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Drive shaft inner rubber boot


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How many of us continue to fit the large "floppy" drive shaft inner boot. ?

When we first got the car they were missing.  I susequently fitted new ones, and have continued to replace as necessary over the years, but begin to wonder if in practice they are really doing anything at all, and therefore are a waste of time.

Edited by Malcolm Clarke
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If they are wearing out over the years, then the inner gaiter would be protecting what is underneath from wearing out?

They probably help hold in the U-joint grease which with wet conditions would be pelted with water. 

And they would protect what is underneath from road grit.

I vote not to exit them. ;)

 

DSCF1173 (2).JPG

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I'm still trying to an outer boot that doesn't start to disintegrate to powder after  six months....Any recommendations as I've had two from different suppliers that were absolute rubbish!

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38 minutes ago, jogger321 said:

I'm still trying to an outer boot that doesn't start to disintegrate to powder after  six months....Any recommendations as I've had two from different suppliers that were absolute rubbish!

I purchased all boots/gaiters from The Roadster Factory- I suspect they may all come from the same manufacturer, but really have no idea if that is so.

When installing the outer boot over the axle shaft, it was necessary to warm the rubber with a heat gun to allow enough flex for it to be twisted back & forth to slip up & over the axle shaft.

Then twist the new wire tie to hold it in place.

The rubber is somewhat delicate- heating it is the key to not damaging the item, upon installation.

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As for protection from flying crud, in the short term it won't be a problem.

Triumph engineers would have cut corners and not supplied the gaiters if they thought they were not necessary.

But, they ultimately did provide the gaiters/boots, didn't they?

Edited by Sapphire72
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1 hour ago, Sapphire72 said:

I purchased all boots/gaiters from The Roadster Factory- I suspect they may all come from the same manufacturer, but really have no idea if that is so.

When installing the outer boot over the axle shaft, it was necessary to warm the rubber with a heat gun to allow enough flex for it to be twisted back & forth to slip up & over the axle shaft.

Then twist the new wire tie to hold it in place.

The rubber is somewhat delicate- heating it is the key to not damaging the item, upon installation.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

As for protection from flying crud, in the short term it won't be a problem.

Triumph engineers would have cut corners and not supplied the gaiters if they thought they were not necessary.

But, they ultimately did provide the gaiters/boots, didn't they?

Yes they did. I am sure there must have been some justification for them, but I have never seen it. Any water or crud would be flung from the u joints thanks to the magic of centrifugal force. One person has stated that he thinks the bells would prevent a stick or other debris from becoming jammed in the joint, but the chance of being struck by lightning is probably greater. I removed mine over 20 years ago without incident. 

Berry

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34 minutes ago, dingle said:

 but the chance of being struck by lightning is probably greater. I removed mine over 20 years ago without incident. 

Berry

I hope you were not struck then:)

I re-used my old original? ones which were in good condition. You will find similar gaitors on tractor power take offs. They provide some protection to waterspray and other muck.

Waldi

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I've fitted some new one but from the quality I can't see them lasting.

I'm thinking either loose them as my car came with none or replace with a suitably adapted plastic bottle heat shrunk onto the shaft if it would last any longer your guess is as good as mine. 

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I'll hang my hat on the 'More trouble than they're worth' peg as they are a pain in the neck when you want to remove or install the driveshaft, being too big to go through the trailing arm.

Jerry

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1 hour ago, jerrytr5 said:

I'll hang my hat on the 'More trouble than they're worth' peg as they are a pain in the neck when you want to remove or install the driveshaft, being too big to go through the trailing arm.

Jerry

Jerry,

there is (1) ONE wire on (1) ONE gaiter to untwist, that's it.

One wire, one gaiter & it's off. 

The inner boot just slides off, no wire.

 

It's as simple as putting a shoe on your foot. :)

Cheers,

Walt

Edited by Sapphire72
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5 hours ago, jerrytr5 said:

I'll hang my hat on the 'More trouble than they're worth' peg as they are a pain in the neck when you want to remove or install the driveshaft, being too big to go through the trailing arm.

Jerry

Just pushed both mine through the trailing arm easy enough by folding the back the gaiter on itself.

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7 minutes ago, Z320 said:

I think the situation is some kind of ambivalent:

boots and gaiters on the drive shafts - and close next to it - no boots and no gaiters on the propshaft?

Excuse me for that thoughts....

My thoughts exactly. What was the point? Triumph was feeling flush with the money saved by eliminating the diff drain plug, so they splurged and decorated the inner axle shaft with a boot. I found it was a pain when lubing the u joint or unbolting the flange to remove the diff.  The only purpose it seemed to serve is to contain the grease slung from the u joint. The gaiter on the sliding joint does have a legitimate purpose.

Berry

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My idea is banal:

the propshaft was traditional without boots and gaiders - this worked very well since years and still does.

When the IRS axle came with tre TR4A there has been many doubt about the "modern" construction by the customers.

If I would have been an engineer these days I would do it extra proper and fit boots and gaiters there for little money - to have one discussion less.

Sorry me for my pragmatic idea - but I'm an engineer.

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15 hours ago, dingle said:

 The gaiter on the sliding joint does have a legitimate purpose.

Agreed. You don't want those splines getting corrupted.

The Triumph engineers had to take into account all climates of the world- that means wet, mud, frozen, gravel highways and the like.

Also consider that the rear axles were cross-wise, not in-line as was the propeller shaft, consequently they potentially collected more gritty substances.

When I bought my '72 TR6, it had lived many years without gaiters/boots and the u-joints were all shot.

That's why I installed the new rubbers & new u-joints.

If you live in a dry climate, or only drive on good weather days, the protective rubber may not be so important.

Walt

 

Edited by Sapphire72
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They were fitted by a previous owner, I suspect in the 1970's. I believe they're from  a 180B but they could be from a 240Z. I grease and check them annually and they're still in good  condition so I haven't as yet had any need to confirm their exact origin.

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BTW, I use uprated drive shafts from Rolf Zeller, Germany, since 6 years / 20.000 miles, they come with a modern shaft lip seal.

Rolf Zeller's workshop and shop

I bought the used with already about 30.000 miles and they have been always driven without boots and gaiters - simply because they don't fit.

You can guess their diameter on the attached photo.

The (also uprated) inner U-joints are now 50.000 miles old, I had a look on them 2 years ago and they look like new.

I grease one time every year, for the u-joints in the trailing arms I use a tool from Rolf Zeller, ask him but it was out of stock.

P1210103b.JPG.d5553b0415f2c2f03571f3bd4ae14e5d.JPG

Ciao Marco

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On ‎1‎/‎28‎/‎2019 at 2:53 PM, jogger321 said:

I'm still trying to an outer boot that doesn't start to disintegrate to powder after  six months....Any recommendations as I've had two from different suppliers that were absolute rubbish!

They s/b made from PU as per the originals which I suspect they are not. If the Repro's are made from neoprene they will not last very long and that applies to the boots on the sliding splines  and steering rack?

Bruce.

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On ‎2‎/‎1‎/‎2019 at 3:27 AM, Gene Levy said:

Please elaborate. What vehicle/part number? I imagine it's a Z car.

 

Thanks

Found some old notes that say the half shafts were from a 240Z. Back in the 1980's there were a lot of 240Z's being wrecked around Australia and the half shafts were cheap.

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Update.

Decided to replace the "useless" inner boots, partly because on further inspection I discovered that the nearside rear hub was loose, when I say loose I mean the flange assembly moved slightly relative to the yoke/stub axle. I assume therefore the keyway slot and the key itself were slowly wearing each other away.

So new hub and uprated drive shaft fitted. Inevitably some stripped threads on the trailing arm, but resolved with helicoil inserts and UNF/UNC thread studs.

Biggest headache I always find is removing the UJ's from the shaft yokes.

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