I ripped my old man emu uca ball joint boot during install today, any tips?

I'm an idiot, please skip past this and offer advice if you can. I'm pissed as hell and freaking out a bit.

The rubber ball joint boot on my old man emu uca ripped when my lower control arm smacked into it. I've tried taking it entirely off to see what the re-install would be (impulsive, i know). Now the first metal ring is bent and off, and I can't get the entire rubber piece off.

It's sitting with a zip lock bag in my garage while I figure out what the fuck to do.

Any tips? How the hell do I fix this?

 

How high of a lift are you going? You can possibly run the OEM uca's until you get it sorted out.

Also, pictures would help.

 

One sec, let me get pictures. BRB. It's about a 3in lift.

 

How do un fuck this? Should I order parts and replace? I don't even know how the heck to replace this to be honest. That metal ring won't come out at all.

 

Alright, I've had a beer and calmed down a bit. Fuck man. I think I can just order a replacement boot, and zip tie it on. I got the entire boot off just by pulling it after the metal compression ring came off (in the picture). So, we should be alright. Unfortunately just means I need to let Penelope sit in her cage for a week or so longer. Fuuuuuuck. I also bruised the hell out of my finger.

 

Order a new boot and a pair of e-clip pliers... simple replacement. Relax. Shit happens.

More curious how your LCA contacted the UCA...

 

Yeah honestly I need a chill pill, I blame the caffeinated spiked arnold palmers. I was pushing on the rotor + LCA assembly to get the sway bar (not sure 100% the term, whatever the metal piece that the brake line attaches to) lined up for the bolt and something smacked the hell out of my finger and the boot. Not 100% sure how it all went down, but it did. I ordered some boots on Amazon to see if any of them will fit, otherwise will return them. I can report back with some links if any of them work, so that future fuck ups can be more easily resolved on the forums. Was going to just stick with a zip tie and call it a fashion statement.

 

We've all been there. Sounds like you're on the right track. Good luck.

 

Pop the boot off your OEM ball joint and see if it fits...

Those boot retainer rings can be a bit of a bitch...they're called "2 turn rings", like a key ring. You have to start one end, hold it down, then sort of stretch it a bit like a spring and feed it around.

you don't need a bag around it when it's sitting in your garage....it's a dust boot, it will protect the joint from road dirt and trail dirt and splashes through water over 100K miles. No damage will result from sitting in your garage with no boot.

 

I second seeing the boot from the OEM arm fits. I used Toyota boots (parts counter item, part number in pic) when I had a tear in mine, and I have aftermarket upper arms.

 

Or, contact the vendor you purchased these from and see if “The Old Man” offers a replacement boot. For what they cost I would imagine they do. If you don’t off road you could ride around on paved roads for a couple of weeks with a torn boot.
Pack some new grease in the new boot, I strongly recommend using the spring clamp. They can be tricky to install, an extra set of heads can be very helpful. Patience and perseverance and you’ll be fine.

 

Thanks gents, I'll try all this out. By chance, if I get a temporary boot on so I can get my alignment next week. Will I need another alignment if I just unscrew the uca bolt to get a proper boot replacement on? Or can I tighten it all up and be fine without another alignment afterwards?

 

While trying to figure out how you possibly hit your upper control arm with your lower control arm, it occurred to me that maybe you're talking about the spindle, which could easily cut your boot.

Others have given good suggestions on replacement boot options.

As for having to get a re-alignment...I've pulled my upper control arm from my spindle several times and never needed a re-align. As long as that's the only thing you take apart, and you don't replace the ball joint or change any hard parts, it will all go back together in the same orientation.

 

Don't worry about the boot for a couple weeks driving around on roads. And no, you don't need to get another alignment after you pop things apart to replace the boot when it comes in.

 

That's it! Yeah I'm pretty sure that's what happened. And awesome, this helps a ton. I actually got the OEM boot on it and it works okay. Going to try some different ones on Amazon to get a slightly more snug fit. But we're good to roll off for an alignment soon!

 

Hope all goes as planned. Good luck with your remedy!