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Sun Mar 21, 2010 7:24 pm

I read through instructions in Bentley, Muir, and Van Cafe and took a dive into replacing all 4 joints after I found both wheel boots ripped. They pulled fine, got them off the axles, put the new ones on and packed the grease in - all no problem.

I bolted them as I marked them, starting w/ the right when joint and then went to bolt on the transmission end and it looks like it is an inch short - even after lowering the jack the closest bolts are just short of touching the transmission. I tried the same on the left side with the exact same results.

I checked the part number in the packing slip with the part number at Airhead where I ordered them and sure enough, they are what my '77 needs.

Am I missing something? Anyone else see this before?

Signed, Dejected in San Diego!

Sun Mar 21, 2010 7:38 pm

did you just hold it up to the transmission, or did you give the axle a good pull towards the transmission?

they slide back and forth a bit is what Im getting at. maybe you just need to pull it towards the tranny a bit harder?'

the fresh boots might need to stretch out a bit

hope it all works out

Sun Mar 21, 2010 7:39 pm

They should move in and out slightly and it may be enough to get them to bolt in. That is if the new joints match the old ones.

Sun Mar 21, 2010 9:00 pm

CV's might be on backwards. Chamfer goes inward.

Sun Mar 21, 2010 9:16 pm

New joints can be pretty stiff. You may have to pull hard on the joints to get them to move.

Sun Mar 21, 2010 9:31 pm

Wildthings wrote: New joints can be pretty stiff. You may have to pull hard on the joints to get them to move.

Good stuff guys - I'll hop under tomorrow and give 'er a good pull towards the trany...

Mon Mar 22, 2010 7:13 am

yeap. I have never had the pleasure of installing new joints, but I have seen how tight they are. you can try jacking up the wheel in question, this shortens the distance from trans to wheel, and then bolt up the joint, now carefully and slowly lower that wheel, checking for binding the hole way. when the wheel is at full droop, you shoujld be able to grab the axle and 'plunge' it about 1/6 an inch forward and back, towards trans and wheel. not sure how hard this is to do on a new axle, but on a used axle it is very easy.

Mon Mar 22, 2010 6:09 pm

Perfect. I just grabbed the joint and gave it a big pull. I must have lengthened by an easy 2 inches. It made a sucking sound per the tight fit the boot had around the joint/axle - awesome. It was a bit of a challenge to then get the joint to line up parallel with the transmission but at least I could get the bottom bolt to line-up enough to get it started and then work my way around.

Oddly enough both side had one bold that the threads would not grab the transmission. I tapped it with a hammer to confirm it was all the way in but I couldn't get it to grab. Anyone see this before?

Anyway, I'm nearly home free - thanks again!

-don

Mon Mar 22, 2010 9:53 pm

usually one bolt is hard to get to unless you rotate the wheel so it moves to an easier to reach position. When you love tap bolts it usually makes things worse. If you still can't get it in, pull those CV's off but leave them on the axle, set them aside covered in saran wrap or something, get a tap and tap the threads to clean them up or replace the bolt. Make sure no filings get in the grease.

Mon Mar 22, 2010 10:46 pm

If you have tightened the bolts as you go, you may need to go back and loosen them. The clearances on these are pretty tight and if everything isn't lined up just perfectly it can be hard to get all the bolts started.

Tue Mar 23, 2010 11:07 am

... hey Don, I would also advise you to slide up under your bus after driving it a hundred or so miles and re torque the allen bolts on the perimiter of all four joints to make certain they are in there tight for the long haul. If they loosen they will fling out onto the road and usually the last one breaks off and then you have a perpetual neutral, along with an urgent need for towing services. This will always happen at an inappropriate time and place.

By the way that sure is a clean as a whistle Westy you have there in your gallery, quite impressive.

Tue Mar 23, 2010 12:26 pm

If you lower the jack a bit the axle to joint angle is less and it is easier to install. I also find it easier using a power drill with the right socket fitting to get the bolts on quickly but tighten them by hand and use a torque wrench as you don't want to strip out the end of the bolt where the socket goes. Some people don't mind doing the CV's but i find it a prick of a job.

Sun Mar 28, 2010 9:09 pm

made_in_nz wrote: If you lower the jack a bit the axle to joint angle is less and it is easier to install. I also find it easier using a power drill with the right socket fitting to get the bolts on quickly but tighten them by hand and use a torque wrench as you don't want to strip out the end of the bolt where the socket goes. Some people don't mind doing the CV's but i find it a prick of a job.

Certainly not my favorite job! I ended up backing out all the bolts and that still didn't do it. So, I replaced the two troublesome (new) ones with two old ones and they both went in no problem!

Mon Mar 29, 2010 10:03 am

Last check - after driving a couple days of short drives, go back and check the bolts. Make sure they are still torqued correctly. It isn't too common, but the last thing you want is for those bolts to back out.

-P

Mon Mar 29, 2010 10:31 am

pjalau wrote: Last check - after driving a couple days of short drives, go back and check the bolts. Make sure they are still torqued correctly. It isn't too common, but the last thing you want is for those bolts to back out.

-P

Great suggestion, will do.