MOT failure help

[JeffRoo]

Hi all, van failed MOT today ‘84 Caravelle ... groan
anyway, it’s nothing major but I need some help to get the parts
these are the failures:
track rod end near side and offside ball joint dust cover excessively damaged so that it no longer prevents ingress of dirt
offside lower suspension arm ball joint dust cover excessively damaged etc
nearside upper suspension arm ball joint cover excessively damaged etc

garage said you can get spares of just the dust covers and replace them. All good! 

but where can I get them from? Has anyone done this before. Just quickly checked on Brickwerks, but they only sell the complete unit.

can some kind person point me in the right direction?

many many thanks

 

[DoubleOSeven]

Mick Crowe NWVWT25
or
Julian @ Parts Emporium
or
Google the VAG number

[davidoft1]

Brickwerks
Just Kampers
Vw heritage
German and Swedish

J
Or eBay , just need the diameter of the boot

[JeffRoo]

Thanks both. What is the easiest way of finding out VAG number?

[Aidan]

unfortunately other than the steering rack boot 251 419 831 A these boots were not available as separate parts from VW because they were high quality boots that would generally last the design life of the component; when the boot failed so usually did the component (ie by the time you found a split boot the damage was done) so it was replaced as a complete part; nowadays the boots on ball joints are rubbish but you will have to search through listings of boots to find the appropriate ones so it's a balance of saving money just replacing boots against the time and effort of trying to find them, and accepting they may well be rubbish and not last long either. BMW did seem to have part numbers for boots on their own so if you can find BMW equivalents then they might work quite well, the ones I have bought for BMW seem to be better quality than the ones fitted these days to aftermarket components
Rubber parts now are generally not as long lived as they were in the 80s, probably due to banning of the pollutant chemicals (or the cost of the chemicals and processes) that were used in the production of them back then, and modern vehicles (and thus components) only have very short life expectancy and are built accordingly, noone will make money making things that last 30 years

[DoubleOSeven]

Thanks both. What is the easiest way of finding out VAG number?

https://volkswagen.7zap.com/en/rdw/

Typ 2/syncro

[hubcap61]

Agree with above post about replacing unit but if cash is tight you can get the dust covers here.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Volkswagen-T ... SwcUBYJxqW

[TONYT25T25]

I changed my nearside front upper ball joint last year as i noticed the dust cover had a tare in it.  I got my replacement from VW Heritage and opted for the heavy duty part.  When removing the old one there is a few other items that need undoing also, be care full with the steering knuckle and ensure it is held in place and does not drop to far, I think mine did and put extra stress on the steering rack gaiter on that side which i also had to replace as i noticed a tare in that.  Also worth having a look at this from James Akers.

Ball Joint Replacement – VW T25 – Sir Adventure

[JeffRoo]

Thanks all. Ordered some emplacement boots from vw heritage. Doesn’t look like there is a spare boot for the upper suspension ball joint, so ordered a complete unit. Will report back it there are any issues, and if no issues I will keep an eye on how long they last. 

[JeffRoo]

Parts came quickly and relatively simple to fit. Now to see how long they last