transfer case boot

[MadScience]

My 4x4 conversion was done on a pretty tight budget. Crawling around looking at some unrelated stuff I found one of the corners that my have been reasonable to cut in the desert it came from, but that I'll want to re-do it it ever does start snowing again in Tahoe.

This is the shifter boot, sealed against the top of the carpeting leaving the pad to soak any moisture that might get near it:



What's the right way to do this?

Pull the boot through the bottom and seal it against the underside?

Pull only the carpet and pad up and seal the boot against the floor from the top?

My first instinct was to pull it through and seal from the bottom, but the hardware (and every picture I can find) really looks like it should be from the top.

Either will be fun since the floor isn't flat there, but somewhere between bending the bracket to fit and caulk I'll make it work.

[Gnarvan]

I'd try sealing it from the top. The way it is now the exposed pad will wick moisture into the van and give you a mold problem down the road. After you cut away any carpet or pad that's exposed to the bottom and seal it from the top check and see if a bead of silicone around the bottom would help the seal. When sealing the top think about how you will remove the boot later on for some type of service issue. I wouldn't over use sealant on the boot to the body making it impossible to remove.

It also looks like they only used two screws to secure the boot to the floor. I'd use at least four. One in each corner to help the seal.

[Ford_6L_E350]

I'd put a 2nd boot on the underside and be happy.

Boots area available from auto parts stores or big places like Summit Racing.

Mike

[Gnarvan]

Second boot......I like it......good idea!

[MadScience]

That pad does look ready to wick, doesn't it?

Pulling the boot off made it pretty obvious that the hardware is supposed to seal from the top. The floor is in fact flat on the top there, the structural re-enforcement that was hacked through is just tacked on to the bottom. That's also what's hiding the other two screws. I cut the carpet back, slipped the boot under the carpet and pad, added some caulk for good measure and then screwed it back down.

The re-enforcement is full of drain holes (from the factory), so I'm not going stress that opening too much.