Polyurethane Replacement Boots???

[jhuerta22]

Just wondering if anyone has ever used Polyurethane boots on their suspension parts (tie rods, end links, ball joints, etc.) They seem to work well for bushings, but I'm not sure about for the ball joints. I need a replacement as I have a punctured boot on my LBJ and would rather not have to purchase another OEM LBJ just to replace a boot.

 

[AntleredRuin]

How old are the LBJs?
If you don't know, replace them.
If over 100k, replace them.

Pretty much, replace them. Don't mess around with the LBJs, just replace them. Such a potentially catastrophic point of failure, that if you notice any issue at all, replace them.

You can get OEM new for around $85 each. Not too bad, and most definitely better than your wheel falling off.

 

[jhuerta22]

How old are the LBJs?
If you don't know, replace them.
If over 100k, replace them.

Pretty much, replace them. Don't mess around with the LBJs, just replace them. Such a potentially catastrophic point of failure, that if you notice any issue at all, replace them.

You can get OEM new for around $85 each. Not too bad, and most definitely better than your wheel falling off.

LBJ's were installed about a year ago with less than 20K on them. They look great aside from a little grease seeping out. Further investigation found the puncture mark from something I picked up in a field somewhere. I figured if I could replace the boot with something a little more substantial I wouldn't have to check them every time I went hunting or drove on field stubble.

 

[AntleredRuin]

LBJ's were installed about a year ago with less than 20K on them. They look great aside from a little grease seeping out. Further investigation found the puncture mark from something I picked up in a field somewhere. I figured if I could replace the boot with something a little more substantial I wouldn't have to check them every time I went hunting or drove on field stubble.

My concern is that if the puncture has been there for a while, it could have been pretty 'grease-barren' for a while, which significantly weakens the LBJ.
Regreasing/rebooting might not be good enough.

 

[jhuerta22]

Very true. I can pop off the cap and see what it looks like. This will be the 3rd time replacing the ball joint, so it should be fairly easy for me.

Consequently, I found this design kind of interesting. Still Moog.

Moog's Integral Dust Boot - Aftermarket Suspension Parts

 

[Chuckles89]

I have these on my OTREs. I would not put them on a lower ball joint. I change out the grease whenever I have them off for other suspension work and the grease is usually brown.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/178792-chuckles-98-manual-sr5-4runner-11.html#post1930494

 

[nobb]

Are you talking about the Energy polyurethane boots? They are extremely durable and I am using them on another vehicle in which the tie rod end boots cracked. The problem is, they are slip on only, which over time allows for water/dirt to get in. I had to do a drill + tap on the tie rod in order to push grease in regularly to flush out the joint.

 

[ChildrenOfBodom]

The thing is that Energy Suspension does not offer an application specific boot for this platform, you would be using a universal boot at that point. I have them on my tie rods.

They will definitely outlast any rubber boots but as mentioned, they don't seal along the bottom edge, instead slide over. I have yet to have contamination issues, but I've only had mine on for a few months. The old boots were torn and there was plenty of crap already in them, so this was an upgrade.

I work for Energy Suspension, ask me anything

Kit # 9.13101R