Here's a response from John Taphorn from the De Tomaso mailing list on the subject of the replacment boots. (All credit goes to John and I hope he doesn't mind me quoting him here on the PI board
)quote:Suitable replacements are made by Energy Suspension. They are sturdier to
the originals and have held up well for years on my car. The part numbers
for the larger ball joints ( upper rear & upper and lower front) are
9-13119. I have found that if I trim ~ 1/8" around the base I get a better
fit. For the smaller tie rod boots, use part #9-13101. The 1/8th" trim
applies here also.
I recently ordered additional supplies and replaced the dust boots on a
current restoration project. I found it easiest to contact Energy
Suspension via phone from a number off their website and inquire about the
location of local dealers. When I called these dealers to determine
inventory, they had inadequate supplies; but, were willing to have them sent
to my home from their warehouse saving me considerable hassle. Two come in
a package that sells for under $4. Terrific deal!
I'll get on my soap-box for a moment and encourage everyone with torn dust
boots to replace them. With the suspension completely apart on my project
GT5, I took the time to carefully inspect the lubrication of the tie rods;
even those with mildly cracked dust boots. I was taken aback as to how poor
the lubrication held up in this environment. The lubrication was dry and
gritty. After cleaning thoroughly with brake cleaner, I zerked the ball
joints and applied fresh grease. When drilling the for the zerk, I found
the cavities above the balls to be void of lubrication.
My point it that the ball joints are expensive and the effort to replace the
dustboot and zerk the joint for new grease was minimal. I would recommend
the exercise to others.
Julian