CV service - Have you heard of doing it this way?

[ras911]

This is a post from the rennlist site : the names have been changed to protect the innocent !

I always thought you had to take them apart and clean and repack ? I like this idea but would like any opinions?
BTW - I agree it is neglected!

Here we Go:

You can use a conventional grease gun, high quality grease from Auto Zone, etc., that is COMPATIBLE with all greases, and fill each boot just until it starts to bulge. I made an "injector" from a piece of copper tubing, nearly flattened at one end so it can slide under the small end of the boot, but leaving a hole big enough for grease to pass through. I attached its other end to the grease gun with a short piece of fuel hose. By the way, this is the most overlooked service procedure on our cars! Make sure that you support the car properly on stands before going under it! I also leave my floor jack in the up position under the diff housing + jack stands, for extra protection. Good luck with it...

[wholberg]

I have heard of others on the BBS doing it this way.

[Jim Sims]

Poor substitute for taking the joint apart for cleaning, inspection for wear/damage and regreasing. The old, broken down/dried out grease is still in the joint with the injection method. Booted CV joints are not like a greaseable ball joint where there is defined path for the new grease to displace and purge the old. To do it right one has to take the CV joint apart. JIm

[mike f]

I guess this would be okay if no inspection or service was intended. If there are any tears in the boot, obviously this method is no good, and the cv joints need to be dissassembled, cleaned and repacked.

[kqw]

Originally posted by Jim Sims
Poor substitute for taking the joint apart for cleaning, inspection for wear/damage and regreasing. The old, broken down/dried out grease is still in the joint with the injection method. Booted CV joints are not like a greaseable ball joint where there is defined path for the new grease to displace and purge the old. To do it right one has to take the CV joint apart. JIm

What Jim says.....

Many of us dread the job as it is very messy but it must be done every now and then. You can cut corners but as you know, it's not the correct way to service your CV joints...

My opinion.....

[John Brandt]

my dad did that to my sissy's 944 and it worked fine

[ras911]

I think Jim has it right - nice fresh grease!

[randywebb]

"Dread... messy"
It's like making mud pies - fun if you regress to kid stage. You only have to do it once every 10 years or so. And, you can buy the axle units in toto, ready to go.

This might be a good way to add some extra grease - it might allow you to not pack the joint so full - but that isn't really a big problem.

[mskala]

I wouldn't do that procedure, it doesn't make sense to
me. For one thing, the old grease would have to have
somewhere to go, which it doesn't inside this 'sealed'
system. You are supposed to have 2 oz. of grease in
each one, which would never even come close to filling
the boot. Having a bunch of extra grease in the boot is
a bad idea because at speed it is going to push on the
boot as it's trying to fly outward, ripping it and
destroying your joint soon.