cv joint help needed *******update********

Right im got a bit of a problem with the n/s cv joint

I've just had it replaced by a garage brand new part from german and swedish. Got it back from the garage and everything was fine for about a day or two..Whilst driving tho it has (what i think) popped out and therefore wont drive… It cost me;

Cv joint - ?50
Fitting - ?30
Towed home - ?105

= ?185  

phoned the garage and because i supplied the part there not gonna touch it! Any excuse to get out of it!

So basicaly i was woundering if i could have a do myself..

what could it be? do you think the cv's needs replacing again? whilst being towed on the recovery truck it was making some horrible crunching noise!?

any ideas are welcome :?

Sack the garage
If i sent a car out and it failed like that,i would put it right whether the customer supplied the part or not,thats a good way to loose customers,shame you dont live closer,i would come and sort it in an hour for a fellow mk1 man  :wink:
easy enough to put right with the tools needed,if you tackle the job make shure there are no metal filings in the joint when the shaft spun.the joint is only knocked onto the shaft and held in place with a circlip type thing.They should have replaced the clip when the joint was fitted if not,they can come off  8O
bert

yes mate if only you lived closer

I feel really anoyed with the garage, he did say bring it down and he'll have a 'look' at it…that means getting a recovery truck to the garage and then for them to turn around and say it needs this this and this…

to be honest i dont fancy tackling this myself, any north west'ers fancy a job? ops:

i need it for the nxt nwm meet!

seriously tho how hard a job it this?

oh and for the records…i payed cash at the garage so i didnt get a reciept or anything… :roll:  learn the hard way

Undo the 30mm nut and remove it
Jack up car and remove wheel
Undo bottom balljoint 17mm spanner i think?
crack balljoint with a copper mallet or use a long prybar to lever bottom arm down
with hub off the balljoint push the  c.v joint out of the hub
The joint should knock onto the driveshaft and be held in place with a circlip fitted to the end of the shaft.
clean the joint out to make shure there is no swarf in the grease when it spun.
use a copper mallet to knock the joint back on and make shure it goes right up to the plastic ring (round black spacer with a metal dished washer) refit c.v boot with fresh grease
hold the shaft in your hand and push and pull it (like your tyring to pull it out of the gearbox) to make shure the inner joint is moving freely
reassemble the joint into the hub,refit bottom balljoint,tighten hub not to 220 nm
bobs your uncle
dont forget to put the wheel back on too
Bert

The CV joint is held to the gearbox (differential) by 6x 8mm spline bolts and washers. You'd need the special tool to tighten these. It is good workshop practice to check and tighten these bolts after 50-100 miles or so. When I took out my engine/gearbox, I rechecked them and was surprised how loose they'd become. Also, cleaniness is going to pay off to get a good connection too.

If it popped out at speed, you might have damaged something else. If it popped out at slow speed, then you'll probably be okay with refitting (new) bolts.

Its the garage's fault, VW have (I think) mentioned that they need retightening in the workshop procedure and they should have done this too. If you were keen to get the car back they should have advised you of it. Paying cash and not having a receipt is no reason for them to avoid responsibility, although you might have a much harder task in proving they did it, if they later deny it.

Paying cash works for me  :wink:
Bert (self employed mot tester and mechanic)

Bert said

dont forget to put the wheel back on too

The number of times I've forgotten that!!! No but seriously, don't forget to TIGHTEN THE WHEEL NUTS!

if its the outer joint that popped out?? you wont need to touch the gearbox end
Bert

Yeah Bert's described the outer and I've described the inner!

Don't mean to be hijacking posts or anything, but…  my n/s outer cv joint clicks quite loudly when i turn a fair amount. Is it doomed or can it be greased and fixed? The boots come off too  :?

Cheers

Liam

hi guys ...i have plenty of complete drive shafts in stock i can do them for ?30 if that helps ... i doing the dub show this sunday so if needed one i could bring them up save postage

when getting cv joints make sure you get the corosponding joint to shaft. ie large joints = short shaft (later cabs)and vice versa.

thanks for the help guys you are very helpful, but like everything else i try and do myself ive only gone and made it worse!

After jacking up the car and checking the outer cv joint that i had replaced, it seems fine…but the inner cv (gearbox end) is Very loose and full of oil! It seemed like an easy job take out the bolts inspect and re fit… well now i have well and truley done it! rounded off two bolts..

Paul i thought you said they can be loose!?  these are welded on!

what am i gonna do!? :dontknow:    

tyhey're allen key headed bolts aren't they?

I found using a star drive got enough grip when I rounded my starter motor bolt (reminds me.. need to replace that!)

drilling it out is one option.. another that I've read about (for sheared off bolts but would still work)  is to weld a bolt on top of it and use that.. but you'd need to be good at welding if they're that tight

hopefully someone's got a better suggestion though  ops:

lowmk1 said

what am i gonna do!? :dontknow:    

OK It would be easy for me to say you should have used the properly fitting tool. But its gone a bit beyond that now. I think you'll need to obtain new bolts, at least, now.

One technique which worked for me was to use a cutting disc in a grinder and very carefully grind a slot in the head of the bolt. Then, using the largest slotted head in an impact driver, use this to undo it. So long as you grind enough of a slot into the bolt, you can go really heavy with the hammer. If you have better access, an alternative is to grind 2 sides of the bolt and then use a spanner or mole grips. Sometimes the grinding itself generates enough vibration to help/undo it.

If access is really bad, you could be looking at destroying the driveshaft to get to the bolts. So be it.

I've heard its quite a common issue, so others may have good/better suggestions than me for solving this one. Needless to say, things like applying loads of penetrating fluid, and making sure the faces of the bolts are clean, and the tools are clean and dry, etc, help too.

PhillTMK1GTI said

tyhey're allen key headed bolts aren't they?

I found using a star drive got enough grip when I rounded my starter motor bolt (reminds me.. need to replace that!)

drilling it out is one option.. another that I've read about (for sheared off bolts but would still work)  is to weld a bolt on top of it and use that.. but you'd need to be good at welding if they're that tight

hopefully someone's got a better suggestion though  ops:

They're a 12 spline head, which is different to Torx or Allen keys. If you use those tools on them, it normally ends in tears….

You only need to buy the one tool, though, I think its described as "8mm" unlike Torx which are T22, T30, T46, etc

Oh I see  

would it be worth using copper grease on the new bolts in case they need to be removed again?

I've heard that areas like wheel bolts etc should never be greased up but then I've heard from pro's a bit of copper grease never goes amiss?

The bolts are U/S and you need new ones so hammer in a larger bit to remove them.

pm sent scouse