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On 20 Jan 2002, at 16:18, JaransonT3@aol.com wrote: > After putting my 66 Square up on jackstands and removing the wheels (to > restore and paint them), I noticed some grease oozing from the right tierod end. > Looks like the boot is popped off. Closer inspection showed 3 out of 4 ball > joint boots also popped off and oozing grease. It does not look like they have > been off long or while I was still drivng the car. It almost looks like they > just came off when I unloaded the suspension by jacking it up. > > So, can I put the boots back on or do I need new ball joints? Will the ball > joint from my 71 Fasty (since it is years from being back on the road and I have > another front end for her anyway) fit the 66 Square? Are new ones available? Early ball joints have holes that you can put Zerk fittings into to relube them. If yours have these Zerks installed it means that some PO (not me) installed the fittings and then proceeded to overgrease them. The proper way to grease them is to squeeze the boot, side-to-side against the ball joint inside, between a thumb and forefinger while you put in fresh grease. Stop adding grease when you feel the first sign of internal pressure. If you add too much grease, the boots can become overpressurized when the ball joints flex. This usually splits the boot. I don't think replacement boots are available any more, and most of the replacement (non-German) ball joints I have seen were of poor quality. If I had to, I'd buy cheap aftermarket ball joints and just install the boots on the old joints. The Bentley manual shows how to check your old joints for wear. If you study that section you can see what they are up to and what you have to do to check them. I don't use the special tool they describe; I do it with a jack and a vernier caliper. The boots are just held on the ball joint body by wire, so they are easy to replace, once you get the ball joint out of the steering knuckle. The other end of the boot is snugged around the ball joint shaft by a rubber ring which is best installed before the boot is tied to the body. In your case, since the boots are okay, you're in luck and this is an easy fix. - ******************************* Jim Adney, jadney@vwtype3.org Madison, Wisconsin, USA ******************************* ------------------------------------------------------------------- List info at http://www.vwtype3.org/list or mailto:help@vwtype3.org