Initial Preparation:
The natural elasticity of the boots allows stretching during assembly.
Lubrication of the boots is required to perform this operation. There are rubber "lubricants" available, but WD40 or dishwashing liquid are also acceptable.
Moderation of the lubricant is critical. Too much creates a mess
and makes the parts hard to handle. Start with a small amount.
Once the boot is installed, be sure to wipe or blow the lubricant off
the boot to avoid eventual breakdown of the rubber compound.
Assembly Procedure:
When looking at a boot, there are three holes: two for the bolt to pass through,
and one that the threaded "shank" of the rose joint will protrude through after installation.
The rose joint should be inserted “shank” first through one of the through rose joint bolt holes,
and then the shank should be fed through the side hole (where the rose joint threaded part is desired to protrude from the boo so the rose joint is in a "diagonal" orientation through the top and side holes.
Then, the rest of the "head" of the rose joint can be inserted and pulled into the boot.
A small, blunt (to avoid puncturing the boot), round dowel can help this process if used like a tyre iron to lever the boot over the body gradually.
The reason for inserting the rose end through the top or bottom bolt holes is because the neck of the rose joint boot is these areas are more expandable than the side hole.
Electricians Neoprene sleeve stretching pliers can greatly ease the installation
The cautionary note here is that this is not an exact science, and some dexterity and determination is a prerequisite. The upside to the exercise is that once the boots are installed, the benefits are obvious.
If you are looking to invest in much higher specification / higher performance Rose Joints and wish to avoid easy bending, breaking of rose joints, balls becoming loose in their sockets after a few months,backlash (and clunking noises) from rear axle bars that are stressing transmission components,Teflon liners pounding out and the cost or repeated replacements of commercial grade rose joints, then we have these items also - check out our other items including Spherical Bearing and Clevis Joints .
