Man what a mess, CV axle came off today

unclenick · 01-30-2006, 01:58 PM

Man, the left side CV axle came off the inboard side while doing 65 mph. OH YEA, WHAT A MESS IS RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The ball crank on the side of the trans is broke completely off and is missing, also the throttle rod broke off and is a twisted piece of metal. To make matters worse, the part on top of engine where throttle rod snaps, the little male end on the shaft is broken clean off.

This sucks.

Sot some work to do now......

coloradoporsche · 01-30-2006, 02:08 PM

Hi Unclenick,

Sorry to hear about your trouble. Of particular interest to this forum would be the maintenance history, miles, and type of equipment (stock or otherwise upgraded).

Oh, and pics of the carnage!

There has been much discussion lately about various axle/CV joint combinations and the associated hardware available. Thanks for sharing your experience so that others can avoid a similar problem.

Regards,
Martin

unclenick · 01-30-2006, 02:26 PM

The car is a completely stock SC 3.0 with no mods other than aluminum air box with a pop off valve.

I dont know what happened, it just went bang and no more under own power

I'll post pics of the carnage later.

skinnerd · skinnerd's Garage

man that does suck.....

exact thing happened to me a couple of years ago
shearing the bell crank off the transmission
lost a bunch of the throttle rods (car has MFI)
also the free swinging axle put some huge dents in my "as new" SSI's

i was cruising about 65 also, when all of a sudden there was a loud bang-banging in the back
knew something was wrong
able to limp it off the freeway at an exit
when i looked under the car, it was obvious what had happened

now i get under there, couple times a year checking for loose CV joint bolts

good luck getting her back together
i let my sit for a year before getting it fixed

kqw · 01-30-2006, 03:14 PM

Just curious...

Was any CV work done prior to this happenng?

Hugh R · 01-30-2006, 03:47 PM

Man that sucks, just redid my CV joints, I'm going to retorque them before I drive it again.

unclenick · 01-30-2006, 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by kqw
Just curious...

Was any CV work done prior to this happenng?

Nope

Jim Sims · 04:22 PM

"Originally posted by kqw
Just curious...

Was any CV work done prior to this happenng?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nope"

Taking the CV flange screws out to remove the engine/transmission counts as "CV work".

Zeke · 01-30-2006, 04:40 PM

Yeah, Nick, I read where you removed the motor on that car not too long ago. Like, you just put it back in within the last two weeks. This just goes to show that rechecking/re-torquing the CV bolts is necessary at 100 miles or before. Does that SC model use the paper gaskets? If so, I'm beginning to think someone should make AL ones. They seem to crush and give up the torque value you initially installed them to.

unclenick · 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Zeke
Yeah, Nick, I read where you removed the motor on that car not too long ago. Like, you just put it back in within the last two weeks. This just goes to show that rechecking/re-torquing the CV bolts is necessary at 100 miles or before. Does that SC model use the paper gaskets? If so, I'm beginning to think someone should make AL ones. They seem to crush and give up the torque value you initially installed them to.

Yes, but I torqued them and used Loctite to boot! I dont understand, unless the axle got damaged from hanging there?

Ok Zeke, now it is making sense. I re-used the old paper gaskets for CV axles, the left side is missing now but maybe it did not torque properly.....good point.

Tell ya what guys, I am a beliver about the checking after 100 miles now. Don't let this happen to you!

unclenick · 01-30-2006, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by kqw
Just curious...

Was any CV work done prior to this happenng?

I stand corrected. I thought if you were asking if I had them redone..............

Boxer 6 · 01-30-2006, 04:53 PM

Man that really stinks! Have you noticed any clunking sounds prior to this happening? I've seen those things go on the track and they are like bludgeons

Dantilla · 01-30-2006, 04:58 PM

My car is sitting in the garage for the winter. good time to go re-torque the CVs. Thanks for the timely reminder!

Jim Sims · 01-30-2006, 05:02 PM

If the holes/bolts are greasy (hard to avoid) Loctite is not effective.

randywebb · 01-30-2006, 05:04 PM

OK, let's nail this down:
- you torqued them
- you did not re-torque after 100 miles
- you used paper gaskets
- did you use the Schnorr washers? Which way did the concave side face?
- If you used them, were they new ones or used ones?
- Did you use the moon plates?
- You drove how many miles when this happened?

I'm sorry to hear this happened, but maybe you can help others...

rcecale · rcecale's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by Dantilla
My car is sitting in the garage for the winter. good time to go re-torque the CVs. Thanks for the timely reminder!

ANY time you're down for a while is a GREAT time to check them. So is any time you lift the rear-end, such as oil change, tranny fluid change, rotate the tires, etc... It only takes a few minutes for some "peace of mind"

Fortunately for me, mine came loose as I was just starting out at an intersection where I was stopped for a red light. Just moments before, literally, less than 5 minutes, I was motoring down the freeway at speeds close to 90 mph.

I filed that little episode under the category of "I'd rather be lucky, than good!"

Randy

Jared at Pelican Parts · 01-30-2006, 05:11 PM

Same thing happened to me in a 914 going 75. CV joint flew upwards, hit the starter, broke the mounting flange off the transmission, broke off the reverse light switch and ended up costing me a new transmission case

unclenick · 01-30-2006, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by randywebb
OK, let's nail this down:

- you torqued them -yes
- you did not re-torque after 100 miles - no
- you used paper gaskets -yes
- did you use the Schnorr washers? Which way did the concave side face? -towards the transmission
- If you used them, were they new ones or used ones? - used ones off the car originally
- Did you use the moon plates? ???????????
- You drove how many miles when this happened? -150 miles

I'm sorry to hear this happened, but maybe you can help others...

Hope this helps, because I would like to find out what I did wrong so it does not happen again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hugh R · 01-30-2006, 05:50 PM

Retorque tonight for me. 190 miles since install. Was going to wait for the weekend.

JTL · JTL's Garage

Sorry to hear about your troubles.

I could use some advice on this matter. The engine/trans are out of the car for clutch replacement and a major cleanup. I was also going to repack the cv's; my car is an -84 targa and has 92k. The bearings look clean with little to no wear. What is the criteria for replacement anyway? I was going to just wipe away the old moly grease, repack, relube and reinstall with new bolts.

Thanks, jt