How to get airbox boot back in?

I have rebuilt the carbs. they fire up with out cranking. However before seting with syncpro and colortune i want to get it back together properly. which means boots back in, and air cleaner hooked up. However im turning 10 shades of red, and creating new swear words trying to get the airbox boots back in. any tricks? I have tryed having them in before the carbs and cant get carbs in. I have tryed shoving them in from inside the airbox. all with out sucess. I have even tryed a thin layer of ky jelly (while pushing from inside the box. im stump and frustrated.

 

Loosen the airbox mount & it will allow you to slide it back a little. Hope this helps.

 

They can be a bear for sure. I've heard you can soak them in hot water to soften them.

 

welcome to the club!
i made a few tools, first is a phillips screwdriver with the point rounded off so i can shove the boot around without poking through it.
then get a piece of stiff wire like welding rod about 1/8 inch thick, bend a 90 about 1/4 to 3/8 long on the end (sharp bend), smooth the tip so it doesn't snag, then 5 or 6 inches back bend some kind of handle. this flips the boot from inside the carb to outside where it belongs. the boots have a mark at the carb end on top. lots of lps1 or silicone spray. there are a few bolts to loosen to slide the airbox back, sometimes that helps. heat never worked for me, by the time i got it on it was cold

 

I also found that a 90 degree bend in a heavy piece of electrical wire and a good coat of silicone grease made it fairly easy. Make sure the tab on the boot is lined up with the mark on the airbox.

 

+1 on the hot water. Boil a pot of water, put boots in a separate pot, bowl, or something you don't mind being dirty, and pour water over them and leave them soaking for a bit. Take the bowl with you, leave the boots soaking in that hot water til you are ready to install each one. The heat makes the boots nice, stretchy, and pliable. I would get them mounted on the carb side first, secure that end with the hose clamp, then install into air box.

Good luck!

 

I use a hot air gun. With the air box pushed right back, I heat each boot gently in hand, then push it back in. It makes it quite soft and easy to work into position.
cheers, Murray

 

http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=29640.html

http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic ... boots.html

 

Pliability with heat and a screwdriver to push on the boots when they are warmed. Should be able to do it in 5 or 10 minutes.

 

when i took the carbs off i slid the boots all the way inside the box, past all the ribs and slid the carbs in and then i just pulled them out starting with the center ones..it took about 15 min but i got it done without any special tools

 

+1 on that. push the boots back into the airbox so that the carb-side flange is sticking out, put the carbs on and attach the intake boots, then pop the air boots back out of the airbox and seat the ridge. start with #'s 2 + 3, then 1 + 4. It's tight, but it will work eventually.

 

You can also use a wood hammer handle to wedge in and pry them off and on. This is helpful on the side connecting to the heads.