I am currently going through this as part of my autostick replacement on my 71 super. Are your joints VW OE or GKN Lobro replacements? I've got both on the bench in assembled form right now so could take pics for you if you like.
Here’s what I’ve learned over the last week:
- One of my driveshafts had OE VW CVs. One of which was crapped out, one was perfectly serviceable.
- The other driveshaft had GKN Lobro CVs on each end. Both were crapped out (says something for OE VW parts)
- Crapped out means the balls are blue, pitted and/or the bearing cages are burred and out of shape, and/or the outer joint (the heavy part) is badly grooved or pitted.
- Rub the outer bearing grooves with your finger and you will probably feel where it is worn. Look for pitting in the grooves.
- Regarding orientation for GKN Lobro CVs, this was helpful:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=432312
- I decided to replace all 4 (and keep the OE VW as a spare). Cost for GKN Lobro varies from $78 ea to $132 ea (with Mick Motors being the cheapest).
- I’m told that you do NOT put a hose clamp on the driveshaft part of the boot. The fit is very tight and clamping it will only twist and tear the boot sooner.
- I don’t believe you have to fill the entire boot with grease either. This will only put extra pressure on the boot and cause premature wear. That said, you have to have lots of grease worked through the joint, and I plan to fill the “cup” flange (on the trans and at the wheel) with grease as a reserve.
- I spent hours disassembling and reassembling the CVs to get ultimately familiar with them (it’s both challenging and therapeutic ONCE THEY ARE CLEANED)
- I found that unless you re-install the inner cage in exactly the same orientation (even though they look symmetrical) the joint just won’t work. It loses its “Ball & Socket” capability.
- The inner hub only goes in the cage one way and you may have to spin it inside the cage to get it around the right way.
- Re-installing the balls is a little tricky. My best method was to stand the joint up like a wheel with the cage and inner hub installed. Then pushing the top of the cage out you could pop the balls in one by one. You then rotate them around whilst holding the balls in (they fall out real easy when the joint is being assembled). The hardest ones to get in are the last two, but with a little jiggle of the inner hub they go in OK. Once assembled, lay it down flat so the balls don’t go everywhere and to stop you playing with the inner hub.
- On GKN lobro’s, the driveshaft side of the inner hub has a raised ring which looks like a built-in washer.
- On OE VW CVs, the OUTSIDE of the inner hub (which faces either the transmission or the wheel) has letters stamped on it. They also have a concave washer which goes on the driveshaft side (hence the built in washer on the GKN Lobro’s). You don’t install the washer with GKN Lobro’s.
- I also found that it was best to remove the entire drive shaft and pull it all apart, but you want to mark the wheel side of the shaft, do one joint at a time and try and keep it in the same orientation on the bench as it was in the car.
- My driveshafts were a bastard to knock out of the joint. I ended up putting them in a slot on a bench (like a vice) and knocking the bejesus out of the centre of the shaft with a mini-sledge hammer. The centre of the shaft has a little hole which is perfect for a centre punch. I had cardboard and polystyrene underneath for the shaft to fall on to.
I am assembling my drive shafts and new CV’s this week (new rubber boots, new circlips, new grease) so happy to compare notes.
Hope this helps. Cheers Pete
