Axle boots - Page 12 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Assault · #**166** 10-02-2018, 12:24 AM

A while back I emailed CVJ for a quote on 300SD homokinetic joint (they say the good ones

)

The price is $400 (a pair) with return shipping + you shipping your cores to them to rebuild, otherwise 75$ core charge per axle.

However, they do a whole lot more than slipping the boot on, they re-balance it out, clean up the shaft ends, dissemble the whole unit clean it out etc. It like getting brand new axles. Plus you can send them OEM boots and they will install them (i didnt ask but would prob. credit the bill)

tangofox007 · #**167** 10-02-2018, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Assault

A while back I emailed CVJ for a quote on 300SD homokinetic joint (they say the good ones

)

The price is $400 with return shipping + you shipping your cores to them to rebuild, otherwise 75$ core charge per axle.

Presumably the $400 price is not per axle.

Assault · #**168** 10-02-2018, 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tangofox007

Presumably the $400 price is not per axle.

Correct

Updated original post

ykobayashi · #**169** 10-02-2018, 02:35 PM

That sounds like a reasonable price if they do a good job. I paid $180 each for rebuilt Cardone from Kragens years ago which worked out okay.

So woe is me. I got a replacement 614 -002 silicone Dorman boot and I expanded it on my air tool and guess what.

Pop.

. I didn’t even get it to 75% to the desired diameter and it split. Right at the narrow side. Same failure mode.

That’s it. All the Dorman stuff is going back. Not for replacement. For cash. I’m done with them. I got an order in for several Astoria boots. I’ll report back when I mount them.

ROLLGUY · #**170** 10-02-2018, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tangofox007

I bought this Astoria 2000 assortment for $90 with a new customer discount. Sold what I didn't need on Ebay. In the end, I got the boots that I needed for free and came out ahead money-wise on the rest.

https://mobiledistributorsupply.com/flexx-boot-start-up-kit-1.html

I just placed my order. I had to order something else to bring it over $100 to get free shipping. I ordered a $2.99 pair of hose pliers. If I would have purchased just four boots from Astoria, it would have been more than $100 with shipping. I am sure I will be able to use all the boots supplied with the kit. That will come out to half the cost of a set of boots directly from Astoria.......Rich

Diesel911 · #**171** 10-02-2018, 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROLLGUY

By "pretty good" I assume for them, not the customer. Yes they probably are the best boot available, but they are $25 each. That is $100 just for the boots for one of our cars! I am sure they too are made in China, and I can't imagine them costing more than $1 each to produce. That is why I would like to find a less expensive route for re-booting. I may have to "bite the bullet" and spend the big bucks though, it is looking like the cheaper alternatives are not working.......Rich

I believe the Astoria Flexx Boots come with nicer clamps and a larger packet of grease.

ykobayashi · #**172** 10-02-2018, 04:17 PM

Yeah that is quite a deal. It’ll be a long time (I hope) before I use that many.

It’s really a shame what happened to the Dorman quality. I used to really like their system. The near 100% failure rate I’ve experienced is eye popping. My car is still up on stands. I guess I’ll find something else to fix while I wait for my Astorias.

ROLLGUY · #**173** 10-02-2018, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diesel911

I believe the Astoria Flexx Boots come with nicer clamps and a larger packet of grease.

Yes they do. I recently bought a pair of clamp tools from Amazon. One for each style of boot clamp.

Diesel911 · #**174** 10-03-2018, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ykobayashi

That sounds like a reasonable price if they do a good job. I paid $180 each for rebuilt Cardone from Kragens years ago which worked out okay.

So woe is me. I got a replacement 614 -002 silicone Dorman boot and I expanded it on my air tool and guess what.

Pop.

. I didn’t even get it to 75% to the desired diameter and it split. Right at the narrow side. Same failure mode.

That’s it. All the Dorman stuff is going back. Not for replacement. For cash. I’m done with them. I got an order in for several Astoria boots. I’ll report back when I mount them.

Thanks for you willingness to experiment with the silicone boots.

ykobayashi · #**175** 10-04-2018, 06:43 PM

Yep. Its a sad state of affairs. The car is up on stands. I've done several returns and I've blown through 3 silicone boots. I have one on the car. 3/4. That's a pretty bad failure rate. I'm not impressed.

So the silicone ones didn't just pop like the neoprene ones. The neoprene just split as I opened them up on the air tool. The Silicone ones were tougher but they tore as I put them on as well...they just lasted a few seconds more.

The last one I tore was so stiff I couldn't open it up enough to get it around the CV with my compressor. I was putting out 100 psi which is what the tool is spec'd for. It wouldn't open up enough. This was odd because on the boot that did work 90 psi was sufficient to open it up to the diameter of the can. So there is some inconsistency there in the rubber. So I sat there staring at it wondering if I should turn up my regulator then "pop" it broke at the small end. Wow. Just wow.

I'm really looking forward to my Astorias showing up. I am so bummed out. I've totally lost all confidence in this system. In the past I've had great success with this tool.

I guess the next logical path if the Astorias don't work out is getting the OPP half shafts from Pelican and just starting over fresh. There's always a way.

ROLLGUY · #**176** 10-04-2018, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ykobayashi

Yep. Its a sad state of affairs. The car is up on stands. I've done several returns and I've blown through 3 silicone boots. I have one on the car. 3/4. That's a pretty bad failure rate. I'm not impressed.

So the silicone ones didn't just pop like the neoprene ones. The neoprene just split as I opened them up on the air tool. The Silicone ones were tougher but they tore as I put them on as well...they just lasted a few seconds more.

The last one I tore was so stiff I couldn't open it up enough to get it around the CV with my compressor. I was putting out 100 psi which is what the tool is spec'd for. It wouldn't open up enough. This was odd because on the boot that did work 90 psi was sufficient to open it up to the diameter of the can. So there is some inconsistency there in the rubber. So I sat there staring at it wondering if I should turn up my regulator then "pop" it broke at the small end. Wow. Just wow.

I'm really looking forward to my Astorias showing up. I am so bummed out. I've totally lost all confidence in this system. In the past I've had great success with this tool.

I guess the next logical path if the Astorias don't work out is getting the OPP half shafts from Pelican and just starting over fresh. There's always a way.

Believe me, the Astoria boots will work just fine. I ordered up that starter kit, and it was less than $100 delivered (I had to buy a cheap tool to get the cost over $100 to get free shipping). I will use four of the boots on the set of axles I have ready to go, and maybe the other four on two other axles I have. The rack boots I will eventually find a use for. Without using the rack boots, it will be about $12 each for the 8 boots. That is pretty good IMO......Rich

Diesel911 · #**177** 10-05-2018, 12:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ykobayashi

Yep. Its a sad state of affairs. The car is up on stands. I've done several returns and I've blown through 3 silicone boots. I have one on the car. 3/4. That's a pretty bad failure rate. I'm not impressed.

So the silicone ones didn't just pop like the neoprene ones. The neoprene just split as I opened them up on the air tool. The Silicone ones were tougher but they tore as I put them on as well...they just lasted a few seconds more.

The last one I tore was so stiff I couldn't open it up enough to get it around the CV with my compressor. I was putting out 100 psi which is what the tool is spec'd for. It wouldn't open up enough. This was odd because on the boot that did work 90 psi was sufficient to open it up to the diameter of the can. So there is some inconsistency there in the rubber. So I sat there staring at it wondering if I should turn up my regulator then "pop" it broke at the small end. Wow. Just wow.

I'm really looking forward to my Astorias showing up. I am so bummed out. I've totally lost all confidence in this system. In the past I've had great success with this tool.

I guess the next logical path if the Astorias don't work out is getting the OPP half shafts from Pelican and just starting over fresh. There's always a way.

Look at that attached picture. Because of the fingers on the pneumatic tool need to have a certain thickness to them you have to spread out the boot more then you would if you used a cone type tool or an ATF funnel.

Notice in the other pic that the Cone is actually smaller in diameter then the crimp on the Can.

Diesel911 · #**178** 10-05-2018, 01:23 PM

Some one suggested that you fold the boot in on itself when you install it on the tool. The suggestion came after I was done with the job so I did not get to test it. See attached pic

ROLLGUY · #**179** 10-05-2018, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diesel911

Some one suggested that you fold the boot in on itself when you install it on the tool. The suggestion came after I was done with the job so I did not get to test it. See attached pic

I am not sure what benefit that would be, since the small end still needs to be stretched over the can. If the large end was folded over so it is even with the small end, it would probably still tear. Something else to think about: The pneumatic tool may not have enough strength to stretch two thicknesses of boot. The boot would need to be at the very tip of the fingers at the start, and that is where the least amount of leverage is in the tool.

Graham · #**180** 10-05-2018, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diesel911

Some one suggested that you fold the boot in on itself when you install it on the tool. The suggestion came after I was done with the job so I did not get to test it. See attached pic

I remember something like that, but wasn't it so that the small ends would end up pointing opposite ways?