Boots or no boots on rear 5100's

Thinking about taking the rear boots of my 5100's. I have heard that its actually causes premature wear on the shocks because water and crud get trapped in them. Any help on this would be appreciated.

 

Why would you take them off?

Taking them off doesn't give you any performance enhancement. The boots are there to keep the dirt/water off the shaft. So, it makes good sense to leave them on.

I haven't heard people having problems leaving the boots off - however - I deal with air cylinders at work (similar shaft & seal setups) and YES, if the shaft has dirt on it, that can eventually wear away at the seal and can cause leaks over time. IMO How long? Depends. You'd probably replace the shocks sooner ....

 

if your reallly that worried about some quality constructed shocks getting a lil dirty you could clean them down real good then put a retention band/c-clip etc. around the boot at the shaft body and seal it that way