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Greasing CV joints
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bosstyn
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PostPosted: Mon May 08, 2017 3:10 pm    Post subject: Greasing CV joints Reply with quote

So i was reading about greasing CV joins with a needle injector. IM leaving on a long cross country move and thinking adding some grease couldn't hurt. I inspected the clamps on the small end of the boots and they pretty permanent.

Can i remove these claps and place a hose clamp after greasing? (i thought i even read somewhere that you can zip tie them, but this seems like asking for trouble).

Any suggestions on how i should or would accomplish greasing my CV's and returning them to a solid, sealed state afterwards?

Thanks
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PostPosted: Mon May 08, 2017 3:17 pm    Post subject: Re: Greasing CV joints Reply with quote

A clamp isn't really even needed. A Zip tie would work just fine.

Adding grease is goid but better would be a disassembly, clean, inspection and reassembly.

Dave
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Terry Kay
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PostPosted: Mon May 08, 2017 3:20 pm    Post subject: Re: Greasing CV joints Reply with quote

You can use small hose clamps, wire ties, safety wire them, whatever.
If the rubber is old, a hose clamp would be better, if they are brand new, a wire tie is fine.

Do not over grease them, you'll force it to fly out of them old rubbers.
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PostPosted: Mon May 08, 2017 4:29 pm    Post subject: Re: Greasing CV joints Reply with quote

I grease mine with a length of 1/4" tubing and a plastic 'hypo' (sold at WalMart, Walgreens & other fine stores). Slip the length of tubing in under the small end of the boot.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


I do not use anything to clamp the small end of the boot - I have a theory (unproven) that clamping there contributes to the short boot life many experience.

The boots on mine have been on there since 2002 and are still good.
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bosstyn
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PostPosted: Mon May 08, 2017 5:14 pm    Post subject: Re: Greasing CV joints Reply with quote

I guess the next question is.......what kind of grease? Redline?

And thanks for the relies. it eased a little wondering on this end.
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PostPosted: Mon May 08, 2017 5:14 pm    Post subject: Re: Greasing CV joints Reply with quote

The biggest concern I have about needle greasing cvs is grease compatibility. I have used so many different greases over the years with various cvs, I never remember which one has what grease in it. One day I will pull them all in both vans and repack with the same grease and only keep that grease around.
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PostPosted: Mon May 08, 2017 5:22 pm    Post subject: Re: Greasing CV joints Reply with quote

You are just not adding any value with needle greasing. Grease needs to be on the contact surfaces of the ball bearing and inner and outer races or else it is just added weight.

Whoever started this practice should be made to eat 1 pound of moly grease as punishment

Clean up the bolt heads, take them off, clean them out, and pack them like a real mechanic. They will last forever if you do this.
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PostPosted: Mon May 08, 2017 7:08 pm    Post subject: Re: Greasing CV joints Reply with quote

Abscate wrote:
Whoever started this practice should be made to eat 1 pound of moly grease as punishment.


Whoever engages in this practice should enjoy the peace of mind that the CVs won't go dry during their trip, then set a reasonable date on the calendar to service the CVs properly. Knowing you got all the old metal-contaminated grease out, is the best way to relax.

You can poke the needle into the CV joint, between the balls, and be certain that you are doing good. This is a good place to poke, in the middle of the bellows. In the center of the next pleat over would be even better cuz you can be sure to inject the grease into the works.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


That other scheme with a long stiff plastic hose is a good plan too, perhaps better, if your boots are pretty new and you can't see poking a hole. To squirt the new grease right into the CV's bidness is optimal.

Here's another thread about 'the practice'. https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...p;start=20
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Wildthings
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PostPosted: Mon May 08, 2017 8:28 pm    Post subject: Re: Greasing CV joints Reply with quote

My grease needle is about four inches long, it easily fits under the small end of the boot all the way into the bearing. You can use a shorter needle but then need to kneaded the boot to force the grease into the bearing.

Back in the early ninties when my 91 Multivan only had 20K miles or so, we were way north in British Columbia when the joints started making banging noises. IIRC I was able to buy a short needle at the tiny local autoparts, but they had no moly grease and no grease gun for sale, nor did they have the triple square tool to remove the joints. So in addition to the needle, I bought whatever lithium grease they had and bummed a grease gun from a local shop. Injected the grease under the small end of the boot and massaged it into the joint and the noise went away. Didn't tear into the joints until the tranny went at about 180K miles. The joints were pitted but not that badly all things considered.
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PostPosted: Mon May 08, 2017 9:46 pm    Post subject: Re: Greasing CV joints Reply with quote

I use this home made needle on my syncro cv joints, it inserts into the small end of the boot and all the way to the inner side of the cv joint, it is easy to place it anywhere on the cage to inject grease. I use swepco 101 in the cartridges with an air powered gun.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


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PostPosted: Tue May 09, 2017 4:52 am    Post subject: Re: Greasing CV joints Reply with quote

If the CV's have never been serviced then they likely have the original moly grease in them. The black kind that comes in the individual plastic pack from VW and is in most CV kits. I'd use that stuff to add some grease before your trip.
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PostPosted: Tue May 09, 2017 10:52 am    Post subject: Re: Greasing CV joints Reply with quote

http://www.van-cafe.com/search?noheadings=1&keywords=needle+grease

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PostPosted: Tue Jun 12, 2018 9:12 am    Post subject: Re: Greasing CV joints Reply with quote

Thread bump - Sodo, are you not seeing any ill effects in terms of CV boot deterioration or grease leakage due to puncturing the boot?

Sodo wrote:
Abscate wrote:
Whoever started this practice should be made to eat 1 pound of moly grease as punishment.


Whoever engages in this practice should enjoy the peace of mind that the CVs won't go dry during their trip, then set a reasonable date on the calendar to service the CVs properly. Knowing you got all the old metal-contaminated grease out, is the best way to relax.

You can poke the needle into the CV joint, between the balls, and be certain that you are doing good. This is a good place to poke, in the middle of the bellows. In the center of the next pleat over would be even better cuz you can be sure to inject the grease into the works.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


That other scheme with a long stiff plastic hose is a good plan too, perhaps better, if your boots are pretty new and you can't see poking a hole. To squirt the new grease right into the CV's bidness is optimal.

Here's another thread about 'the practice'. https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...p;start=20
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Sodo
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 12, 2018 10:04 am    Post subject: Re: Greasing CV joints Reply with quote

I only drove a few thousand miles,,,, and then R&R cleaned/re-greased all CV joints, all new boots. So I can't provide a long-term assessment.

However, I could not even locate that needle hole. No grease leak or even dust showed it's location. https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=8685014#8685014

If you think about it, all the flex occurs at the vertex of the pleat. That's where they crack, at the vertex. Nothing is happening in the flat area. The oldest boots you'll see still have perfect flats.

I'm convinced a hole from a sharp hypodermic needle is an absolute non-issue with regards to boot longevity. And the hole closes tight. If you are even wondering if there's sufficient grease in there, adding grease (like this) is simply "better". I suppose as long as you don't add too much (and inflate the boot). It lets you put the grease right into the center of the CV joint where the action is. If the grease you're adding is kind of stiff, it could be worthwhile to poke grease into the other side too.

It's a vast improvement to clicking joints (dry). If not clicking, you are just diluting your contaminated grease by adding a little clean grease (which is a slight improvement) that offers some peace of mind, or trip insurance. And it's darn easy.

If your joints are still good (no pits) you can make them run much longer by removing the metal-contaminated grease and replacing it with clean grease. Best to do this SOON after break-in, but BEFORE any pitting. A wild guess might be to clean the break-in grease out after the first 5-15K miles? And onward, periodically. Like 50k - 100k (???) who knows? Changing your break-in grease is only "good" for members who go under the van for sport. If you have to take the van to a shop, labor costs will devour any possible benefits.
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 12, 2018 12:17 pm    Post subject: Re: Greasing CV joints Reply with quote

Jamming a needle under the boots will only fill the boot with grease. Most of it will not get into the balls and cages of the CV where it's needed. Unless the boot is torn, I wouldn't bother. A waste of grease and time. You need to remove the CV joint and boots to get in there and properly grease it up. Even with a small tear it's not going to loose any grease. It will eventually get dirt and grit in there and that's bad for the CVs.
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Wildthings
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 12, 2018 1:54 pm    Post subject: Re: Greasing CV joints Reply with quote

piruvan wrote:
Jamming a needle under the boots will only fill the boot with grease. Most of it will not get into the balls and cages of the CV where it's needed. Unless the boot is torn, I wouldn't bother. A waste of grease and time. You need to remove the CV joint and boots to get in there and properly grease it up. Even with a small tear it's not going to loose any grease. It will eventually get dirt and grit in there and that's bad for the CVs.


With a long enough needle you can get grease right into the bearing from going under the small end of the boot. In a pinch you can use a short needle under the small end of the boot and then massage the grease into the bearing, I did this when the joints my '91 had only 20K or so miles on them and started making noise in a remote location and it worked just fine. I didn't pull the joints down for inspection/replacement until the tranny went out 10 years later.
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 12, 2018 2:45 pm    Post subject: Re: Greasing CV joints Reply with quote

With my needle, I can feel around and get grease injected into each bearing.

Wildthings wrote:
piruvan wrote:
Jamming a needle under the boots will only fill the boot with grease. Most of it will not get into the balls and cages of the CV where it's needed. Unless the boot is torn, I wouldn't bother. A waste of grease and time. You need to remove the CV joint and boots to get in there and properly grease it up. Even with a small tear it's not going to loose any grease. It will eventually get dirt and grit in there and that's bad for the CVs.


With a long enough needle you can get grease right into the bearing from going under the small end of the boot. In a pinch you can use a short needle under the small end of the boot and then massage the grease into the bearing, I did this when the joints my '91 had only 20K or so miles on them and started making noise in a remote location and it worked just fine. I didn't pull the joints down for inspection/replacement until the tranny went out 10 years later.

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PostPosted: Tue Jun 12, 2018 4:09 pm    Post subject: Re: Greasing CV joints Reply with quote

It really isn't hard to remove the axle.
Doing so assures you of a proper repack.

I just did one axle a few weeks ago, EZ Peezy..........

Dave
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 13, 2018 8:31 am    Post subject: Re: Greasing CV joints Reply with quote

Needling greasing is like not checking your expansion tank grommets before driving into rain country, it won't end well.

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PostPosted: Wed Jun 13, 2018 11:27 am    Post subject: Re: Greasing CV joints Reply with quote

It is like not wearing clean underwear when you set out on a long days drive....
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