I recently found my inner boot was leaking grease, and rather than replace everything, I'd like to just replace the band/clamp or whatever you call it. I ordered a clamp from subaruparts.com com, with part number 23242GA410
I also posted about my issues here if you want the full story.
I need whatever help I can get in terms of removing the old band, and putting on the new one. This seems like it would be a simple operation, but a couple of people in this thread have mentioned it, so I'd like to learn from your experience. This is why I'm posting in this thread.
Here's a picture of the clamp:
1) My old clamp looks slightly different than the one above. A picture of my old clamp while on the boot is located in this thread. I don't see any obvious way to remove it. Remember, I want to keep the boot intact
2) I don't understand how the new clamp is supposed to work. I suspect that I have to buy a special tool (as mentioned in earlier posts), but I was expecting ears or something to fold down onto the metal once it goes through the slot. Right now, the only way I can envision securing the clamp is to slide it through the slot and either crimp it (doesn't seem like that would be very sturdy, and wouldn't know how to get leverage after it is wrapped around the boot) or slide the metal through and bend it backward... also doesn't seem quite right.
I hoping someone could explain these two things to me before I just experiment with what I have. Thanks.
