CV Joint Wear

[mgbruno]

Hi All,
Among other things in addition to rebuilding my tranny, etc, I took my CV joints out and gave them a good cleaning. The car has about 50k on it and this is what one joint looked like. The other one was fine. Pic is kindof blurry - but you can see the pitting. What do you think - should I replace the entire axel - or should I just repack with good grease and be done with it?

Mike

[hcoles]

IMHO - replace the cv joint.. but probably no harm in running with new grease until it makes some sort of noise... I would say get under and wiggle check it frequently. I haven't heard that there are catastrophic failures where the shaft flies apart or something like that.. but maybe they do on a street car. A buddy had a cv that looks about like that and it was making noise so he took it out and replaced.

[porsche930dude]

can you turn it around so it waers on a fresh spot?

[hcoles]

some people say do that and some don't I think it is ok and should allow the balls to run in a new spot.. the question is then... are the balls worn down... if that is the case then I would vote for replace.
given that there is this.....
there is discussion regarding stress going one way and then the other and this can/will cause failure... not sure it applies in this case.. unless maybe the shaft runs at near the yeild point... but I doubt that it does.. maybe someone has link to some tech. info. on this.

[rusnak]

why don't you just replace the joint, not the entire axle?

[mgbruno]

Hi Guys,
Thanks for the feedback and here's my thinking. Gotta replace the boots regardless. 20 x 4 = 80. Then there are 24 bolts@ 2.50 a piece, well thats another 42. Then I have to replace the 2 gaskets as well. Ok, so now I've dumped 120 130 into it and its a worn joint. Now, if I were to replace just the joint - well thats another 80 or so. I think I'm probably just gonna replace the things and be done with it. Oh well, the "while you are in there" costs are going up - but my baby will eventually get there!!!

Mike

[KFC911]

Mike, I'd probably be thinking along the lines that you are if I found a CV in that condition at 50K miles. Mine looked perfect at that mileage so I just repacked and replaced all 4 boots (one outer was torn). It's a messy job, but very doable, but if the costs are getting on up there, why not replace 'em? Overkill? Probably, but I've been known to do that too

[mgbruno]

Yep Keith,
Ya know - the car has 50k on it - but I'm really not so sure. I'm not the original owner - of course. Shame on people. This is just one thing that reinforces my belief. Anyway, it is what it is - and I'm gonna probably do the overkill thing. Its just convenient right now.

[Gunter]

Originally Posted by mgbruno

Hi Guys,
Thanks for the feedback and here's my thinking. Gotta replace the boots regardless. 20 x 4 = 80. Then there are 24 bolts@ 2.50 a piece, well thats another 42. Then I have to replace the 2 gaskets as well. Ok, so now I've dumped 120 130 into it and its a worn joint. Now, if I were to replace just the joint - well thats another 80 or so. I think I'm probably just gonna replace the things and be done with it. Oh well, the "while you are in there" costs are going up - but my baby will eventually get there!!!

Mike

Mike:
The galling in the runner looks more like 150k.
If it's an SC-axle, you can switch the CV's on the same axle so you get a new running surface.
To be clear: On the SAME axle, the left CV goes straight across without flipping to replace the right CV and the right CV goes straight across without flipping to replace the left CV.
New axles usually mean: Used axle with new CV's and boots; you still need to pack them with Moly.

[mgbruno]

Hallo Gunter,
Thats my middle name BTW Thanks. I am just gonna replace the axels with the ones sold by our host here. Its a 'while I'm in there" project and you know - I have not cleaned up the other joint yet - so who knows what I'll find you know! And yep, its an 84 - so, I can take the CV's off the axle. But new ones will save me hassle later on - so I'm just gonna knock it out. Was mainly wondering what you guys thought of the pitting - my gut told me the right answer anyway

[rusnak]

MG, I disagree with part of your assessment, respectfully.

Let me explain where I'm coming from. About 2 1/2 years ago I had a left inner cv joint go bad, slightly worse than the one you pictured. I bought 2 new cv joints, and had them repacked by a vw shop, since I was short on time and my regular mechanic was out of town. A year later, all 4 cv joints are bad, and two boots are torn. I think the good joints went bad when the boots tore.

So what I'm trying to say is that these parts go together as if it were a complete system. You need gaskets because the grease turns to liquid. You need to keep the grease fresh. You need the boots to be supple so that they don't tear. If any of these parts are compromised, the others will become compromised as well and will fail soon after. I learned this the hard way. Now I make sure the boots are good, sealed well, and I repack the grease every other year. I always replace the gaskets every time the joints come off the car. I buy the best grease I can find. When the bolts get a little bit knicked, I toss em and install new ones (btw you can get the 12.9 grade bolts at Orchard Supply Hardware).

I want to try to impart some insight based on what I went through. I don't like to throw money at parts, but these cars are very unforgiving of spotty maintenance. While you are in there refers to elective work, such as performance mods, not minimum upkeep, which you are referring to. Also, I'd pull both axles at once. Complete service for two axles should take 4-5 hours to clean, inspect, and repack. Use new shnoor washers or locktite. Loose cv bolts are a disaster waiting to happen.

Good luck, don't take no chances.

[mgbruno]

Hey Rusnak,
Thanks so much for your insight and advice. I think that perhaps you misread or misunderstood my comments/thoughts above. This whole thing started off as a 1st and possibly 2nd gear synchro repair. Got in there and saw how nasty and dripping grease those CV's were. So, I thought - no way am I going to reinstall those things the way they are. So, I took them apart - well one to begin with - and saw the pitting. 1st thought was to replace the entire axels - both of them. So, you and I are on the same sheet of music concerning spotty repairs Anyway, the other axel is off - just not cleaned, etc. So, I am definately replacing the entire axels and CV's - both of them - no question. While I was in there, I also looked at the clutch. Yep, it fit the bill too - of needing replacing. Going to go with a SACHS Powerclutch - and a resurfaced flywheel. Ok, its an upgrade - but needed to be done. Then, the various oil gaskets, etc mentioned by our host in 101 projects - well - most of them are getting replaced. So, thats about the gist of the work I'm doing. Thanks much for your thoughts. Really appreciate it!

Semper Fi

[rusnak]

Hi MG,

I see now. My main concern is that you not end up wasting money like I did, and that you don't put yourself at risk. Maintaining these cars is full of little tricks. I'm glad that you posted your questions for feedback, which is offered humbly and respectfully.