I was just creepin around under my truck today "I know, thats wird", so I just grabbed one of my shocks to see if it was fastened good.
My hand kind of moved the boot that came with my Rancho shocks and muddy water came out of them.
I did some searches and decided to just cut them off.
Man mud and water poured out as I was cutting them off,
That can't be good for shocks....Just thought I'd pass this along
Merry Christmas !!!

 

hopefully no rust built up on the piston or the inside

 

i run my shocks boot-less just for that reason!

 

Couldnt one just zip tie them tight enough to prevent water from getting in or out?

 

Most have a drain hole in them and you should zip-tie them super tight.

Lamm

 

shock boots are ghey anyways

 

yeah even witht he zip tie tight, and the drain hole.....they seem to always hold water, I always run bootless.

 

When I use to ride my mountain bike a bunch I always left the boots off my rock shox. So I thought why not my Rancho 9000s? Sure enough, the top of the shock where the boot mounted was completly rusted. Pistons and actuators for the most part, have wipers and seals to keep crap out and to lubricate the shaft. Boots just make them look pretty. Besides, does the color matter when they're covered in mud?

 

Shock boots = pointless bling that can cause premature failure

 

No boots on my Rock Shox either

 

Ditto..............

 

what about a shock boot on the steering stabilizer shock?

 

I run boots on the rear shocks but I cut the bottom out so they act more like pant legs to keep rocks and other road debris from nicking the shaft at freeway speeds.

 

Not a bad idea.

I just throw mine away and don't worry about it.

 

Never ran a boot on my steering stabilizer either:

 

Bilstien boots are more like shields than boots - the bottom is OPEN

On my 7100s I zip tied the mesh protetant for the body over the shaft area to slow down rocks but of couse it wont hold water

 

my shocks like to be neekid

 

x2 shocks go comando

 

Yea their completly avertised to protect but god do they make it worse, I think running no boots looks cool anyways.

 

For some reason I still have a boot on my steering stabilizer...hmmm, it's been on for 7 years now. I wonder how nasty it is? lol!