GSRaCeRbOI

Hi I did a search for dust boot in both archived and recent and only came up w/ a need a dustboot and a for sale thread on dust boots.. anyway..

a friend of mine asked what spring/shock combo to get and I suggested what I had Eibach sportlines and Koni Yellows... or get H&R Sports and Koni Yellows... when I did my install 3 yrs ago I left out the dustboots but did put in my bumpstops... when my friend did his install (by himself) last week he chose to bore the hole so that the dustboot would fit over the Koni shock rod/sprindle... we have the exact same car (except his is a 99) and the exact same suspension components... but his makes a clunk clunk clunk noise everytime the car is in motion... and the clunking increases w/ speed..

question is.. other than boring/enlarging the hole.. was he supposed to trim/cut short the dust boot (like the bumpstop) to accomodate the lowering springs/position? he cut the bumpstop about 1/2 I think... I'm going to help him pull the suspension apart this weekend and redo everything... I want to just leave out the dustboots (like I did on my cars.. left them out for 3 years w/o any problems.. so my question is... are the dustboots really necessary? cuz I've run w/o them... my friend wants to use them and was wondering if they should be trimmed of something.. all the bolts are tightened to spec (w/ my torque wrench that he borrowed) so everything is tight.. from what I could see visually (its 10PM in CA.. I looked w/ a flashlight) it seems to be installed correctly.. car handles well, he already got an alignment.. so the only thing I can think of thats on his car thats not on mine is the dustboot.. maybe its hitting the shock body or something?

if you guys know of this clunking problem let me know..is it bad to leave out the dustboots? otherwise when I pull his suspension this weekend.. I'm just going to take out the dust boots and leave them out... let me know ...

ocbeta

How far did you trim your bumpstop?

GSRaCeRbOI

in 1/2

ILUVTEC

The dust boots can(and maybe should) be re-used, or atleast it can be re-use without and probs/noises if installed correctly. Just make sure it was not really bent or anything, I am assuming it was bored out enough because otherwise he wouldnt have been able to fit it over the new thicker Koni shock rod. I retained my dust boots when installing my Koni yellow/Pro-kit combo on my car. But it is feasible that if the car is lower a good bit more then maybe the dust boots could/should be trimmed a bit shorter, but I havent heard of this, I would then probably just not re-use them, it shouldnt be any real prob not retaining them as many many do not, the dust boots just help to keep away any major dirt from messing with these susp components. Just help him with the re-install and make sure everything is installed and tightened down correctly and he shouldnt have any probs. I think I cut about a third off of my bumpstops, so about 1/2 is good for the Sport lowering which is a bit more than mine. And does he have the Konis on the 'stock' perch settings? 'Cause maybe if its lower then something else could be rubbing or something, or maybe then the dust boots might rattle. Well, good luck

PatrickGSR94

iTrader: (1)

My stock dust boots are in place on my H&R/Koni setup, as are the bumpstops (not cut, as specified by H&R). I have no clunking or noise problems at all.

GSRaCeRbOI

thanks for your reply guys... I really can't say anything/have nothing to say since I wasn't there to watch his install so I don't know what he did, whether he messed up, etc and I'm at work right now so can't check out his car until this weekend.... I think he left it on the stock perches (well assuming he listened to me)... if you guys recall.. I put my Koni's on the lowest perches w/ my Eibach sportlines when I first did my install (3 yrs ago).. it looked great while parked but wasn't very driveable in so Cal roads.. so I put them back to stock perch settings.... I told him to leave the stock perch settings.. so I'm ASSUMING he listened to me (since he listed to my product recommendation)...

well I'll help him pull it apart this weekend and try to solve his problem and install it correctly or see whats wrong.. thanks guys.. damn I should have just helped him.. I end up having to do his spring/shock install anyway.. Lolz.. I linked him the sites i like every1 and was like.. "u can do it" lolz..

IN VTEC

iTrader: (3)

That 'clunk clunk' sound on your buddy's car is probably like my 'ding ding' sound sometimes b/c the metal dust cover on teh fronts wobble and hit the shock body sometimes. It just means that dust cover hole was bored a little too big and it has some extra play.

Or, maybe he's bottoming out the dust covers.


[Modified by IN VTEC, 4:54 PM 7/16/2002]

GSRaCeRbOI

so should he just leave it in and leave the clunking even though it sounds ghetto? or u guys think when I help him re-install them this weekend we should just pull them out? I doubt he wants to buy new OEM dustboots just to bore them again...

btw I left my dustboots out (put in trimmed bumpstops dont worry) and I've had my sportlines for about 5 yrs (used stock shocks for a while.. aka was still in college).. and had my Konis w/ the sportlines for about 3 yrs w/o any problems...

so u just left ur "ding ding" ?

IN VTEC

iTrader: (3)

Yup....it's right where I left it.

If they're not directly hurting anything, and he can live with the noise, then I'd leave them in. You guys in SoCal are dry most of the year, so the seals are better off in your climate than mine in the midwest. If at all possible tho, use them. I'd really hate to see shocks destroyed by the seals getting eaten up by dirt.

I still think you guys should pull it apart and look it over, especially if he needs to raise his car back up. Ghetto slammed definitely sucks.

Just don't break anything...something always breaks when I work on my car.

GSRaCeRbOI

lolz w/ this upcoming install I've done about 16 spring/shock installs.. pretty crazy..

yeah we didn't even have much rain this whole year.. would Koni void the warranty on the shocks if the dust boots weren't used? well its too early to say anything.> i'll have to tear apart his suspension and see whats wrong.. and see if there can be anything done about the dustboots..

IN VTEC

iTrader: (3)

Good question about the warranty. You should call or write and ask them.

http://www.koni.com

GSRaCeRbOI

well I've used mine for 3 yrs already w/o dustboots so if the warranty gets void for not using them then mine are already void.. but they haven't failed or anything... I guess I should find out before I take out my friends and void his warranty.. I'll email them

http://www.koni-na.com

djnikko

Im interested to know does it effect the warranty?
Or more to the point are dust boots required to prolong the life of the shock?

Thanks

djnikko

Could you stick the bump stop in place with a little silicone sealant to act as a semi dust boot? Just a thought...