THE PORTAL HUB - Pinzgauers, Haflingers, Volvo 303s and more!

Hello

How long has anyone successfully run a split boot? I will be purchasing one as part of my trail emergency kit and I am curious how fast I need to get back to the original soild type. Does anyone have Steyr approved info on their split-boot?

Eric P

I've had one on for around 12+ months now, as I'm planning a major service to replace all the brake drums, front diff etc (and I will remove the axle assembly at the time and replace it with an original one piece unit) but work and play (4WD Trips etc) keep getting in the way, so my "no more than a month" temporary repair is still there.....and only because it's still fine and not leaking!

I've had split boots on the back of my Pinz for over 2 years , no leaks or cracks

My splits only made it 8 months. I found it very easy to put the one piece boots on at the shop. I still think the splits are a very good trail kit item. From the previous post on the split boots it seems to depend on where and what type of wheeling you do.

I've had three of them for several years. The key is to install them correctly and be sure you leave plenty of strech capacity in the accordion by keeping the smaller inner ring close to the side of the larger outer ring. We do mostly mudding here and there is no rock climbing at all so they have held up fine. - Buzz

Both of my front boots are the split-style. Been going strong for nearly a year now. As previously posted, a good installation is key.

I have to agree with Buzz and Loyal. I have had one on the front right for over a year with some moderate four wheeling and a lot of highway. It still looks like the day I installed it with no sign of getting brittle, cracking or splitting. The joint is still tight and does not leak.... yet. I must admit that I am keeping an eye on it though. I'm sure that as previously stated, Proper Installation is the key.

Tom C.

The pinz had a split boot on the left rear when I bought it. Aparently a repair was done (where?) and it was the most expedient fix. Seems to be holding up well and I have no worries mate.
I should probably get one to keep as a spare in the event one of the originals goes.
Have only done rocky off road and desert sand, no rock crawling.

Cheers,
Morris
710M

To be fair to the splits, the split joint was still in good shape the the boot in general seemed to be very flexable but you could see where something had hung up on them and just shredded them. I really think the useage has a lot to do with the life expectancy. I managed, not too long ago to put a 5" rip in the sidewall of one of my Trxus MT's. The guy at the tire shop could not believe the sidewall failed on a Trxus. Worse part is I am not even sure when it happened. One of the guys with me in another truck pointed it out on the trail at a stop.
Got to remember the original one piece only lasted a few months before I went split. I am now back to all one piece and have had no problems, but it has been less than a year on them, time will tell.

I found a tear in the split boot. The boot was over three years old and when removed showed no signs of age or cracking. It was damaged on the top can't figure out how it got torn on top, anyway I replaced it with one of two I purchased on Ebay.
I bought these a while ago for trail spares. The small portion of the boot doesn't fit around the axel, it has a 3/8 gap no matter where it's adjusted to on the axel. Lesson learned you get what you pay for. These were not in factory packaging. I emailed the seller only as a heads up on his product, no reply. He still has over a hundred for sale.
Swifty in Illinois

This is exactly why I posted some comments about these boots as being for field repairs only.

Yes I have come across the 3/8" gap problems, a squirt of silicon will bridge that gap until you can split the axle for the real deal.

Best regards
Dennis

Well here we go again, its summer time in NA and the heat is on. Like clockwork, In comes a 710 on the hook.

Start it up and a large, no very large clatter is evident, plus a big pool of oil on the deck. MMm, leg out of bed. The engine has seized left the piston behind, and bent and twisted the rod like it was made of chewing gum! We got it out of the crankcase after a partial tear down.

Not that a a teardown is really needed, the lot is scrap, except for the ancilliaries, and the heads etc.

One thing is for certain, the owner said well I neglected the oil, the oil light was winking at me for ages on the freeway.
So just a note for you folks to check your oil at every fuel fill up and wash out the cooling capsule after winter muck has been sucked in by the cooling fan.

As john said, they might not turn 8 grand but the engine will cost 8 grand to fix all for a can or two of oil. No fillet minion tonight for this owner!
Thank god for revolving debt, credit cards.
Dennis

the oil light was winking at me for ages on the freeway

It takes all types to make a world, but SDP should have put a rule in place in the early days, that people this smart shouldn't ever be allowed to own a Pinzgauer

It is a bit off topic from the original post...and I risk falling into the aforementioned category posted by Peter...but...

I came in from a 20 min. ride at higher speeds (80 kmh/50 mph) and found that the oil light came on at idle. With an increase in revs, the light extinguished and everything seemed okay. I immediately pulled over, turned off the engine and waited a few minutes for the oil to seep down. I checked the level and all was good. Even the viscosity seemed okay. I resume driving and once again the idiot light comes on when at idle at an intersection. Revs up...light off. The truck was parked for a few days and, when I had some time to look at it, found that everything seemed in order. I took it out for a drive at "normal" speeds and the light does not illuminate.

Could this be indicative of an oilpan pickup thats not functioning properly or should I be looking at a thicker oil. The temperature here is in the 70's so the heat was not a factor. The oil cooler is clean.

Any thoughts?

If the light flickers at idle, that is common for a lot of them. Old a/c VWs use to be that way... if it stays on off of idle, I'd be checking things.