cv joints

[readie]

Hi all, I have read dq write up on disassembly and reassembly, very helpful.

My drive shafts were taken out of the car as part of the stripdown and I have been putting of the refurb of them knowing how dirty and difficult it is..!!

Well I have now got round to it and now have a few questions before I continue...

One of them was seized at one end so I started to strip that one down first and want to get this one right before stripping down the other one. The more 'freely moving' end came apart fairy easily, the rubber boot is intact but the grease was certainly elderly. I cleaned everything up and have put the bearings back in the cage but without grease it doesn't move that freely - is that right ?

Then the other end.... this was seized solid so it took quite a lot of force to get the bearings and cages out. Once out I could feel sand/grit in the grease, which might have got there when I had the car sandblasted but couldn't see any damage to the rubber boot so need to investigate that more. However, the bearings have rust on them so they are shot.

I can see that W&N sell entire cvs now at EUR 140 per end (times 4 - gulp...!) so the question is ….. do I have any other options ?
is there another car using the same cv joints ?
is there another supplier or can I buy the bearings alone ?
does anyone know the part numbers ?
Can I simply use 1500 grade wet and dry paper and clean up the cages and reuse them or do I need to get complete new ones ?

I am guessing the other drive shaft and both cv joints are going to be equally bad...

Any help appreciated.

si

 

[Peter Coomaraswamy]

Hello Readie,
I'm assuming that you have some extra time seeing as this virus has so many of us locked down. The CV joint(s) with sand in them are probably trash but the others don't go bad that often. There are many many different opinions on refreshing these, some say the balls have to go into the exact same space in the collar upon reassembly however I have had very good luck doing multiple CVJ's on many different model BMW's by just ripping off the boots, soaking everything in solvent getting everything super clean then putting new boots on, filling them with grease and re-installing them. On the sandy/seized one you can probably just find a used CVJ and clean and re-grease (as above). I have had the boots rip on these but I have never had a really bad issue like excessive noise or a complete failure. Others may have a different opinion.

 

[Gary Knox]

Readie,

IF you do rebuild them, I suggest when you re-install them that you put the right side assembly on the left side and vice versa. That way the balls and keepers are rotating in the opposite direction of their previous orientation. I did the CV joints on my e9, and on several Porsche 928's I've owned. Exact same axle design.

Gary

 

[frogisland]

UK based, but gives an idea of what is available

108mm CV Parts

CV Joints

www.prolinx.biz

 

[deQuincey]

Hi all, I have read dq write up on disassembly and reassembly, very helpful.

My drive shafts were taken out of the car as part of the stripdown and I have been putting of the refurb of them knowing how dirty and difficult it is..!!

Well I have now got round to it and now have a few questions before I continue...

One of them was seized at one end so I started to strip that one down first and want to get this one right before stripping down the other one. The more 'freely moving' end came apart fairy easily, the rubber boot is intact but the grease was certainly elderly. I cleaned everything up and have put the bearings back in the cage but without grease it doesn't move that freely - is that right ?

Then the other end.... this was seized solid so it took quite a lot of force to get the bearings and cages out. Once out I could feel sand/grit in the grease, which might have got there when I had the car sandblasted but couldn't see any damage to the rubber boot so need to investigate that more. However, the bearings have rust on them so they are shot.

I can see that W&N sell entire cvs now at EUR 140 per end (times 4 - gulp...!) so the question is ….. do I have any other options ?
is there another car using the same cv joints ?
is there another supplier or can I buy the bearings alone ?
does anyone know the part numbers ?
Can I simply use 1500 grade wet and dry paper and clean up the cages and reuse them or do I need to get complete new ones ?

I am guessing the other drive shaft and both cv joints are going to be equally bad...

Any help appreciated.

si

hi si, @readie
just for others to be able to check, and not ask again about who is dq, it would be much better if you consider to page as @deQuincey
apologies for the interruption....

 

[jefflit]

I have a pair of rebuilt half-shafts if desired. I no longer need due to EV conversion (I am having new ones with Tesla inner stub axles made).
They were in perfect working order when removed and had normal minor wear to center stars and outers, with no visible wear on balls or cages.
I disassembled, cleaned, reversed the outers to move the wear points, reassembled, re-greased, and replaced boots and plates with Rein rebuild kits.
PM me with an offer if interested.

 

[readie]

Thanks guys. I am in the uk so that link to prolinx is much appreciated frogisland. So I guess that means we have 108mm cv joints. Anyone tried this smaller bearings ? Would they improve anything ?

 

[readie]

Thanks also jefflit, but I have pretty much refurbished my ones now apart from the one which is shot..

 

[Andy the aussie]

I have a pair of rebuilt half-shafts if desired. I no longer need due to EV conversion (I am having new ones with Tesla inner stub axles made).
They were in perfect working order when removed and had normal minor wear to center stars and outers, with no visible wear on balls or cages.
I disassembled, cleaned, reversed the outers to move the wear points, reassembled, re-greased, and replaced boots and plates with Rein rebuild kits.
PM me with an offer if interested.

View attachment 89130

View attachment 89128

Jeff, just to confirm , is that the Rein Kits i the pics ? hows the quality - much cheaper than the W&N option !
thanks
Andy

 

[jefflit]

Yes, @Andy the aussie , that is the Rein kit in the pic. Just includes boot, flange, grease, and clamps. The flanges are clear zinc instead of original gold, and they have bumps to provide strength but prevents/eliminates the need for use of the original stiffening plates. I used the new flanges because two of my originals were a bit oval from axle hitting during too much droop (or compression?). I have no way of evaluating the quality of the grease, other than to say it is greasy and I assume suitable for the task. Overall, they are good quality.

Looking at the W&N kit, the clamps and boot look identical (in fact the small clamp in the Rein kit is the same as pictured in the W&N pic, not as it appears on the FCP Euro pic). The W&N kit appears to include the thrust washer and a replacement c-clip. The Rein kit does not include those items. Fortunately, mine were fine -- and I don't like the W&N style of c-clip as well anyway. Interestingly, the W&N kit includes the opposite (outside) flange/cap than the Rein kit (and also in clear, not gold zinc). IMHO, that's useless. Nothing ever goes wrong with those outboard caps -- it is the inner flange that the boot slips over that can be damaged (like two of mine were) by excessive axle movement. For that reason alone, I'd go with the Rein kit.

 

[Mot27cars]

Pmd you

 

[Peter Coomaraswamy]

I have a pair of rebuilt half-shafts if desired. I no longer need due to EV conversion (I am having new ones with Tesla inner stub axles made).
They were in perfect working order when removed and had normal minor wear to center stars and outers, with no visible wear on balls or cages.
I disassembled, cleaned, reversed the outers to move the wear points, reassembled, re-greased, and replaced boots and plates with Rein rebuild kits.
PM me with an offer if interested.

View attachment 89130

View attachment 89128

Nice work Jeff! I dislike the black grease, worst part of the job in my view-