onetim.. I am planning to import some engines in 2018...but  got to find the 1275s first.. they have got to be as scarce as hens teeth (  I used to just buy old metros for 50 quid  and pull the engines and junk the car ... I am importing the 2 nd and 3 nd chokes also again in 2018..   the parts for India is what scares me of late..  later bc  ps..  there is local person..  Franco Electric that sell the best rubber parts for ALL cars here in Gastonia NC..  and might also try . Jack Jacobs Rubber products in Michigan..

An accurate and realistic overview of the challanges industry and consumers face in a changing world. I'm old enough to remember when anything labeled "Made in Japan" meant poor quality, much like the rap China gets today. The first time anyone noticed Japan was improving their products was their cameras. Next came electronics, then cars, etc.

I remember everyone grumbling about early auto emmision controls. Today's cars are way more powerful, more reliable and 400% greener than just two decades ago, and mileage is 3X what it once was. Also, 80% of today's cars are recyclable. We can still do much better improving mileage, although that's not likely to happen in the US anytime soon. I guess my crappy shift rod boot is small potatoes.   

the other issue, which has also been raised by others, is the continually changing chemistry available on the market due to the need to accommodate tightening environmental and health lessons learned as the years go by

For instance, paint commonly available after WWII was amazing stuff, barns and houses painted with it would last for decades.  Unfortunately, it was also poisonous to developing children's brains and the challenge of making a house paint which will last has been on going ever since (and the reason why most houses today simply have a cheap layer of PVC siding on them, instead).

Same story for anti-corrosion plating (cancer causing), and the struggle the auto makers have in maintaining 10yr+ body life with new chemistry which is safer for workers and the environment, but by being less reactive tends to also do its job less well.  

Rubbers, natural and synthetic, have some of the same challenges, and so, sometimes it isn't only crap manufacturers doing a poor job of quality control, but it is sometimes well meaning manufacturers getting materials from sub suppliers which have changed, and being small volume, aftermarket parts makers lack the manpower to stay on top of it all of the time.

OEMs have whole departments devoted solely to keeping up with the latest regulations and the latest chemistry of everything which is constantly evolving (and from a purely performance point of view, because of the naturally opposing priorities of performance vs. safety and health, the performance sometimes gets worse, at least, temporarily until the industry adjusts).

The good thing is that the intent is to make everything safer, and be less negatively impactful to the environment and to our children.  The bad thing is sometimes our parts get caught in the middle and the "new stuff" craps out where old stuff lasted for ages.

The really good thing is that in the long run, once the industry adjusts, things do tend to get better.  Auto paint today is 1000 times better than what was available 50 years ago, as are engine controls (due, in large part, to the ever tightening emissions controls pushing the technology, plus increasingly cheaper electronic control devices and technology), leading to power outputs previously undreamed of.


N

 I was restoring a '59 Mini and it sat in my garage untouched for about a year.  When I got back to it, the brand new CV boots had deteriorated to the point that they were groups of rubber rings hanging from the axle.  The original boots I removed from 1959 were actually in decent shape and held up for over 50 years.  

as pointed out, there are different kinds of rubber, some synthetic, some natural 

some of the synthetics (like EPDM) are just as sensitive to hydrocarbons (oil, grease, fuel, etc.) as natural rubber is

some of the most expensive synthetics, like NBR (nitrile), are very resistant (which is why they are used as valve seals, bearing lip seals, CV boots, etc), and will be priced accordingly 

some, like silicone, can be very resistant, and very stable at high temperatures, and can be relatively cheap to produce, but are also sensitive to chemistry when making, so good ones are great, bad batches are junk

a common characteristic of any newly developing industry (which, currently is almost everything in China and some years ago, Japan, and on and on back through history, there are wide variations from supplier to supplier, and sometimes, from batch to batch of parts from a single one


N

I did not apply grease to the boot. Assuming the boot was actually rubber or perhaps a rubber compound, it is my understanding ordinary grease tends to degrade rubber. Is there another substance that could be used? On the other hand, the interior CV joint boots are smothered in grease and they're holding up well.

The original shift rod boot lasted 10+ years. I think the new one was just inferior rubber.

Warewolf I thought you were importing a load of A+ engines for older choke repair? I am sure the new chokes look very nice. And I happen to be enjoying a Davenport at the moment 

onetim...  funny thing about arm chair experts they think they know it all .. reminds me of Donnie Dump..  China.. makes damn good cars..  the new mokes from www.mokeamerica.com are stunning.   might stop by and drive one..  we serve GRITS to eat with the CROW you will be chewing on.... later bc

China and rubber, there must be a joke there, besides on us. From scooters, generators, to Toro lawn mowers with fake Kohler engines, its all crap, and rapidly becoming the only choice. If you can't find it at Harbor freight, or Dollar general, you don't need it.

Many of the rubber parts are of terrible quality nowadays, esp if they've been made in China.

At work, we were assisting a Chinese rubber moulding company in making the rubber bellows between cars for the UK rail system.  They were unable to buy top (European) spec rubber compound due to import restrictions, and had to use inferior domestic material.  Their bellows also fell apart in a few months too.  They didn't get the job with the UK client !

The current CV boots I have were from Japan and cost about $100 each - they have lasted years.

Did you oil or grease it before installation ?

Any rubber product subjected to the radiant heat from an exhaust manifold will fail if you don't help it a little bit.

Having said that, there was a period where rubber was utter garbage due to chemical restrictions by the EU.

Welcome to my world mate! Only in my case I'd be paying for the repair not the customer, as you say it's shameful.

After only 3 to 4 months and less than 800 miles, this is what my new shift rod boot looks like. Everyone from the manufacturer to the vendor should be ashamed of themselves. This is only a minor annoyance, but it makes me wonder about the seals, O-rings and gaskets in my rebuilt engine and transmission. Sheesh. [link]