Correct position is zipper to the rear on the right hand boot and zipper to the front on he left hand boot. DO NOT cut the zipper off! I learned this the hard way! I installed a new boot on the left knuckle, yes, the boots DO NOT turn inside out like the TM shows. It took a lot of effort to get the boot sealed with the inner clamp, i could have used about six extra hands it finally got it done. After I had in in place, I carefully felt around the inner clamp to make sure it was fit properly. The outer clamp was a piece of cake compared to the inner clamp. Too late I realized the original outer clamp, which I reused, had a lock nut, the new inner clamp did not.
After about a week of driving, the inner clamp nut loosened and the boot became unseated from the inner boot seat, time to redo the job! I reused the old boot, and this time used a jam nut on the inner clamp (a lock nut would have been better, but I didn't have the proper one on hand at the time). During the course of reinstalling the boot, the zipper opened slightly at the outer edge. Once I had the outer clamp securely in place (it had a locking nut), I liberally doused the open part of the zipper with silicone sealant to preclude leaks.
Lessons learned:
1. Regardless of what the TM says, the boot WILL NOT turn inside out in order to fit the inside clamp (at least with the new style neoprene boots). You will have fight with the SOB to get the inner clamp in place. Once you THINK it is in place and the inner clamp is firmly secured but not fully tightened, carefully feel around the entire perimeter to make sure it is properly seated. Adjust as needed before fully tightening the inner clamp.
2. USE SELF LOCKING NUTS ON BOTH THE INNER AND OUTER CLAMP! If the clamps did not come with self locking nuts, stop what you are doing, go to the hardware store, and get the proper sized SELF LOCKING NUTS! If you do not do this, the nuts WILL loosen, and you WILL do this job all over again!
3. DO NOT cut off the end of the zipper! The free end of the zipper is not in the way of anything and there is no need to cut it off. If for some reason you have to redo the boot install and have cut off the zipper, it WILL try to unzip while you are trying to reinstall the boot, creating a major PITA for you! Leave the damn end of the zipper as is!
, if not that will cause the boots to slip off the knuckle when thightning the outer clamp, also the inside mating surface of the boot must be equally clean or the same will happen. I have found when installing the outer clamp that it MUST be done in increments,, Tighten the clamp a little and adjust the boot, tighten some more and adjust the boot again and so on......
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