New boots are good for about 20 years so your '84 is due. I doubt that there is anything that would stick well enough to 22-year-old rubber to be of any help but if I were in such a situation as you describe, I'd try the tool dip stuff. Let us know how it works out.

__________________

"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .343,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 148,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 177,300 (2026 projected)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 668,300
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970