Stub axle install ???????'s
 

Finally worked my way underneath the car and found one outer CVS boot split wide open; wasn't much grease to be seen and it felt pretty gritty in there. Not knowing how long it had been run like that and liking a reliable ride, I decided to change the axle (the other side had already been changed. When doing some pre-repair research, I came up with a few questions I'm hoping some of the old hands on here can help with ....

1) There are six hex bolts holding the inner CVS to the trans flange. It didn't look like there were any washers (lock, shnorr or those small plates that act like washers for two bolts) underneath the bolts. Is this right? Were the original bolts in '88 star bolts? If so, the PO has removed this axle before. Did he forget to replace the washers? In reading previous threads, Warren went on at some length about the importance of shnorr washers when referencing the axle. Do these go on the trans flange bolts or inside the CVS joint? There were also some horror stories about dropped axles, so I want to be sure to get this right. Bentley doesn't make this clear.

2) Bentley gives torque values for 8M and 10M bolts (apparently there was some variation in model/year?) in their explanation of this job. I believe mine are 8M. Does this mean that the diameter of the body of the bolt (not including threads) is 8 mm? 10M bolts require twice the torque (60 ft/lbs vs 30) and on another thread someone had torqued the 8M's to 60 ft/lbs (well almost, before he snapped the bolt off) so I want to make sure I'm tightening it the correct amount.

3) Bentley also says to remove the lower shock bolt. Is this a typo (the picture that the text refers to was missing leading me to believe it might be a proofreading mistake)? Do you need to move the lower shock to get clearance to remove the axle? It doesn't seem like it could move much unless you removed the top nut also.

I couldn't check 101 Projects for help because I left it at a friends house (she works at the parts counter at the Porsche dealership - nice, huh?). I've got my 3/4" breaker bar, a 5' metal pipe extension, time, tools and a six of ice cold microbrews so I'm ready to hit this this weekend. Any info you could give to clear up these questions would be greatly appreciated. I don't even want to think about the damage an axle dropping at speed would do ...

Argo
88 Targa

See:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=73181&highlight=CV+AND+ screw

Later cars did not come with lock washer but had the washer plate. You likely have 10 mm screws. Measure across the outside of threads; if 10 mm or a little less than 0.4 inch you have 10 mm screws. Jim

If you're just replacing the axle then leave the stub axle alone. Just remove the 6 bolts on each CV joint and yank the whole axle out. Replace the axle with the proper washer/bar thingies.

Jim: Thanks for the info! I was leaning to thinking they were M8's and was only going to torque them to 32 ft/lbs! Thank God for this BB. I didn't have a tape measure handy when I checked them during lunch (axle just arrived); I just measured them against my 8 and 10 mm hex keys for a quick approximation. Including threads, they were thinner than the 10mm key; without including threads they were the same width as the 8 mm key. Now you know why I need to do research before I lay on the tools!
As far as the thread you cited, that was the main thread I was referring to. I couldn't tell from reading it whether all years/models should have shnorr washers on the trans flange bolts. When Warren speaks, tho, I listen. The old axle may have had the 2 hole plates installed; it was a little dirty there and I may have missed them.


John: My bad, I guess I used the incorrect terminology - I am replacing the whole axle on the drivers' side (I thought that it was called the stub axle). I got a Lobro with new CV joints already at each end.

Potential disaster already averted - many thanks!

Argo
88 Targa