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Dust boots for 6.9 front struts

Started by Rolo, 28 December 2019, 04:01 PM

Rolo

Looking for ideas for replacements.  I looked at EPC and as I feared, the individual strut parts don't appear.

I'm thinking I can find dirt bike fork gaiters in the correct ID, but they will be long.

daantjie

Those are not dust boots they are rubber bump stops which drop into the cup when the suspension is depressurized.
Daniel
1977 450 SEL 6.9 - Astralsilber

TJ 450

Yes there are no dust boots on the front struts. I have been considering putting some bellows on the outside but haven't done it yet.

The original design with the cup/ stone shield is really not optimal as it traps dirt and sand which soaks up the excess hydraulic fluid. The the drain holes block up and it fills with water.

Strut boots off a typical front strut on a modern car are a good option as they can be tied on with heavy zip ties and this will stop a lot of the dirt.

Regards,
Tim
1976 450SEL 6.9 1432
1969 300SEL 6.3 1394
2003 ML500

rumb

The front are rear struts are the same excluding the boots/cup, with I think that all the top caps are different for right and left. One could just remove the front metal cup and put a rear boot on there.  The boots are inexpensive but of course the little rubber bands that hold them on or very expensive. A length of fine wire could just as easily bind it on. I suppose the metal cup is better suited for road debris thrown up by the front wheels that isnt so bad as on the rears. A boot in front would be much better at preventing wear to the strut shaft and seal caused by road grit.
'68 250S
'77 6.9 Euro
'91 300SE,
'98 SL500
'14 CLS550,
'16 AMG GTS
'21 E450 Cabrio

Rolo

Thanks for the helpful input.  Absolutely correct, they are bump stops.  Mine are in such bad shape, they could be sneakers from all I know.  They do attach to the strut body which threw me.

Also, I just realized from the above post that my cup"s drainage hole is blocked.  The cup is full of crud and oil.

PosedgeClk

I fitted some rubber bellows from McMaster-Carr onto the front bump stops of my 6.9. The shape of the bump stop looks as though it might have been meant to have rubber bellows stretched over it. If my 6.9 ever becomes road-borne and the bellows experiment is a success, I shall post about what I did. I had an utter lack of success sourcing a very similar type of boot earlier in the year when I was working on a specification for a big robot for an airframe parts factory. The bellows which I purchased from McMaster ironically would have probably worked in the robot's application. There is very little selection out there off the shelf. Most of the suppliers want to blow mold you thousands of plastic bellows, and I think that one could sustain himself by starting a company and selling off-the-shelf options. The only other guys out there who might have had an option were "The Rubber Store," but they refused to even take a picture of their product when I offered to buy up all their stock over the phone (roughly 50 at $80 apiece).

Yeah, sourcing parts is difficult.
1979 450SEL 6.9