Protection for rubbers and boots

[Driver+Passengers]

What do folk put on rubbers, if anything to protect them from the elements and prolong their life? It seems pointless to leave the unprotected.

Grease - silicon grease, auto grease, vaseline? Or spray - WD40, GT85, ACF-50, etc...??

[Poohbear]

What do folk put on rubbers, if anything to protect them from the elements and prolong their life? It seems pointless to leave the unprotected.

Grease - silicon grease, auto grease, vaseline? Or spray - WD40, GT85, ACF-50, etc...??

Don't they usually have spermicidal lubricant on them

[Driver+Passengers]

I wouldn't know.

[Northern Bongolow]

i think its the white grease they come packed with from new, and would imagine its rubber friendly.

an old farmers trick is get a syringe full of a product called semi-fluid grease, put a tiny hole in the rubber, inject it in then a good spot of super glue or similar to seal the hole, or split the joint and put the needle in the top, the semi fluid stays liquid and doesnt set into a cake so lubricates well for longer, dont know how rubber friendly it is but ive used it for years on track rod ends etc without EVER splitting one, but then the bongo is a tad heavier than most.

[lazyb5]

Red rubber grease ...should be used on anti roll bar bushes as well
Certainly nothing with a petroleum distillate in it as it causes the rubber to degrade.

[Driver+Passengers]

Ady - There's a transparent grease under the boots on mine.
b5 - sounds sensible, ordered some red grease to smear on the outside.

Still interested in what folk use or have used and whether/what might be "best"...? Anything like this is going to either hold dirt or be washed off over time, I suppose.

[Simon Jones]

Brake fluid would be safe on rubber, but probably would soon wash off and is not very paint-friendly.

[rita]

Hi,
I would imagine that decent rubbers/boots should not need any protection from the elements,they are there to protect the component parts. This is when genuine parts come into play,they are normally designed to last approx 10 years(genuine parts)

You end up protecting the protector,and it becomes a Protection Racket

[Diplomat]

I've recently fitted new drop links and have covered the rubber completely with a layer of self amalgamating butyl tape.

I figure that this will give extra strength to the flimsy rubber as well as protection.

They went on in advance of the MoT test and raised no comment from the tester. I guess he could see from the shiny metal that they were new and I wasn't trying to hide anything, just ruggedising them!

I used the same stuff to repair a shock absorber gaiter and it is almost impossible to see the repair, which far exceeds the integrity of the original material.

I haven't tried making any other kind of 'rubbers' out of self amalgamating tape, but I remember someone in my student days suggesting Copydex!


Frank

[briwy]

I've recently fitted new drop links and have covered the rubber completely with a layer of self amalgamating butyl tape.

I figure that this will give extra strength to the flimsy rubber as well as protection.

They went on in advance of the MoT test and raised no comment from the tester. I guess he could see from the shiny metal that they were new and I wasn't trying to hide anything, just ruggedising them!

I used the same stuff to repair a shock absorber gaiter and it is almost impossible to see the repair, which far exceeds the integrity of the original material.

I haven't tried making any other kind of 'rubbers' out of self amalgamating tape, but I remember someone in my student days suggesting Copydex!


Frank

Not too sure about this Frank, sooner or later there is going to be a tear, split, whatever and then it will make the matter worse as it will just hold in any water, rubbish etc that gets in. I prefer to see what's going on.
I'm with rita on this, if they are decent quality there shouldn't be a problem, I guess the problem is getting decent stuff in the first place for the Bongo.
When I was involved in rallying years ago we used to put wheel bearing seals in the "wrong" way round. The idea was that it didn't matter if a bit of grease leaked out but the seal back to front stopped water getting in which was the important bit.

[Driver+Passengers]

Having just had to change the droplinks on the Yaris for MOT, I inspected all the boots down there and they are pristine! Original and over 10 years old, so I agree that good rubber should last.

For a cheapskate like me, if I'm buying a part for the Bongo that may not quite stand up against original parts, adding an additional boundary layer between rubber and the environment has to be a good thing, right? Perhaps not if it gathers grit.

Re: tape - good call - I too have a cracked shock gaiter and will go ahead and repair it if I can, though I don't have a spring compressor so space might be tight. Not sure about changing the relative stiffness of ball boots by wrapping them - I'd rather smear something on them that I could wipe off and/or reapply.

Dave_aber's grease filled section of bike inner tube as a second skin seems sound in principle, but difficult to do this for a ball joint?

[mikeonb4c]

What might we use I wonder to prolong the life of the the rubber AFT gasket, given replacements may not be available.

[Poohbear]

On the basis that those boots. gaiters etc should last at least 10 years and generally longer, why bother with any further protection?

[mikeonb4c]

On the basis that those boots. gaiters etc should last at least 10 years and generally longer, why bother with any further protection?

Lack of available replacement parts (see above)? Save on labour/repair costs?

[Poohbear]

What might we use I wonder to prolong the life of the the rubber AFT gasket, given replacements may not be available.

I use 303 Aerospace Protectant http://compare.ebay.co.uk/like/15079589 ... pla&crdt=0

You can also use it on all plastics to make them look like new and protect them from the effects of the weather