Working on the drive shafts

Charlie57 · Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 8:05 pm Post subject: Working on the drive shafts

How do you know when it time to replace the joints/bearings? Here are some photos of the joints I am working on.

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SGKent · Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 9:10 pm Post subject:

huw blued and pitted are the ball bearings inside?
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old DKP driver · Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 9:25 pm Post subject: when to replace cv joints

That race is pitted and that means that joint needs to be replaced as it
is only a matter of time before it fails.

The balls will also soon to be bad if not already.
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Wildthings · Samba Member Joined: March 13, 2005 Posts: 50334

You might be able to swap the axles side to side and get good life out of the joints still. Even just swapping them end for end on the same side may cause them to run in a new area of the races. All depends on your finances and vehicle needs.

crownline · Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 4:41 am Post subject:

Wow that's alot of dirt and grit you cleaned out of those bearings Shocked

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madmike · Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 5:26 am Post subject:

You can hear them knocking on hard/sharp turns,it's the un-weighted side that knocks Rolling Eyes

My local parts store had one in stock(complete axle) for about $80 out the door and no core charge Cool

had to re-tighten the bolts once Rolling Eyes

and I even used Loctite !!!
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Tcash · Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 9:36 am Post subject: Re: Working on the drive shafts

Fixed it

[quote="Charlie57"]How do you know when it time to replace the joints/bearings? Here are some photos of the joints I am working on.

kreemoweet · Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 10:32 am Post subject:

If that's an original VW/Lobro joint, you are well advised to grease it up and run it until it actually starts making
obvious bad noises or otherwise making trouble. I ran a joint that looked far worse than that for over 15 years
without the slightest problem. Sometimes pitting like that is just a result of neglect/abuse by PO's and does not affect
the joint operation.
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aopisa · Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 10:49 am Post subject:

Wildthings · Samba Member Joined: March 13, 2005 Posts: 50334

A lot of the original joints got damaged in the few 5000-30,000 miles as the factory grease job was lacking. Once they started making noise they got dissembled and lube and then have run for years with very little additional wear. I wouldn't be surprised to find that that is not what happened with the joint(s) shown.

aeromech · Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 1:27 pm Post subject:

They look nice and clean. I'd put them back together, grease them good, and roll with it. They will still be better than any Chinese replacement shafts you get at the parts store.
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Charlie57 · Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 2:43 pm Post subject:

The ball bearing seem to look fine. I do not want to spend more money then I need on this build but I don't want to take these apart 5,000 miles from now either. There is definitely some wear on the other rings. I found the complete kit from Airheads for $60 each. Is there anything good or bad about them?

aeromech · Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 3:03 pm Post subject:

Complete kit? Is that a complete drive axle or just one CV?
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VW type 1 1962,63,65,69,72
VW Type 2 1971 (3 ea.) 1978, 1969
VW Jetta
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Capable of leaping tall buildings in a single bound

kreemoweet · Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 4:02 pm Post subject:

Nothing wrong with having a spare axle (complete with joints) on hand, ready to pop in should the need arise. That way,
the downtime is minimal and you can rebuild the old axle at your leisure. Replacing an axle w/joints is not really a major job.
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aeromech · Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 5:27 pm Post subject:

Nothing wrong with having spares for each and every part on your bus. The thing is that any good drive axle/CV/boot assembly should last at least 60k miles. That's a long time in a bus.
_________________
Lead Mechanic: San Diego Air and Space Museum
Licensed Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic
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Boeing 727,737-200-300-400,757,767
Airbus A319,320,321
DC9/MD80
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Fokker F28/F100
VW type 1 1962,63,65,69,72
VW Type 2 1971 (3 ea.) 1978, 1969
VW Jetta
VW Passat
Capable of leaping tall buildings in a single bound

timvw7476 · Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 6:24 pm Post subject: Working on the driveshafts

if you are worried, you can get decent joints out of used-up
vanagons, they're newer & usually don't have the crap
hammered out of them-pik-n-pull sold them kinda' cheap at
one time, & you get to inspect/disassemble them before you buy.

aeromech · Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 10:09 am Post subject:

I think this is the CV kit he's talking about

http://www.airheadparts.com/vintage-vw-parts/vanag...-251598101

You'll need 4
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Lead Mechanic: San Diego Air and Space Museum
Licensed Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic
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Boeing 727,737-200-300-400,757,767
Airbus A319,320,321
DC9/MD80
BAe146
Fokker F28/F100
VW type 1 1962,63,65,69,72
VW Type 2 1971 (3 ea.) 1978, 1969
VW Jetta
VW Passat
Capable of leaping tall buildings in a single bound

udidwht · Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 10:14 am Post subject:

http://www.airheadparts.com/vintage-vw-parts/vanag...-251598201

$8.XX Shocked

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aeromech · Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 10:18 am Post subject:

That's just a boot kit. He thinks he needs to replace the CV's themselves.
_________________
Lead Mechanic: San Diego Air and Space Museum
Licensed Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic
Licensed Pilot (Single engine Land)
Boeing 727,737-200-300-400,757,767
Airbus A319,320,321
DC9/MD80
BAe146
Fokker F28/F100
VW type 1 1962,63,65,69,72
VW Type 2 1971 (3 ea.) 1978, 1969
VW Jetta
VW Passat
Capable of leaping tall buildings in a single bound

Randy in Maine · Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 11:24 am Post subject:

To me that is a classic example of a CV joint that was not properly re-packed likely after the boot had split. Dirt and water got in there and contaminated the lubricant. They should be repacked about every 30K miles and they will last for many thousands of miles.

That being said, I would still just repack all 4 of them, rotate the direction, and drive it. If it made some noise, I would replace that single joint and drive it some more. I would rather have a used German joint than anything to ever come out of a parts store.

The Germans always felt that if you keep the joint clean and well lubricated with nice fresh moly grease it should last forever.


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