Control Arm Pivot Pins - Rubber Seal Rings

[Kazoo]

Wondering if anyone could comment with ideas....

On the control arm pivot pins - the long heavy cast pins that the upper and lower control arms pivot on, there are grease fillings, and around the pin on both sides (upper and lower) there are these rubber rings that cover the intersection and keep the excess grease in the joint and I guess also road dirt out of the excess grease.  I noticed that a few of my little rubber rings are failing.  They are about 3/4" wide and about 1" in diameter.

I have noticed that you can buy these rubber rings, but installing them would mean dis-assembling the the front suspension/control arms to slide them over the pins, and this is way more work than I was thinking of getting into...!!

Any creative thoughts on this....

1. Are they that important that they need to be replaced? 
2. Is there some creative way to do it with out disassembly?  Like cutting 3/4" wide rubber strips and wrapping them around the joint, but how do you keep them wrapped?  Contact cement , or wrap with electrical tape??

Thanks!

Wayne

[ja17]

The main purpose of the rubber rings is to keep dirt and moisture out of the joints. Try using Super Glue to join the two ends. You may also choose to over-lap the ends to get a larger area to glue.  Be sure to use a rubber material which is grease and solvent resistant.

[Kazoo]

Thanks....
I found on granger chemical resistant hypalon rubber strips that can be wrapped and glued...I'm going to give this a try and see how it works out..