12 point star bolt on CV joints

[jabb]

Does anyone know the size of the Star bolts
that hold the CV joints in place. I need to
purchase the tool to remove these and I am
not sure of the size. 8mm 10mm ......

[oredith]

Pelican has it listed as 8mm.. if you have trouble finding one locally, give Tom a call.

[Joe Bob]

And when you do get the right tool, don't forget to give it a good tap before you start cranking on it....stripping those theings are easy to do. Remove them with a vise grip is not....also don't forget the CV gaskets.

[Ascaris]

And before you give them a tap, stick the little tube from a can of WD40 in the hole and blast all the grease and dirt out.

[rich]

Are those the bolt refered to as cheese heads?

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Nope, "triple-square". They're in the shape of three squares overlaid on each other. The outside corners are all 90 degrees, where with a 12-point Allen wrench they are all 60 degrees.

The "cheese-head" refers to the profile of the head. It's a square profile, just like a round of cheese. Compare to "lens-head" or the countersunk one whose name escapes me.

Hmm, I guess it could be considered a "cheese head screw" after all! But that's not specific enough to name it, and the tool people will look at you real funny if you ask for a socket for one of those.

VW Bug people call the same tool a "CV Joint socket". Bug shops are great sources for some of the specialized tools. Like the transmission plug socket. Same one is used on a Bug.

--DD

[Germain]

When I went to remove mine the first time I made the bad mistake of thinking the were alan heads. Stipped them off. So Vicegrips it was. What I did do is go to the hardware store and replace them with socket headed cap screws. Now my Porsche doesn't use the "special" tool.