Wondering if shock boots are necessary. I read (ford f150 forum) that "if you live somewhere where freezing temperatures & snow are very often then you should run shock boots" but for mostly off road "a lot of people believe they trap dirt and mud which cause corrosion. A lot of people don't run them."

I live in PA and thinking I might need em...what sayeth the cherokee forum?

 

I don't run them on my off road Jeep. They do trap mud and dirt. But they are on my on-road trucks to protect the stems for some of the water and salt.

 

they are not necessary, if you dont put them on you will see corrosion where it never compresses all the way so you might have to shine them up everynow and then if you want them to stay looking nice

 

They can trap water and other crud - I'd want drain holes put in (and I've got plenty of different sizes of brass grommets around, so that's no trouble anyhow.)

The main reason I could see for running them would be if you're in an environment with a lot of loose, hard debris being thrown up into the wheelhouses - the shock boot would eventually get shredded, but it's better than letting the shock rod get shredded and tear up the gland around it! You'd have to replace the boots at intervals, but that's easier and cheaper than replacing the whole damned shock damper...

 

I agree, hear in florida the sand is your enemy. I used them but i don't zip tir the bottoms so it is easier to clean.

 

And there you go! Just to keep the crud off of the rod, but make sure the crud has an easy escape (it's going to get in there, so make sure it can get back out fairly easily...)