Most of the aftermarket boots (even name brands) are not as good as the
original. Sitting on the shelf for years also makes them garbage. Proper
packing and there should be no grease inside. They should not need to be
serviced in 2 years/20K miles.

Dennis

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Jonathan Poole
Sent: Wednesday, January 27, 2010 6:38 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Lobro CV joint boots review

Howdy List,

I installed new cv joints and boots on my 83 westy 2 years and 22000 miles
ago and haven't serviced them since installation so it seemed time to
remove/inspect and change the grease.  I was surprised and disappointed to
find that the cv joint boots were all pretty deteriorated and cracking.  One
had torn all the way around on one of it's cracks.  Perhaps I got a few
boots from a bad batch or that had been sitting on a shelf for years before
I installed them or something like that but in any case I had hoped they
would last more than two years.

I cleaned them up to see what brand they are and found that they are the
Lobro units and all were cracking heavily in the seams.  Luckily when I
installed the new Lobro boots I kept the 4 original boots that were still in
good shape though I have no idea how old they are.  They don't show any
cracking but do show some rust on the collars.  These are labelled with
vw/audi part numbers and symbols and also have a nice lip to hold the grease
in on the joint molded into the inside of the boot.  I'm not sure if these
are readily available any longer but after this experience I will look for
them and will be willing to pay extra.

I know that this may be an isolated occurance in the grand scheme of things
but thought I'd contribute my findings for the general mass of Vanagon
knowledge that the list contributes to.

Jonathan Poole
83 AC Westy