To all who have responded, thank you. Here's what I have learned so far:
The problem of the seals deteriorating and splitting seems to be a
continuing and apparently random problem. I talked to John Suager of TRF
who gave me the benefit of his years of experience - they have had new seals
spit within the year, and have had seals from the same batch last many
years. They have had the same results with original seals from England as
well as the repro's. BTW, John is sending me a complete set of new seals,
free of charge - great customer relations.
Peter Arakelian of Moss Motors responded, and subscribed to the "use it or
lose it" theory. He wrote that "it is very common to see these type of
components fall apart when not used." This could apply to my case, as well
as to another case John mentioned.
Several folks mentioned that their seals had split and fallen off cars that
were driven regularly. Two said they had continued to drive the car for
several years with seemingly no ill effects. Considering that a near
complete suspension disassembly is required just to replace the bushing
seals (a real PITA), I am tempted to go that route...nah.
Some things to note:
The lower wishbone inner bushings (those closest to the frame) are slightly
larger in diameter than the outer bushings (those closer to the wheel).
Moss lists different part numbers for the inner and outer seals. TRF uses
one size to fit both; like I said, they both have had similar results.
Interestingly, all eight inner seals on my car have split, but all eight
outer seals are fine. Due to the lack of a local distributor for VB, and
their high shipping charges to the West coast, I do not have experience with
their products.
It appears that if you are going to install new front suspension seals on
your car, there is no clear cut superior vendor to buy from. Like the old
saying goes: "Ya pays yer money, ya takes yer chances". <g>
I have ordered some seals from Moss just for comparisons sake. I will post
a final update after the seals from each company have arrived, and I have
installed the best looking ones.
Thanks, Dennis
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