Club 80-90 Forums

So I bought a four-pack of CV joint kits this week and set out to do the lot this morning. According to a combination of Haynes, the 'How To Keep Your Bus Alive' supplement and the 'Volkswagens for idiots' book I had allowed 7 hours including tea breaks and lunch.

Oh what a fool I am! This is the Chuckle Bus I'm dealing with; the most cunning of all creatures on earth, birthed to test my ability and patience like a mechanical Chameleon, a four wheeled joker.

The previous owner had fitted (or had had a) new gearbox a couple of years ago, and had just hashed the existing CV joints back on. It has taken me six hours to get down to the 12th bolt on the offside. I had to enlist the help of my next-door-neighbor and his angle grinder to get the gearbox side off, and now I have just one rounded out bolt on the wheel side to do.

I've called it a day and will go out tomorrow refreshed and with new vigor!

Loved every soggy second of it!!

you arent going to want to hear this but the gearbox end is easy peasy, just pray that all the outers come out nice for you. If you have a jet wash or hose give the trailing arm a good clean out as the freshly greased cv is a crud magnet when trying to get it back and get the first bolt in.

3 of the outers behaved. 2 came out by jamming a flathead into them and now just one nut is spoiling it for everyone.

Think I may write off a socket piece tomorrow and hammer it over the final nut to remove it.

The nearside CVs have nice nuts in so that'll be a treat when I get to them!

P.S.

If anyone has a special tool for this and fancies earning a couple of beers tomorrow....

I have heard last resort is to hammer a 12mm socket onto the bolt head. Make sure you tighten the new ones to 33lbs/ft or they will come loose.

COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL
Its nice to see someone else getting stuck into these bearings
Just be careful not to seperate the bearings from one another as they are a right pain to put back togerther
Kris

Was back on it at 11 this morning. I followed stuckin88's advice and wrote off a 12mm socket piece to get the last nut out, which is when the fun really started....

The shredded old CV came off no problem and the shaft cleaned up a beaut, but getting the new CV kits on has killed me. And I've not even finished! The amount of hammering needed to get the CV on was ridiculous and the C-clip was really difficult.

I've called it a day with one on and ready to go, and one 3/4s on with the hope of being able to finish it this week ready for the Bank Holiday. The offside (OKish side) work is going to have to wait till I can get down to my folks house and use my Dads workshop and ramps!

The saga of the Chucklebus continues...