Inner CV joints

[poll250 0]

Hi guys,

 

I've had a whiny/crunchy noise coming from the front end over the last couple of trips, which I assumed was gearbox related. I checked the gearbox oil and the weekend and luckily all was fine, but what I did notice was my inner O/S CV (gearbox end) had come loose and spat all its grease everywhere.

 

The oil feed line for the turbo runs really close to the CV so access is even more limited, and I'd rather not disconnect that. Does the inner CV have to come off completely to reattach the boot? I can't tell if the boot is ripped, or if it just pulled out: how is it secured to the CV itself?

 

I hate CV grease with unrivalled passion!

[bmwcompact 10]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]62053[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]62057[/ATTACH]

 

Its not clear what has gone wrong but I am assuming your boot is holed and needs replacement. It cant have become detached at the gearbox side though I suppose its possible the metal clip has come off the small end of the boot letting out the grease. Assuming the boot is split it will need to be replaced. The noise may mean the joint is damaged/worn too through ingress of dirt!

 

I have a 16v not a VR6 so it might be slightly different for your car! In my experience its necessary to remove the whole driveshaft to replace any cv joint or boot. On the inboard end that requires a splined tool to remove the 6 cv joint bolts: these 6 bolts attach the inboard boot (the boot has an integral metal flange) and cv joint to the gearbox output shaft. At the wheel end you need a large socket to remove the wheel nut. On the drivers side (RH) theres more room but you may have to disconnect the antiroll bar link to remove the driveshaft. On the passenger side on my car it was necessary to disconnect the McPherson strut from the wheel hub in order to extract the shaft. Assuming you are replacing either the inner cvj or boot or both, then its necessary to remove the joint once the shaft is removed from the car. This simply gets knocked off the end of the shaft after the circlip is removed and the boot flange separated from the cvj, but be careful that the cv joint stays together and that you dont knock out all the balls. There is a dished washer too on the shaft. The boot can then be removed: its fastened to the shaft with a metal clip . Reassembly is the reverse procedure. Pull on new boot, dished washer, knock on the joint (again possibility of the balls dropping out) and fix the new circlip.(there may be a gasket between cvj and gearbox output shaft). Fill up with grease, pushing it into the joint. Then put drivshaft back on car, insert bolts etc etc. If you've disconnected the Mc Pherson strut you have probably changed the camber on that wheel. You can only retorque the driveshaft wheel nut once the car is back together and the weight on the wheel/car in gear.

 

Its a job I've done on lots of vws over the years (I did all 4 cv joint on my Corrado 2 weeks ago). If you dont have the splined tool, its not possible. If you have no experience, patience, confidence, I'd not recommend you attempt the job. If you decide to do it, think whether you simply replace a boot or also replace the cvj whilst you are at it. Parts are available from VW (not cheap cvj £100 plus, boot alone may be £15/20) -I bought mine from Ebay (cvj with boot £20/50) but then my car is a toy (3K miles per year) so I cant justify the cost of new VW parts!!!

 

Photos show inner cvj and boot: inner in pieces-dont let the balls fall out. Haynes manual always says if you take one apart, balls must go back in same place!!

Edited May 8, 2012 by bmwcompact

[poll250 0]

Hi,

 

I just realised that I forgot to say Thank You for the extensive write-up. I've had the driveshafts and associated parts off many times before, but never taken the actual CV apart. It's all clearer now!