Replaced my CV joints at the weekend. What a difference.

[aclwalker 3]

I've posted numerous times in the past about a clicking/grinding noise I got with acceleration after long runs on cold days in my VR6. Well, I thought I'd just report back about the final resolution of this years old problem for anyone else who may be getting similar problems.

 

To recap, the noise used to only appear after a motorway run, once I'd come off and come to a stop and then picked away. Picking away, I would get a grinding noise for a short while and then it would stop. It initially only did it in winter on cold days, but got progressively worse over the years (I don't do a high mileage these days, so the progression was slow) until last week where it had got suddenly a lot worse.

 

The clicking was almost continual but especially bad under acceleration and when letting off the throttle. Keeping at a steady speed reduced the noise. There was no clicking on full lock. I thought a long time ago that these symptoms were a worn inner CV joint. I jacked the car up at the weekend and could barely turn the driver's side wheel, whereas the passenger side turned freely. Turning the driver's wheel, I would get worsening resistance until it would barely turn, then it would click and turn more easily again until that point was reached again.

 

So, at the weekend, I fitted a new inner and outer CV joint to the driver's driveshaft (the long one). On removing the driveshaft I could see the problem. While the outer CV joint moved freely, the inner was almost seized and the grease had degraded to a thick black putty-like material. The joint was essentially dry and I could see clear pitting in the ball bearings.

 

The job went well except for the removal of the 3 balljoint bolts. One snapped (which was not actually a problem as it's screwed into a replaceable plate/frame), one came out fine and the other spun! The welded nut had broken free and so was spinning with the bolt. I had to Dremel away the bolt and frame to such an extent that I could chisel the frame off, which took around 5 hours, stopping for the rain numerous times. The ball joint was burst too, and since I had had a replacement for 3 years waiting to be fitted, I decided to replace it. I had real difficulty removing the main nut too, but my Irwin bolt grips saved the day.

 

I can't recommend Irwin bolt grips enough. I used them the other week on my rear brake disc carrier bolts. They are incredible. I bought the base set and the expansion set for about £45 from Machine Mart. You could probably get these two as cheap as £37 on Ebay but I needed them quickly for an MoT so I was willing to pay the higher Machine Mart price. They are well worth the money though.

 

Some other points and observations I made:

 

1 I posted recently about the uncertainty in the hub nut torque for the VR6. It is a 12 point nut (6 point on non-VR6) which suggests a lower torque (confirming what Bentley says). I got the old hub nut off with one hand on a breaker bar. It was still tight, but nothing like as tight as other VWs I've worked on. It sounds to me like the Bentley 90Nm + 45 degrees is probably about right. Somebody else said 50Nm + 30 degrees (but after initially torquing to 200Nm and backing off) but that this was for post April 1994 VR6s. I did it 90Nm + 45 degrees anyway.

 

2 I know my wheel bearing is also needing done (it's groaning a bit) but as this was an emergency repair of the driveshaft and I need the car this weekend, I elected to leave the bearing until I've got more time and better weather. I was wondering whether to use loctite or not on the driveshaft splines since I will be removing it again soon to do the bearing. AFAIK, only the VR6 is supposed to get loctite on the splines of the driveshaft (2 x 3 mm beads according to Bentley). However, when I dismantled it all, mine was coated liberally in copper grease! So much for the experts, once again doing it wrong. Since the wheel hadn't fallen off in this time, I elected to simply clean the copper grease off (the inside of the hub, as I was replacing the outer CV joint and hence splined shaft anyway) and not use loctite for the time being. When I do the bearing I probably will use loctite.

 

3 My balljoint appeared in good condition until I had taken it off. It had a pinhole in the rubber right against the knuckle where I couldn't see it and the grease had leaked out. Now that I have replaced that balljoint, the right side of the car takes the rough of the roads much better than the left. It is really quite noticeable. Clearly I would like to have done the other side too, but this was an emergency repair so it will have to wait until I have more time and better weather. However, if you are hesitating about re-newing your balljoints, I would say to just do it if you are at all suspicious of them. I've had mine for 3 years waiting to be fitted!

 

4 I had difficulty withdrawing the driveshaft from the engine bay as there is not much clearance between the sump and engine mount bit. I think my replacement CV boots were slightly narrower than the old ones (which helped), but the trick seems to be to keep the outer joint high as you're feeding it through. The gap is slightly bigger there. I fed the driveshaft in the way from the wheel well when removing and out the way when refitting, if you know what I mean. This way you keep the exposed inner CV joint clean (put a bag over it too to prevent contamination until you are ready to re-attach it.

 

5 Refurbishing a driveshaft is actually very easy. I was concerned with all the clips and so on in the kit, but it really was easy to do, providing you are methodical. I bought 3 tools from GSF for the job. I got a 30mm 12 point hub nut socket (£6.50ish), a CV joint boot clamp (£15, but well worth it for proper clamping of the outer boot) and the 800mm spline tool designed for VW driveshafts (again, around £15). The long spline tool was very useful indeed, however, it tended to twist when I was torquing the new bolts back on, so care needs to be taken that you don't over-torque and snap the tool. If you prefer though, you will probably have good enough access from underneath with a normal spline tool. The only other tools I needed for refurbishing the driveshaft was a mallet and a screwdriver. The outer CV joint is simply malleted on and off. If you are re-using your joints then more care needs to be taken with this. I used the screwdriver to remove AND fit the circlips. You can lever the circlip on with a small screwdriver, like levering a tyre on. You hammer on the inner CV joint with a socket of the appropriate size.

 

6 I found that disconnecting the 3 balljoint bolts is enough to give you clearance to remove the driveshaft. You don't need to disconnect the tie-rods for the steering. It may help to use spring compressors to allow you to refit the balljoint as the strut expands once the balljoint has come out of the control arm. I simply got my dad to press down on the control arm with his foot though when I needed to slot it back in.

 

7 I bought CV joints from GSF. They are GKN and they said they are new, not refurbs. They worked out at nearly £60 each including the VAT. The outers are the same but the inners are sided. Their new system only seems to list one side but their old system, which runs the website (which apparently came from the URO part of the business), lists them correctly. They can look up your car anyway using your registration.

 

8 I read on the Canadian Corrado Club website that the driver's inner (or passenger inner from their perspective, being left hand drive) on the VR6 suffers from heat from the exhaust which dries out the grease. This certainly seemed to be the case with me. ETKA lists a heat shield for non-VR6 models that appears to bolt on to the engine block, but I could not see a similar shield for the VR6. Perhaps such a shield would lengthen the life of this particular joint.

 

 

 

Sorry this isn't a write-up, but I could maybe turn it into one if people want. I forgot my camera, so I got my brother to take a single photo of the state of the inner CV joint. I have no other photos of the work.

 

This job would have been a single day job had I not had the problems with a bolt and a nut. My car is far smoother now and the grinding has gone. I would say if you have any clicking or vibration on acceleration or on releasing the throttle at speed then consider replacing your inner CV joints.

[easypops 8]

well done......i'd be impressed if i knew how to do half of that :D

[Kevin Bacon 5]

That's a big read :-)

 

Yes I've wondered a few times about the absence of both the CV joint heatshield and a driveshaft damper on the VR6. Who knows with VW, they're constantly cutting costs.

 

90nm + 45 degrees sounds too low to me. A 12 sided nut would indicate high torque to me, rather than low torque because the more sides you have, the more corners the socket can grip onto for higher torque handling, but I could be wrong. I've seen standard VR6s need an airgun to remove the hub nut when doing their first bearing change and VW loctited the nut too.

 

I've always done VR6 hub nuts up to at least 200lb/ft and never had problems and I don't loctite the splines either. I would not take everything the Bentley says as read.

Stealth Racing have all of the official VW workshop books and that's the information I tend to use with most jobs.

 

I didn't notice the age of VR you have in the post and your setting may be right for your car, but just to be on the safe side, I would double check with Stealth before going on any long journeys!!

 

Good work though! The GKN joints should last you as they're good.