TheSamba.com :: View topic - How long can I drive with a torn ball joint boot

Tue May 03, 2011 3:50 pm

How long can I run with a torn ball joint boot. Was under the car and realized that when I adjusted the camber, I trashed the boot. (Everything was new, by the way). I REALLY dont want to deal with that right now and will be only driving in good weather maybe a couple thousand miles this summer. Am I taking a chance or is it gonna be OK till this fall? Thanks.

Tue May 03, 2011 3:54 pm

Might be OK, might not. If you don't care about replacing a ball joint later, don't worry about it. If you have time and don't want to buy another ball joint, just replace it.

Tue May 03, 2011 4:10 pm

With many cars I have driven with a torn ball joint boot. I won't say it is good for the ball joint. But it is not unsafe. It will just cause the ball joint to wear out very quickly.

Tue May 03, 2011 4:14 pm

The uppers last a lot longer than the lowers and the lowers last a long time without boots. Thousands of miles, in my experience.

I've never lost an upper but I've gone through two lowers. The lowers fail much more catastrophically. Luckily, I was in a parking lot both times.

If it just happened and it's not contaminated, you can got boots from AC.net if you want to wait. Or, buy a ball joint locally and use the boot from it then order boots at your leisure for the ball joint from which you removed the boot.

Tue May 03, 2011 4:19 pm

if you're not interested in fixin' it yet, get a needle greaser for your grease gun and pump that boot as full as it'll go... that will at least help protect it in the meantime...

Tue May 03, 2011 5:26 pm

Absoutly not have your wife/loved one drive you down ASAP. The last time I ripped a ball join was mowing the back yard. Her x-husband left a mine field of random metal objects, and I hit one with the mower. You really don't want to be driving and pass out.........

Oh wait, what are we talking about? :oops:

Wed May 04, 2011 5:30 pm

What a freakin dough head - I forgot that you can get replacement boots. So -have run a couple hundred miles like this - what do I do? Clean the joint out real well and the just load up the boot with grease when I but the new ones on?

Wed May 04, 2011 6:10 pm

The only busted ball joints I've seen came off cars where the one or all of the other three boots were torn. Duct tape it up until you get a replacement. Easy fix. Don't wait for it to fail. It's a mess when it does.

Wed May 04, 2011 8:34 pm

You can replace just the boot.
http://www.wolfsburgwest.com/cart/DetailsList.cfm?ID=131498001
The kit I bought (not from Wolfsburg) came with grease, but was VERY old (yellowed plastic bag). It only lasted about 6-months before splitting.

It is a real pain to get the boots onto the base of the BJ. You need to disconnect the BJ from the spindle, but don't need to press it out of the torsion arm. You need to grease the joint and pack the boot with grease BEFORE trying to get the larger ring in place. All that grease will make it very hard to keep a grip on anything.
You want to watch the ends of the springs and make sure they don't dig into the boot and rip it. It took three hands and as many screwdrivers to get that large spring into place.

I'd also recommend treating the boot with some type of rubber protector to help it last longer.

Thu May 05, 2011 3:23 am

Thanks!!!!- Now I need to modify a wrench for adjusting my eccentrics so I dont rip it again..... Oh and I assume that if the boots dont come with grease that standard universal bearing grease is fine...