Torn strut boot: Does it need immediate replacement?

The strut boot is important, but a torn strut boot does not require immediate replacement

Technically speaking, you should replace a torn strut boot because it does an important job of keeping dirt off the piston wiper seal. But in reality, it’s simply not worth it because the cost is prohibitive. I’ll explain more below.

What a strut boot does

A strut boot is usually an accordion-shaped boot that compresses as the strut compresses. The compression blows any road dirt off the strut piston rod wiper seal to keep it clean. It also protects the wiper seal from rain and snow. As such, the strut boot has an important job.

What happens if the strut boot tears or falls off?

Without it, the piston rod wiper seal will be exposed to more dirt and grit, and the seal will wear out faster.

Torn strut boot: How it happens

Strut boots are normally made with a neoprene or slightly more rigid material. Over time, they can age, crack, and tear. Impacts from snow and road debris can also damage a strut boot.

Strut boots can be torn at the top, middle, or bottom.

Where is the piston wiper seal?

Here’s a cutaway diagram from MOOG showing the location of the piston rod wiper seal, the main seal, and the Teflon buffer seal.

Cutaway view of piston rod and wiper seal, main seal, and Teflon buffer sea

Damaged strut boot replacement cost

The shop must remove the entire strut assembly from your vehicle to replace a torn strut boot. Next, they’d have to compress the strut, remove the strut mount, and then the strut boot. After replacing the strut boot, they’d have to reassemble the strut, install the assembly back in your vehicle, and then align it.

The labor time to replace a damaged strut boot on both sides is around 3.4 hours, plus the cost of an alignment.

Strut boots fail due to age. Even though the damaged strut boot is causing extra wear to the wiper seal, the entire strut is also wearing out. It doesn’t make much sense to pay the labor to replace a strut boot if the strut is still performing correctly. In almost all cases, it makes far more sense from a financial standpoint to wait until the strut wears out fully and then replace the entire strut with a new unit.

See this post for a more in-depth cost analysis of replacing the complete strut versus replacing just the boot or just the bump stop

The same advice applies if you have a damaged strut bump stop

©, 2023 Rick Muscoplat