ronin152 Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 I have the Rancho 9000XL shocks. When installed, I put the boots on. The other day i was cleaning them off and heard a sloshing of water coming from the inside. It seemed like it was trapped inside. So I took a knife an cut slits in the bottom of the boot. Out poured a combination of dirty / rusty water. Is this something I have to worry about? I made additional holes in the boot to help with draining. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleurys Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 You did the right thing... You probably made the error of installing the boot too far at the bottom. Therefore, you did not leave a place for the liquid to evacuate...That is why the bottom of the boot has 2 slots... You have to tie them in a way where there is two small opening for exactly this purpose. You do not want water to stay there and start slowly siping in between the seal to eventually contaminating the inside of your shocks... Whit the holes you made, it will let air come in and dry the whole thing...hopefully it was not there long enough to start doing damage to the seal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekazgtr1984 Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 Is it possible to just run without the boots installed? Obviously, it would be imperative to keep the shocks clean but I'm just wondering... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronin152 Posted April 3, 2009 Author Share Posted April 3, 2009 Do you think I am ok? SHould I send them in for warranty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexrex20 Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 you should be fine, but if they will warranty them then i don't see why you shouldn't. i'm not sure if Ranchos can be run without them, but i know tons of shocks are designed to not use shock boots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronin152 Posted April 3, 2009 Author Share Posted April 3, 2009 I guess I could try. The only thing is that I don't know how that would work out with taking them out and not being able to drive. As far as I know the shocks seem to be performing ok. Is there a way to tell if anything is wrong with them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleurys Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 Is there a way to tell if anything is wrong with them The 9000 are gas charged.. So you would need to remove them and make sure they decompress when you compress them... I recently bought 2 and 1 of them was DOA with this exact problem.... If they come back to extended after compressing them you're ok.... I would also measure the time it takes to come back to extended state using the 9 settings. Then if both shocks do not take the same ammount of time to extend with the same settings, then you know one of them has less gas than the other...meaning the seal internally has degraded or starting to fail... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nissandoms47 Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 why would you warrenty them out? is the shock damaged? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zibi Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 You don't need the rubber boots, they're just to keep dirt off. Most shocks don't even come with them. If it worries you then just leave holes in the bottom as you've done. I'd give you a weird look for returning an undamaged shock because there was water in the boot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekazgtr1984 Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 You don't need the rubber boots, they're just to keep dirt off. Most shocks don't even come with them. If it worries you then just leave holes in the bottom as you've done. I'd give you a weird look for returning an undamaged shock because there was water in the boot. Haha, it definitely merits a weird look. I was wondering about this because I've seen many rigs with shocks that don't have boots... Motorcycles and mountain bikes typically don't have boots so meh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zibi Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 Well I could be wrong, thats just how I understand it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekazgtr1984 Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 I'd say that's definitely accurate and you're probably right. If not all shocks come with boots then the boots aren't necessarily vital... Probably just good for preventative maintenance and for those who don't bother checking things out regularly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleurys Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 (edited) Ijust researched a bit about opinions about shock boot and alot say that they do not put it because they might trap water and mud and therefore start to rust the shaft. This is their main reason not to use them. I say you put them while leaving an escape hole at the bottom (I'll show a picture soon..) for the water to get out. So you get best of both world... I mean the shaft is still exposed but barely and if you go in water then it does not get trap... Edited April 3, 2009 by fleurys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronin152 Posted April 4, 2009 Author Share Posted April 4, 2009 I checked out the shocks today and slide my finger under the boot and felt the shaft of the shock. The bottom half felt smooth but as I got further up it felt a little rusty/dirty. I haven't really noticed a decrease in performance if anything they "seem" like they ride a little rougher. Should I be worried? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zibi Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 Well they either compress or they don't. Fleurys posted about that above. There wouldn't be rust at the bottom of the shaft because that part would compress in day to day use. Higher up on the shaft likely wouldn't ever actually enter the shock except under full articulation so yeah rust could build up. Point is if the shocks work then they work. You don't sell your car because the rock chip on your hood starts to rust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
02silverpathy Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 Wait, which end did you have to mount the boot? Boot leading down, or boot leading up? The 00 and new (I think 00) have the eyelets backwards from the previous 96-99's so he may have had to mount it so that those slits did nothing! How do you like these shocks? I need rears and didn't get much feedback on these...what model number are they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronin152 Posted April 4, 2009 Author Share Posted April 4, 2009 The boot leading down like the picture by fluerys. I like the shocks alot. I think the adjustablility makes them the greatest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekazgtr1984 Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 The boot leading down like the picture by fluerys. I like the shocks alot. I think the adjustablility makes them the greatest. You should check out the Bilsten 7100's then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleurys Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 The boot leading down like the picture by fluerys WRONG... IT Clearly states on the shock to mount the boot on the up side. The dial for the firmness should be at the bottom.. If you mount it up side down, I'm sure you not helping for the oil galley inside... S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
02silverpathy Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 (edited) Right, that is how the mounts work on the later year pathy that's what it'll be....I had some OME shocks from my 98 I wanted to put on my 02 and I would have had to mount them upside down. They had a metal boot and I didn't want rocks getting in there scraping along so I sold them....I have yet to put after market rears on my rig. Edited April 5, 2009 by 02silverpathy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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