Sommers brothers boot question

[Scrapiron]

Does anyone have pics of the bearing setup that seals the boot to the axle. I know that I have seen this but I don't have first hand knowledge of them. I know someone that is having a problem with dirt and water getting into the hub and causing premature wear.

Thanks John

[ScottWisdom]

I have Summers hubs on my SCORE LITE (12 car). Do a search for "summers hubs" and you'll find some info. Knock on wood...they've been very reliable for me. There are two types of boots. One type of boot runs loose on the axle which leaves an opening for dirt and water. I run the other type of boot that cinches down on a bearing that rides on a shoulder on the axle. Seems to do a better job of keeping the water out.

Although these hubs are not rocket science, it's important to get the proper spacing/torque on the bearings. I have mine serviced by Lothringer for peace of mind.

[PARTS PIMP]

use the thickest leather boots you can find and high quality grease mix swepco/bel ray. boots with bearings mounted to axle tend to put drag on the boot and get twisted check bearings. outer snap ring ususlly is busted up after race so i quit putting it on. i will only use gkn and grease mix on cv used another brand and different grease and broke. my axle ends are rounded and slightly grinds end cap machined cap thinner and trimmed axles . Summers bothers was recently sold and is still in buisness have ph# will post when i can find card. hope this helps

[redmist]

Thanks John for the post. It's my car, ex John, that is the car in question. Its currently running a fabric boot that runs loose on an unsteped axle. Problem is this....
http://www.dirt.org.nz/RedMist/Nelson1.jpg
Mud, dirt, clay and cow processed grass tends to work its way down the axle into both the outer bearing and the CV's. As I don't have the stepped axle we are currently looking at a machined collar to hold the bearing and construct some custom boots with very large openings to attach around the outside of the bearing. Any other cleaner, workable or commercial solutions would be greatly apprecaited!

[Rory]

Bruce Fraley in Las Vegas can make the boots clinch to the axle, just send him your axles and he'll do it for you. I'm in the same boat, need to get mine done. After 33 miles racing Laughlin this year in the rain, my cv's were JUNK! Could not imagine racing Mexico (Baja 500 or 1000) without them.

[redmist]

Wardy, I've been emailing you for years and you still havent recognised I'm in New Zealand!
It's a little hard for me to mail my axles to Vegas.

I'll go with the split clamp method for the moment then possiby get some stepped axles made up.. or go mid board hub...or find out how Bruce Fraley manages to clinch something stationary to something rotating and not make it explode.

[ScottWisdom]

I've had good luck with the bearing on the shoulder of the axle. Haven't had any issues with the boot twisting. If you don't have the shoulder on the axle, maybe you the bearing could ride on a split clamp. Might be cheaper than buying new axles with shoulders. Just a thought....

[redmist]

I've had good luck with the bearing on the shoulder of the axle. Haven't had any issues with the boot twisting. If you don't have the shoulder on the axle, maybe you the bearing could ride on a split clamp. Might be cheaper than buying new axles with shoulders. Just a thought....
Thats effectively the plan. Machining a perfectly circular bearing retainer on the split clamp may be an issue, as such I was hoping for a tidier or a commercial solution (which would end up cheaper as my skill on a lathe are equally comparable to that of a untrained hamster)