop.

I sure hope these ones last me a while.
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1956 Dove Blue Panel
1966 Velvet Green Single Cab
1957 L41 Black Oval Window Beetle

[EverettB]

I'd use those used ones too. My 63 has the originals still on it and they look mint.

I don't trust the 1-piece boots either though.

I had that done when I had the trans rebuilt in my '61 Bus and they still rotted out after a year or so.
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[Busstom]

I've got some Febis that I got from BFY Obsolete back in 2002...I opened one up in ~2006 and messed with it a bit, the other is still in the bag. No cracks or rotting at all. Still unused.

I suspect these pre-date the lack of (deletion of) key ingredients in the compound, and presume they'd be just fine to use. Unless it's an environmental aspect (ozone or gear oil, etc) that causes them to go bad. As I mentioned in one of the several other axle boot threads, my theory is they cheapened up the process by deleting a key (expensive) ingredient, that's always the first thing they do to increase profit margins/reduce front end costs in manufacturing.

But I think I'll run them...soon.
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[heimlich]

I've got 1,000+ pieces of the split boot. They are all Genuine VW. I'm about to toss them all. The rubber is very nice but it appears to have shrunk just enough to make it hard to fit. Anyone have any ideas? I really hate the idea of throwing them out.
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[b-man]

[heimlich]

[esde]

The issue as it was explained to me, is to keep prices competitive, products need to be made at a certain speed. So, the modern rubber compounds are made to demold at a certain speed and with a calculated amount of accelerator. However, once you take the products away from an OEM manufacturer were quality control is strict, you will get factories that add extra accelerator or kick the products off at a high heat. Stuff like this ends up causing shrinkage and/or a rubber that a dries out prematurely. And here we are..
And for the batch that have all shrunk, how were they previously stored? If they were in a hot storage space, and not sealed in bags.... it seems to speed up the process. I have some body seals that were opened and then put back in the box 10 years ago. The ones that were opened are too small to use now
I bet Ray Greenwood could school us with some real knowledge on the subject
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