Shock boots and gravel

[FONT=&quot]
The rear of the XJ has a worn set of Old Man Emu shocks, with 90,000 miles on them. I had been planning on replacing them with a pair of Bilstein 5150s, same as are installed in the front.
Here's the problem.
We recently went to the Death Valley area for a week and had a great time exploring hundred of miles of dirt and gravel roads.
Getting home, I noticed that the front of the rear axle and shocks were sand blasted down to bare metal, from sand and gravel thrown by the front wheels. This is normal and happens on most weeklong desert trips. Touching up the paint is part of the regular maintenance.

So, how well does an exposed lower shock shaft handle being blasted by sand and gravel for thousands of miles?
The existing OME shocks have metal covers but the 5150s are open, unless the optional rubber boots are installed. Searching shows few using shock boots due to the buildup of mud and dirt, causing more harm than good.
5150s are not rebuildable so if a shaft is damaged, the whole shock needs to be replaced.
The XJ is my DD and gets towed behind our motor home, racking up a lot of mileage each year. I need shocks that will last many miles of varied use.
I might be better off getting another set of the OMEs or set of Bilsteins 5100/5125s, all of which have outer covers.[/FONT]

sounds like you answered your own question...

go ahead and run boots if you want to, just clamp them at the top, and cut the bottom half inch off the boots so nothing can stay in there.

vincepru said:

sounds like you answered your own question...

Click to expand...

Not really. I was looking some a real world experiences. I see a lot of Jeeps running the same roads and trails, running shocks with exposed shafts.
Maybe the shafts are so hard that gravel does not cause damage or maybe folks want to look cool and not run covers.
I have noticed on Aussie Jeep sites that gravel shields of all types are common. With most of the country's roads unpaved, gravel damage is a huge concern.
Maybe I have answered my own question; I know I probably need a shock with some type of cover.

98stocker said:

go ahead and run boots if you want to, just clamp them at the top, and cut the bottom half inch off the boots so nothing can stay in there.

Click to expand...

Now that's an interesting idea.
Thanks

i regularly am out in the southern califonia deserts such as superstition, and my rear passenger shock(RE monotube) does not have any marks or any sign of damage. i wouldnt worry about it personally, but using a boot with the bottom cut off certainly couldnt hurt.

98stocker said:

go ahead and run boots if you want to, just clamp them at the top, and cut the bottom half inch off the boots so nothing can stay in there.

Click to expand...

Do this. Your shocks will last longer.

Also, it seems like some tires kick up a lot more gravel than others. I notice my Creepy Crawlers kick up a lot more than my MT/Rs did.

I say cover them. The nicks and burrs in the shaft will eat up the seals and can cause an oil leak. Not a whole lot of mud in California anyways.

I've seen race trucks with mud flaps in front of the rear axle to prevent the sandblast effect on the whole rear suspension. They're wide, sometimes covering the whole width of the truck, usually mounted just behind the cab. Might not be practical on a DD.

There's also this:
http://www.go.jeep-xj.info/HowtoShockShields.htm
He's using them to protect the shock body, but you could fab something similar, attached to the bottom mount to protect the shock rod.