Fitting Dust Boots
What They Do
- Protect the damper shaft from grit and road debris.
- The shaft passes through the seal on every suspension movement, so anything stuck to it gets dragged across that seal.
- A scored shaft will chew a seal out.
- Leaking seals are the most common reason dampers come to us for service.
Coverage Options
- Shaft only — protects the shaft, leaves the spring and adjusters visible and easy to reach.
- Shaft and spring — keeps more out, but hides the spring and can make the clicker knobs harder to get at.
Fitting Is Not Trivial
A badly fitted boot can cause the damage it was fitted to prevent.
- Do not seal the boot to the shock body. Zip-tying it down traps water — whatever gets in has nowhere to go, and the boot then holds moisture against the parts you were protecting.
- Length matters. A boot that is too long can kink as the shock compresses and get caught in the shaft seal, damaging the exact seal it was meant to protect.
- Fitment, length and how the boot is retained all need thought.
- If you are fitting boots yourself and are not certain, contact us and we can help guide you.
More detail and photos to follow. If you have a question this does not answer, contact us and we can help guide you.