CV joints - a tale of woe.

[sarran1955]

Hello,

Well there we are, Adrian and Ellie have got away this afternoon, in blazing heat, with new cv joints, brakes , tyres....

and clean washing.

Thank you for coming, I hope you enjoyed yourselves, and will now be able to sleep better.

Do get your cv joint bolts rechecked and do sort your gearbox drain and fill plugs.

Cordialement,

[Cyrus]

A sad tale indeed.
I'm refitting my cvs at mo, do the have an inside and outside or can you fit them anyway around, been studying them for ages and they look symmetrical.
also which way around does the cones washer go? I didn't note before removal

[sarran1955]

Hello,

Yes, inside and outside, dont get mixed up on dismantling-re assembly

Cone washers in the bin.

Cordialement,

[Cyrus]

Hello,

Yes, inside and outside, dont get mixed up on dismantling-re assembly

Cone washers in the bin.

Cordialement,

Do they have a driveshaft end and a gearbox end? I have only taken off the gearbox cvs and tied up the driveshafts.
Also I've read that if they click you can turn them around to get a few extra miles, this would say to me they can be swapped OR just turned around 180 degrees?
I am really confused now!

[ajsimmo]

Also I've read that if they click you can turn them around to get a few extra miles,

This would just mean it will fail when slowing down/changing down instead of pulling away! A worn out joint is a worn out joint. It might get you home at a push, but once taken apart, just as easy to fit the new one
You are right that they are same inner and outer (except syncro). Take note of groove around outside on removal and fit new joint same way round.
Easy peasy so no need to worry too much

[AdrianC]

Hello,

Well there we are, Adrian and Ellie have got away this afternoon, in blazing heat, with new cv joints, brakes , tyres....

and clean washing.

Plenty of that - we're still trying to figure out how it all fitted into the cupboards...

Thank you for coming, I hope you enjoyed yourselves, and will now be able to sleep better.

Not down to you to thank us, mate - definitely vice-versa.

Do get your cv joint bolts rechecked and do sort your gearbox drain and fill plugs.

Don't you worry 'bout that!

[Cyrus]

Also I've read that if they click you can turn them around to get a few extra miles,

This would just mean it will fail when slowing down/changing down instead of pulling away! A worn out joint is a worn out joint. It might get you home at a push, but once taken apart, just as easy to fit the new one
You are right that they are same inner and outer (except syncro). Take note of groove around outside on removal and fit new joint same way round.
Easy peasy so no need to worry too much

great, thanks. Hope to refit this weekend.

[82JEW75]

Do they have a driveshaft end and a gearbox end?

No, you can flip them 180 degrees as suggested.

If installing new joints at each end, doesn't matter which way round the driveshaft is afterwards.

If only changing one joint, there's arguments for both flipping the driveshaft and keeping it in the same position. Flipping it might make it noisier, at least at first, it may or may not make it last longer.

Best practice is probably to rotate the driveshafts every few thousand miles so they wear evenly, but I doubt anybody does that. I'd settle for putting the best joint on the wheel end of the shaft, reason being that the gearbox joints seem to be more prone to damage and I'd rather replace an old joint than a brand new one.

The joints themselves do have an inner (driveshaft) and outer (mounting). I've come across a variety of types, seems VW had them made by more than one manufacturer and/or changed the casting over the years. A general rule that appears to work for all the types I've encountered (save some expensive and nasty replacements) is that 'flat' faces are 'outer' faces (i.e. mounting side). Examine the components carefully and you should see what I mean. The ring on the outer cage is the outer (mounting) edge.

Examine carefully before dismantling.

DO NOT mix parts between joints!!

Use new bolts, best are the ones with 12 point TZN heads.

Torque is 45 Nm.


Never hit anything you want to keep with a hammer

[Cyrus]

Just found this YouTube video, its for a Porsche but is quite similar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsytyVzo ... ata_player
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOma2BMh ... ata_player