First Casualty

Ohio_Pawpaw_Grower

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I am letting our dealer do the 50 hour service on our 2016 1120D so they can also adjust the appropriate linkages - I've been losing a little top speed in the past few months. Still need to open the muffler and knock out any soot just in case.

Just as I am planning that, I was pulling logs to a pile this weekend. As I was unhooking the tow chain, I noticed the port side aft CV joint boot was ripped up. There was some grease visible. I know it is not a good idea to drive around too long with that joint open to dust, mud and water.

None of the others is torn and I am hoping it gets covered under the KCC warranty. We have treated the RTV well and haven't abused it in the woods so I can't imagine what did it.

Anyone else had a joint boot disintegrate?
 

bordercollie

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That's a shame Ohio Pawpaw Grower. I did replace my boots on the RTV the rear when I did the ujoints and the fronts when I saw cracking. but it was after several years. I think rubber isn't made as well as it used to be . Parts are outsourced and foreign countries just don't have the same standards in things such as tires and rubber items/
I had a set of cheap tires on my little truck several years ago and the side facing the sun in the mornings had the tires rot. Yes.Air leaked out of the sidewalls at less than 2 years of age and very few miles ( 1994 toyota with 75,000 miles- got my antique tag this year. ).
This is one reason why I committed to selling all machinery of mine that had a decent resale before the rubber all goes. Now if it's not worth much anyways, I keep it till the wheels fall off. :) bordercollie
 

California

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... CV joint boot was ripped up.

Anyone else had a joint boot disintegrate?
Years ago I found a boot torn - probably my fault - on an AMC Eagle. instead of tearing everything down I cleaned it with solvent and glued the pleat back together with some kind of rubber cement. Surprisingly that kept the grease in (and dirt out) for a few years until I sold the car.

You might try that for a temporary fix if you need to use the rig presently and downtime later in the year would be better. And there's always duct tape ....
 

aurthuritis

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Years ago I found a boot torn - probably my fault - on an AMC Eagle. instead of tearing everything down I cleaned it with solvent and glued the pleat back together with some kind of rubber cement. Surprisingly that kept the grease in (and dirt out) for a few years until I sold the car.

You might try that for a temporary fix if you need to use the rig presently and downtime later in the year would be better. And there's always duct tape ....

an AMC Eagle??? that gives away your age:tiphat::sorry:
 

bordercollie

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California's post brought back memories. :) I bought one of those split boots a year or so ago for the RTV front shaft boot .This boot had a split lengthwise and a sort of tongue and groove where you were to glue it together after placement. The box they sent me had a tube of some sort of super glue ... I used it and just like California, the boot and the glue actually held together. I was real careful with it and put a black cable tie gently in one or 2 of the grooves as a helping hand. It may have been called quick boot . I see autozone has something similar: https://www.autozone.com/repairinfo...=productInformation&partCode=0996b43f80a012d9 collie
 

California

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an AMC Eagle??? that gives away your age:tiphat::sorry:
Well it is what it is! FDR was my first President. (But I'm not so old I remember him!)

There really weren't any decent small 4x4's suitable for family travel aside from expensive Wagoneers in the early 80's. I traded in a Wagoneer that was mil surplus and didn't have A/C.

The Eagle was gorgeous but a big disappointment - I cooked the A/T towing an 1,800 lb camp trailer, $1k to replace all the seals. 12 mpg, the 300ci V8 Wagoneer had gotten 15. Burst a brake line in panic braking and nudged the guy in front of me who had rear-ended someone hard. But it would pull that camp trailer up the grade in the photo below. One time, after it had snowed overnight.

And squirrely handling. On dirt fire trails in the mountains I could make the Eagle track the right arc for a 40 mph dirt curve but with no control over which way the nose was pointed while doing it. RWD with front wheel assist might work for snow, but it was terrifying for rally-style driving like my present Outback does naturally.

Finally replaced the Eagle with a Trooper II that was flawless for 15 years.

Yeah I'm that old. Pretty much BTDT. :17875:


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California

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did the AMC have a viscous coupling in the transfer case instead of a differential?
Yes, as I recall. No center differential, conventional drive to the rear axle with a viscous coupling before the front driveshaft. And no low range. But the A/T was sufficient to get it moving at a creep in really rough terrain uphill etc. And this one was first or second year so it didn't have the 2wd option that the later ones had. (that was bogus, it just disconnected one side of the front axle, everything still rotated).

One more gripe, the Eagle's heater and A/C were both near useless, a disappointment. Consumer Report review said those aspects were nowhere near acceptable for any modern car - that was my feeling too.

Later small Cherokees and the Trooper II that I bought, were far better family 4x4's compared to the Eagle. The Outback I have now is also excellent for light offroading like that photo above, or going down into the back of my orchard, but its interior space is a little small for going camping with kids or hauling stuff.
 

California

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I inherited a '47 Plymouth when my brother went in the navy. Late '57 or so.
Back then, those were nice cars.

My first driver was a '49 Chevy, that Dad had replaced with a used later Chevy. I had it repainted to look sharp. Painting cost only $35 after I had prepped it.

Then I traded that for a basket case - a half-finished '37 Chev coupe and a Chev 265 V8 (first year of small block), poured all my paper route money into it, and terrorized my HS with it in my senior year. :)
 
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