I don't use boots.  The store is correct, they tend to accumulate dirt
and mud then cause the shaft to wear prematurely.  Now if your on
pavement most of the time and take care to clean the boots out after
offroading then they might be worthwhile.

All of my shocks AND the steering stabilizer have boots.  Shocks are
Edelbrock.  Stabilizer is Rancho.  The whole point of having boots is
to keep dirt off the piston rod where it enters so you don't get a lot
of wear at that point.  I would get a boot.  They aren't going to trap
dirt unless they are cracked or loose.

The boots have holes in them because they have to act like a bellows and
move.  Sealed they wouldn't move.

They 'do' fill up with mud and water and cannot be easily cleaned out.

I wouldn't use them on a horizontal shaft because they won't drain well
if at all.  If you are careful when you install and put the hole at the
bottom, they will drain some, but the baffle ridges will stay full.

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's
Canadian Off Road Trips Photos:  Non members can still view!
Jan/06 http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2115147590
(More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page)

Your stock stabilizer shouldn't have had one either:
http://www.billhughes.com/TJalign.htm
       God Bless America, Bill 0|||||||0
mailto:LWHughes3rd@aol.com

The reason they "death wooble" is because of caster and toe issues. A
stabiler is merely masking the real problem. Few dealer or alignment
places these days understand the real cause of this problem so some
say it is normal. When you get the correct combo of camber, caster and
to for your lift/tires size the problem will go away. The problem is
that factory alignement spec rarely will do this and you need to tweak
from there but few understand the cure so you are left hanging. I used
to align these solid axles 25 to 30 years ago before there was
computer racks and you had to know your stuff. I have fixed a few of
those death woobles in my day. If you can post your alignment readings
I can tell you what you likely need to do to get a real cure.
-----------------
TheSnoMan.com

My '81 CJ5 hasn't got a boot on the steering shock.

Anytime I've ever used boots they caused more trouble than they were
worth.  They ALWAYS ended up rusting the piston rod and the top of the
shock where they come together.  Now I live in the relatively wet
midwest so moisture is an issue.  If you're living in arizona it's
probably not an issue but, it certainly won't hurt you to leave it off,
that much the shop has correct.

But whatever you do, for the love of GOD and all that's holy make sure
you do indeed keep a stabilizer on your Jeep so you don't run right out
and kill somebody.  (Don't worry, it's just an inside joke, so to
speak).   :)