no its not on my TRX 2.5 engine its on my Force .25, the tears are from accidental poking when trying to adjust the carb very quickly without looking - careless mistake. I just have shown you the 2.5 boot because that was the first thing that showed up when I searched for boot. well micropuller, that is very convincing, if it doesnt have one it should be the same way on my engine - not actually sealing the slide but just stopping the dust (which could cause sticking as you mentioned already)