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NOVA Bus
Samba Member
Joined: April 18, 2005
Posts: 517
Location: Herndon, VA
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 Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2020 6:30 am Post subject: Re: CV joint questions |
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Okay, so dentil work with Dremmel longways along each splice, I did clean one with a jewelers triangle file, this actually made it so I cloud start the CV onto the axle, probably should have put more prep work into the axle spines, will do for the remaining three. Thanks for the advice.
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1977 Transporter / Weekender
- GE engine, L-Jetronic w/ hyd. lifters
- Brown Beige plaid P27 Interior (ED)
http:/[url=http://www.vw-mplate.com/mplate-29638.png]Click to view image
Camper Interior donor:
[/URL]/www.vw-mplate.com/mcode.php?lang=EN&id=721 (M-Code for interior). |
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udidwht
Samba Member
Joined: March 06, 2005
Posts: 3779
Location: Seattle, WA./ HB, Ca./ Shizuoka, Japan
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| Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2020 12:55 am Post subject: Re: CV joint questions |
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Decades of working on the buses and I've never had an issue after putting them back together in different order (CV bearings). Cleaning good and re-lubing well is all that is needed. Along with boots.
Now boot quality? That's a different story today. I'm running Rockford boots.
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1972 Westy Hardtop/Type-4 2056cc
96mm Biral AA P/C's~7.8:1CR
Headflow Masters New AMC 42x36mm heads w/Porsche swivel adjusters
71mm Stroke
73 Web Cam w/Web solids
Dual 40mm IDF Webers - LM-2 - 47.5 idles/125 mains/190 air corr./F11 tubes/28mm Vents - Float height 10.45mm/Drop 32mm
Bosch SVDA w/Pertronix module (7.5 initial 28 total @ 3400rpm)
Bosch W8CC plugs
Pertronix Flamethrower 40K coil
S&S 4-1 w/Walker QP 17862
3 rib 002 Trans
185R14 Hankook tires |
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Cap10323
Samba Member
Joined: July 24, 2016
Posts: 604
Location: Ohio
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| Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2020 9:31 am Post subject: Re: CV joint questions |
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I posted this question before, but didn't get much response.
My Bus, despite only having 65K miles on it, has what I believe to be aftermarket axles. The boots are cracking, and upon inspecting them closer, they have some tight spots.
I'd like to buy a new set of axles to drive on while I take these apart for inspection/rebuild. What is the preferred non-OEM axle? Should I just get the $40-60 ones from the usual suspects? Or shell out for the $100+ ones from somewhere like BusDepot?
Are aftermarket axles for these Busses substantially worse than other aftermarket axles? I've been buying $50 specials for years on my daily-drivers, and I've gotten upwards of 100K miles out of some of them.
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-Ian
'77 Westfalia - 2.0 F.I |
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BusterBrown
Samba Member
Joined: December 15, 2009
Posts: 1397
Location: Arizona
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| Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 6:02 pm Post subject: Re: CV joint questions |
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Just about to put the engine/transaxle unit back into my 1977 bus, and cleaned the outsides of the CV joint/axles. Then this became visible;
Appears to be the OG Cvs and boots on this old bus. It was sitting on jacks for 10 years at my place, and in a field for years before that. Now, I'm getting her back on the road. I was wondering how often you see what looks like the original CVs on an old bus, and the boots are intact!
Any suggestions for cleaning/prepping the Cvs before install, or should I just repack and go?
Thanks Peeps.
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1978 Sage Green Westfalia (Happy Trails, SOLD)
1977 Transporter
Life is short. Can I have some of yours? |
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Wildthings
Samba Member
Joined: March 13, 2005
Posts: 50337
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| Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 7:46 pm Post subject: Re: CV joint questions |
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I think the original CVs are good for better than 300K miles. Eventually the cage wears and doesn't keep the balls all that well aligned and things begin to get out of whack.
If I had a set of factory new CVs and got to lubricate them my way before they went into service I would suspect they would last even longer. The factory just didn't put enough grease into them and it seems the grease they used was mostly soap and dried up quickly, meaning that the CVs wore at a high rate until they got their first service thousands of miles down the road. |
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CanStan
Samba Member
Joined: October 16, 2005
Posts: 1037
Location: Calgary, AB
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| Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 8:25 pm Post subject: Re: CV joint questions |
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| BusterBrown wrote: |
Just about to put the engine/transaxle unit back into my 1977 bus, and cleaned the outsides of the CV joint/axles. Then this became visible;
Appears to be the OG Cvs and boots on this old bus. It was sitting on jacks for 10 years at my place, and in a field for years before that. Now, I'm getting her back on the road. I was wondering how often you see what looks like the original CVs on an old bus, and the boots are intact!
Any suggestions for cleaning/prepping the Cvs before install, or should I just repack and go?
Thanks Peeps. |
It’s hard to say for sure if those are the original boots, but if it was parked 30 years ago, I suppose it’s possible. Rubber made in the past definitely lasted longer than it does now.
Of the 8 Bay Buses worth of CV’s if cleaned and repacked in the past couple years, I’d say half of them were date stamped where I could believe them to be original. Some of the CV’s looked better than others, but none of them were close to bad enough to garbage. With some fresh grease and boots, I think even the worst OG joints will outlive a lot of the new options on the market.
My record was less than 500 miles before an Empi joint disintegrated on the highway.
As far as suggestions for repacking then, you need to clean and inspect them before making any final decisions. I personally love my used $50 parts washer. It doesn’t get used a lot, but for CV’s it’s amazing. I use a cheap soft bristle scrub brush and hold the joint under the pump faucet. It takes 1 minute max to get 99% of the grease out. Once I pull the joint apart, a soft towel cleans up the rest. |
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raygreenwood
Samba Member
Joined: November 24, 2008
Posts: 21512
Location: Oklahoma City
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| Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 9:32 pm Post subject: Re: CV joint questions |
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| Wildthings wrote: |
I think the original CVs are good for better than 300K miles. Eventually the cage wears and doesn't keep the balls all that well aligned and things begin to get out of whack.
If I had a set of factory new CVs and got to lubricate them my way before they went into service I would suspect they would last even longer. The factory just didn't put enough grease into them and it seems the grease they used was mostly soap and dried up quickly, meaning that the CVs wore at a high rate until they got their first service thousands of miles down the road. |
This ....I really agree with. Partly that the factory did not put enough grease into these...and...partly the whole design of accordion/bellows boots. If you squeeze the grease out and it goes past the first rib in the boot...it will never come back.
The other issue that helps all of this...its really hard to beat the consistency of the original CV joint grease in the blue odd shaped tubes...kind of soupy...dark gray....VERY high lead content...which is why it lubes so well.
Ray |
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