Quote Originally Posted by KDubU View Post
I notice you are using different boots on the LCA's and UCA's. The ones that come with the kit, dark blue, seem a bit liable to tear and I ordered some replacements from Summit but have not wanted to pull everything apart again to install. How do you find the ones with the kit and am curious why you have a few different ones?
The LCA boots are unchanged as received with the kit. Those blue ones I left alone. They are crimped in place (or held on somehow) and seemed OK to me. I have similar ones on my completed Mk4 that's done and driving. They are holding up fine. For the UCA, I switched to Howe Racing ball joints as I described earlier in the thread. They don't come with boots, but that's OK because I really like the Energy Suspension boots. So for the UCA, those are the Energy Suspension 5.13102G boots. That part number contains both upper and lower. I just used the one pair. Less than $10 for all four. For the steering tie rod ends, those are Energy Suspension 9.13101G boots. About $7.00 for the pair. The boots supplied with the kit are maybe OK. But you can find lots of instances where they haven't lasted the life of the build. Maybe because the suspension is hanging at full droop for extended periods of time and they get distorted and crack? Whatever the reason, easy and cheap to put better ones in now. Much more work later. I found the best price for the boots on Amazon. If they have what you're looking for, their car part prices are usually pretty good.