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rubber boots on your shocks?

thebluebuffalo

thebluebuffalo

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Kentucky
who has the rubber boots on there shocks? what are the pros and cons to having them or not having them?
 
when i worked at les schwab they told me the pros and cons.

pros
keep dirt and crap off of them so that they dont get scored by rocks and what not

cons
they have the ability to hold water in them when you get in the mud and what not, causing the shocks to rust and rot.

someone else can chime in if they have any other info on this
 
I've never used them...untill now.

The only reason is the shocks had them on already and these shocks mount with the rods upside down. I figured the protection in this case might out weight the cons.
 
jeeptorino68 said:
the boots do have drain holes so they wont hold water
Click to expand...
Doesn't mean anything, they will still retain dirt and water. The only time I would use boots would be if the shaft is on the bottom.

When I replaced one of my shocks, I put a boot on it. After letting my car sit for about a month or two while I was at school, I came home to do some work on my car. I cut off the shock boot, and water and mud came out of it.

When I put my new shocks on my front, I am going to mount them upside down, and am thinking about using boots.
 
When I put my 5150s on I used the boots. They got full of mud and crap so I just pulled them off the ring at the base of the shaft and left them that way. I dont get the standing water/mud anymore and still have the protection from dings and such...
 
the worst part about having mud accumulate within the shock boot is that coarse dirt/sand can score the surface of the piston, causing it to leak and wear out prematurely. i usually don't run 'em...
 
Slightly lower unsprung weight which will improve handling but probably irrelevant on a Jeep running larger tires, axle truss and a strong diff cover.

The biggest advantage is that it allows for static placement of larger external oil reservoirs. This enables the shock to operate in extreme duties without boiling the oil and losing its dampening capability.

Shocks are generally designed to operate in one mounting configuration. Traditional shocks mount with the canister on the axle, crossflow and remote reservoir shocks run with the canister mounted to the body.
 
Vince said:
Shocks are generally designed to operate in one mounting configuration. Traditional shocks mount with the canister on the axle, crossflow and remote reservoir shocks run with the canister mounted to the body.
Click to expand...

RR shocks may be mounted in any direction,
however, emulsion shocks (or the cheap stuff) must be mounted shaft side down....
it has to do with the floating pocket of compressed nitrogen being at the top... instead of at the bottom
anything with a floating piston between the oil and the nitrogen can be mounted however


shock boots make you look like a tool anyway
 
If you live in the salt belt you better run shock boots. I installed brand new shocks about 4 months ago with no boots, the salt on the roads rusted the shit out my shock pistions. This is why I run boots now!
My buddy has run boots on his for 2 years and wheels the piss out of it and uses it for a daily driver, He pulled up the boots to inspect them, not a bit of rust.
 
99xjclassic said:
My buddy has run boots on his for 2 years and wheels the piss out of it and uses it for a daily driver, He pulled up the boots to inspect them, not a bit of rust.
Click to expand...

Odd.

I do not run boots, never will.

regualr usage will keep any rust at bay.....of course...better shocks will also help.

Rev
 
I don't run shock boots because of the grime build up.

To protect the shock rod and it's components as well as other suspension pieces I use Boe-Shield. Great product. If I remember correctly it was designed for Boeing aircraft to protect sensitive components on plains. Good stuff!!
 
I run them, mainly because they were already on the shocks and i'm too lazy to do anything about it! I'm not really worried about then holding water cuz i run all my shocks body side up. I figure that the boot will stop gravel and crap from impacting the rods while i'm driving.
 
KG6ZJM said:
I run them, mainly because they were already on the shocks and i'm too lazy to do anything about it! I'm not really worried about then holding water cuz i run all my shocks body side up. I figure that the boot will stop gravel and crap from impacting the rods while i'm driving.
Click to expand...

does having the body side up affect the shocks proformance at all?
 
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