cv joint replacement/repair questions?

[eddiec]

I have been reading a great deal about a problem I am having with my 1987 930. A "clicking noise" in the rear end that is not audible when I first begin to drive but becomes very loud after I have driven about 15-20 minutes. It is a noise that I hear while turning at low speed and while pulling up small/medium slopes at low speed. I do not notice the noise at any speed while simply driving straight ahead. I also feel/sense/hear some "grinding", a sense that I am pulling something that is too heavy. I'm not sure if this is related. I am not positive but I believe I have LSD and I wondered how that might affect this noise? To repair the cv joint condition (if this is what it is) requires exactly what? Please tell me what you think about this problem.....I am anxious to repair.

Thanks,

Eddie

[dean]

You can tell if you have LSD by jacking the car up and when you turn one wheel if the other wheel goes in the same direction you have LSD. Have the CV joints ever been repacked? I think repacking should be done every 60k miles. So you could check the condition at that time.

[Don Plumley]

Can't help much with the diagnosis, but I can tell you about repacking CV's. The bearings might be potential suspects as well, and the 930 has two bearings versus the normal configuration (I think).

The hardest part is getting the 3/4" drive wrench to break the axle nut. Once you have that off, the easy way out is to buy complete half shafts (from Pelican) and swap out. Once you start adding up CV parts, it's not much more to get a new unit and not have to mess with cleaning and repacking. I did not have bad CV's, but a torn boot so I repacked all four of mine, and if I can do it, so can most anyone.

Otherwise, once you locate the bad CV, you can buy a replacement CV for $100. It's just a messy job, have latex gloves and lots of paper towels. Pelican sells the joint rebuild kits which include new boots, a measured amount of bearing grease and the boot clips. If you are doing one, seems to me you should do them all to avoid having to do them in the future. It's also common procedure to reverse the axles after you do this.

Hopefully John Walker or Warren will weigh in on this. Lots of information in the archives too.

Good Luck!