New Member - 1989 325ix and Evo

[nando]

Nando, your boots are made of a secret mixture of platinum and unobtanium. For the rest of us, there needs to be a solution!

However, if all goes well I'll be picking up a much cooler project than an unreliable iX on Thursday, at which point my boots can stay ripped forever for all I care.

I'm not saying something isn't wrong, but I just don't think the boots should fail that quickly. I understand your frustration however.

I'll try to get a pic of mine this weekend to compare the CV angles. Mine are pretty steep but maybe you are still lower than me?

[AWDBOB]

I was thinking about this issue awhile back. I know they make high angle cv boots for lifted trucks. In theory something like that could help. Don't know if anyone makes anything that'll fit our front axles.

I don't think you really need fancy boots

I've rarely had a driver's inner boot fail - maybe 2 of them in 140,000 miles that I've driven my ix. the most common one is the passenger inner boot and I believe that is because of the exhaust, but it still lasts me several years.

I've been thinking the same thing, Mlarsen. My inner boots when the car is on the ground visually have what appears to be far too much stress on them. I'm going to look into the longer boot idea. If they didn't look so stressed, I wouldn't bother with it, but I really think they would help in my case.

Nando, your boots are made of a secret mixture of platinum and unobtanium. For the rest of us, there needs to be a solution!

However, if all goes well I'll be picking up a much cooler project than an unreliable iX on Thursday, at which point my boots can stay ripped forever for all I care.

[nando]

I don't think you really need fancy boots

I've rarely had a driver's inner boot fail - maybe 2 of them in 140,000 miles that I've driven my ix. the most common one is the passenger inner boot and I believe that is because of the exhaust, but it still lasts me several years.

[Mlarsen]

I was thinking about this issue awhile back. I know they make high angle cv boots for lifted trucks. In theory something like that could help. Don't know if anyone makes anything that'll fit our front axles.

[AWDBOB]

dang. I've never had that issue. the pics don't work, but which boot specifically is ripping? I did have passenger inners fail prematurely but it was from my exhaust being too close.

I'm not sure there is any difference in boots. A guy I know IRL on E30 tech posted a video on youtube comparing the BMW boots to the off the shelf Loebro boots and as far as he could tell they were exactly the same, only the BMW boots cost 3x more. maybe I'm wrong, I dunno. I've always used the $20 boots. they're both made by the same manufacture AFAIK.

however, at 1,000 miles something is up. I'd think they should last 20,000-30,000 minimum.

Odd, the pics work on my end for some reason.

The boots that are ripping are the inner boots. Drivers inner boot ripped first, followed by the passenger's inner boot. Kinda driving me crazy. There seems to be plenty of slack left in the boot too for stretching. I don't quite know what else it could be at this point besides the quality of the boot itself.

I didn't think there was a difference either, until I saw both side by side. One was def a harder plastic boot (which I had ordered from AutohausAZ), the OEM one (ordered from bmwmercedesparts) mostly/all rubber. Its' been 2 yrs since I swapped it out with the OEM one, and no issues....

Trying an OEM boot is my last option at this point. Might as well. Now you see why I was looking for spare axles :p

[audiquattrot]

dang. I've never had that issue. the pics don't work, but which boot specifically is ripping? I did have passenger inners fail prematurely but it was from my exhaust being too close.

I'm not sure there is any difference in boots. A guy I know IRL on E30 tech posted a video on youtube comparing the BMW boots to the off the shelf Loebro boots and as far as he could tell they were exactly the same, only the BMW boots cost 3x more. maybe I'm wrong, I dunno. I've always used the $20 boots. they're both made by the same manufacture AFAIK.

however, at 1,000 miles something is up. I'd think they should last 20,000-30,000 minimum.

I didn't think there was a difference either, until I saw both side by side. One was def a harder plastic boot (which I had ordered from AutohausAZ), the OEM one (ordered from bmwmercedesparts) mostly/all rubber. Its' been 2 yrs since I swapped it out with the OEM one, and no issues....

[nando]

About 1,000 miles on the new axles. Both inner boots are ripped. This is becoming a problem. At least my undercarriage will have a rust preventing CV grease film.

Also, please excuse pictures taken by a potato.

Installed my offset CABs today, along with my 3.91 front diff.






Only use the best

dang. I've never had that issue. the pics don't work, but which boot specifically is ripping? I did have passenger inners fail prematurely but it was from my exhaust being too close.

I'm not sure there is any difference in boots. A guy I know IRL on E30 tech posted a video on youtube comparing the BMW boots to the off the shelf Loebro boots and as far as he could tell they were exactly the same, only the BMW boots cost 3x more. maybe I'm wrong, I dunno. I've always used the $20 boots. they're both made by the same manufacture AFAIK.

however, at 1,000 miles something is up. I'd think they should last 20,000-30,000 minimum.

[AWDBOB]

Just out of curiosity which brand boots are u using? I was using what I thought were OEM equivalents and had a similar issue tearing boots prematurely. Made a post about it a while back, and ordered BMW OEM ones which were a lot different in material than the ones that kept tearing. Never had an issue since I used the pure rubber ones, as opposed to the hard plastic like ones

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/show...ighlight=boots

They're the cheapies. This makes a lot of sense. It's also never the outers that tear first, it's always the inners, as you can visually see that they have the most stress on them from the axle angle.

I shall try OEM boots, and report back. I appreciate the heads up, man.

Whats the offset cab supposed to do?

:up: Although I don't need the positive camber, I did it for the stiffer bushing and some caster.

Control arm bushings locate the rear leg of our control arm. The M3 had an offset suspension for a wider track so the bushing itself is offset. It is in fact a higher durometer (stiffer), rubber than stock (non-M, E30), yet still compliant unlike urethane. If you install it in the OE manner (arrow on bushing points to dot on casting), then it causes the ball joint (and spindle) to rotate forward and in. This results in a slightly longer wheelbase with an increased caster angle. both of these aid high speed stability and straight-line tractability. The detriment is the reduction of negative camber. If you have lower springs and have too much neg camber, this is a cheap way to correct it. BavAuto sells them for $48 each. If you do this, you will need to add some toe-out up front.

[downforce22]

Whats the offset cab supposed to do?

[audiquattrot]

Just out of curiosity which brand boots are u using? I was using what I thought were OEM equivalents and had a similar issue tearing boots prematurely. Made a post about it a while back, and ordered BMW OEM ones which were a lot different in material than the ones that kept tearing. Never had an issue since I used the pure rubber ones, as opposed to the hard plastic like ones

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=263549&highlight=boots

[AWDBOB]

About 1,000 miles on the new axles. Both inner boots are ripped. This is becoming a problem. At least my undercarriage will have a rust preventing CV grease film.

Also, please excuse pictures taken by a potato.

Installed my offset CABs today, along with my 3.91 front diff.






Only use the best

[AWDBOB]

Well, mine hasnt been cheap so it better be the other two!!!

Baha well I sure wish you the best in that respect!


In other news, the car performed flawlessly on her Philly to Indianapolis travels. The iX needs a 6th gear more than any other car I've driven.

[2mAn]

Well, mine hasnt been cheap so it better be the other two!!!

[AWDBOB]

Those front axle angel?? to mee almoust all ix owners has say that is wrong angle that axle.
I say it is same, it is angel down or up side

When it's low, the angle gets a little crazy and puts some extra stress on the joint as you can see in that bottom picture. But, as long as you don't go crazy low, the boots are the only thing that see some expedited wear!

Thats exactly how I feel. My 24v swap is basically done and I'm picking it up tonight in Seattle and driving it 1200 miles. I'll know for sure if it was worth it by the time I arrive in SoCal

Keep at it and keep you eyes on the prize, its the only thing that kept me going the last few months

Absolutely, man. That's pretty killer! And yeah, if it breaks on your way home I'm sure the feelings will change pretty fast.

I've never had a fun car that was reliable, so I'm trying to make that happen with the E30, and am learning that it's a long road with these cars. The 'fun, reliable, and cheap- pick two' saying hasn't worked in my favor yet seeing as the car hasn't been reliable, cheap, or fun.

[2mAn]

Haha but as they say, it's all worth it in the end! Not sure if I believe that yet though.

Thats exactly how I feel. My 24v swap is basically done and I'm picking it up tonight in Seattle and driving it 1200 miles. I'll know for sure if it was worth it by the time I arrive in SoCal

Keep at it and keep you eyes on the prize, its the only thing that kept me going the last few months