Upper ball joint poly dust boot
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 11,322
Likes: 1
From: Living in the Hartland
Upper ball joint poly dust boot
Does it pop down through the a-arm before the ball joint or does it come up from the bottom after the ball joint is in? If it comes from the bottom then the design needs to be changed because it has a ring that allows it so fit perfectly when popped in from the top.
Thanks
Thanks
Race Director
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 11,872
Likes: 12
From: Waterloo ontario Canada
Originally Posted by Fevre
Does it pop down through the a-arm before the ball joint or does it come up from the bottom after the ball joint is in? If it comes from the bottom then the design needs to be changed because it has a ring that allows it so fit perfectly when popped in from the top.
Thanks
Thanks
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 11,322
Likes: 1
From: Living in the Hartland
Norval
I am talking about the poly dust boot that is a separate peice from the actual ball joint. Maybe I am using the wrong term for it but it is poly and is what keeps the grease in around the joint.
Small pic of it apart from the ball joint (loer one pic here but still the same concept for the upper):
I am talking about the poly dust boot that is a separate peice from the actual ball joint. Maybe I am using the wrong term for it but it is poly and is what keeps the grease in around the joint.
Small pic of it apart from the ball joint (loer one pic here but still the same concept for the upper):
Instructor
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 223
Likes: 0
From: South MS
Originally Posted by Fevre
Does it pop down through the a-arm before the ball joint or does it come up from the bottom after the ball joint is in? If it comes from the bottom then the design needs to be changed because it has a ring that allows it so fit perfectly when popped in from the top.
You need to elaborate on what you mean by "before the ball joint", and "popped in from the top".
I dont get what the problem is, if you dont understand how it fits, just look at the one you are replacing.
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 11,322
Likes: 1
From: Living in the Hartland
The ball joint def is installed from the top, my question is if the a-arm is sitting up right, you take the poly boot and insert it down through the top of the a-arm, then insert the ball joint down into the boot or do you insert the ball joint down into the a-arm and boot slides up on the lower part of the ball joint that is sticking down through the a-arm. I am replacing rubber with poly and am uncertain as to whether they install the same way, no instructions are provided.
Race Director
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 11,872
Likes: 12
From: Waterloo ontario Canada
Why can't you just try it. Either way the ball joint must be seperated from the spindle. Try sliding it up from the bottom first. The groove the boot sits in is below the A arm so it should just slide up. Normally the boot is installed without the joint in the car and then the ball joint is installed from the top. That is with normal boots,
Anyway you look at it the joint needs to be seperated so it is no big deal either way.
Anyway you look at it the joint needs to be seperated so it is no big deal either way.
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 11,322
Likes: 1
From: Living in the Hartland
Thanks Norval, that is how I did the uppers and lowers def install different, no way the boot is going through the tiny hole in the lower arm. I just wanted to make 100% sure before I torq down the spindle nuts.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 8,339
Likes: 24
From: I can walk to MA
Are you saying that if you install the boot first, you end up with
a ring of poly at the top of the boot - sandwiched between the
joint and the control arm ? If so - no way - boot from the bottom.
I stuck with the rubber boots. It seems the poly boots are stiff
enough to possibly pull off under extreme travel. just my $.02
a ring of poly at the top of the boot - sandwiched between the
joint and the control arm ? If so - no way - boot from the bottom.
I stuck with the rubber boots. It seems the poly boots are stiff
enough to possibly pull off under extreme travel. just my $.02
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 11,322
Likes: 1
From: Living in the Hartland
Originally Posted by NHvette
Are you saying that if you install the boot first, you end up with
a ring of poly at the top of the boot - sandwiched between the
joint and the control arm ? If so - no way - boot from the bottom.
I stuck with the rubber boots. It seems the poly boots are stiff
enough to possibly pull off under extreme travel. just my $.02
a ring of poly at the top of the boot - sandwiched between the
joint and the control arm ? If so - no way - boot from the bottom.
I stuck with the rubber boots. It seems the poly boots are stiff
enough to possibly pull off under extreme travel. just my $.02
Yes that is what I am saying. The boot drops down into the arm and the ring molded into the boot below the flange gives it a perfect grommet like fit. There is not distortion of the boot, it fits like it is made to pop in there. But when the spindle is installed there is a gap between the boot end and the spindle so it raised a red flag. I e-mailed Dan at van steele to get clarification.
In a thread regarding ball joint replacement it was pointed out that the upper ball joint sees very little stress so I thought maybe the poly boot was designed to have the flange act as a gasket.
Pro
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 642
Likes: 0
From: Dallas Texas
That's strange. I installed new poly boots on my upper joints and the boots didn't have any ring or "flange" on them so it didn't really matter how you installed them. I just installed the joints and slid the boots up on the bottom side.
Race Director
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 16,945
Likes: 9
If I can give you 1 good advise, stick to rubber boots. The urethane ones may look nice with their bright colors but the urethane is wat toio stiff, mine split without any load on the suspension. The suspension was bolted together for mockup only and after a month or so, both upper ones were split.
JUNK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
JUNK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 11,322
Likes: 1
From: Living in the Hartland
Actually these feel pretty much like rubber, probably are! I have never seen or felt a poly dust boot but I assumed they would be more plyable than than the actual control arm bushings material.
Navigator
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
I'm going through the same rebuild and the boots slide on the ball joints after they are riveted to the A-arm. I am staying with the rubber boots, only becuase I'm keeping all the parts original GM.
I'm replacing the front springs on a '74 Corvette with OEM from Chevy. I've tried everywhere else and maybe you guys can help me.
One end has the coils close together, and the other end the coils are spaced apart. I've looked at several cars but cannot see in the spring wells. Can you tell me which end is UP? No one else seems to know.
Thanks in advance.
Don
I'm replacing the front springs on a '74 Corvette with OEM from Chevy. I've tried everywhere else and maybe you guys can help me.
One end has the coils close together, and the other end the coils are spaced apart. I've looked at several cars but cannot see in the spring wells. Can you tell me which end is UP? No one else seems to know.
Thanks in advance.
Don
Race Director
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 16,945
Likes: 9
Originally Posted by Fevre
Actually these feel pretty much like rubber, probably are! I have never seen or felt a poly dust boot but I assumed they would be more plyable than than the actual control arm bushings material.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 7,493
Likes: 1,502
From: Little Rock AR
I had stock style rubber boots on my replacement ball joints fail in about a year without ever leaving the garage. I bought a set of polyurethane boots in black and they are fine. I have new replacement rubber replacement boots in case the poly boots ever need changing. Must be different levels of quality out there.
-Mark.
-Mark.
Pro
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 565
Likes: 0
From: I'm bleeding, making me the victor!
I wish I saw this thread earlier. I went through the same thing when I rebuilt my front end with energy suspension bushings in '99. Fevre, I suppose you have learned that the boot goes on from the bottom(last), or it will be damaged by the retainer. As I said, my poly boots have been there for 5 years now and about 10,000 miles and none of them have torn. That was Energy Suspension parts.....I am VERY satisfied with all of their components that I used. No squeaks or noises from the bushings, either.