From: Richard S. [rvs300@mail.com]
Sent: Thursday, August 31, 2000 3:38 PM
To: 928
Subject: [928] Re: axle/CV joint


On 08/31/00, "V1UhOh@aol.com" wrote:
> Well..im starting to pick up a noticeable rumble under hard acceleration from
> the rear end and figure its my left..rear..innner CV joint (it has slung a
> bit of grease in that area).   How hard of a job is it to remove the whole
> assembley (axle etc )   does one replace just the joints or the whole axle
> AND joint assembley as a whole? from what i cant tell it doesnt look that
> hard?
> 
> Tony..lets get ready to rrrrrrrumble


Tony, this is a faily straight-forward job.  Be sure to use the correct 
size allen head socket and be certain it fits ALL THE WAY IN, otherwise you 
could strip the bolts.  You may have to clean out any road gunk that got 
into the bolt opeenings.  You will have to loosen a few bolts, then rotate 
the axle to get to the others.  I jacked the car up, put it on jack stands, 
and put on the emergency brake while loosening and tightening the bolts.  I 
believe that the CV joints can be bought and put on your axles.  An article 
in Excellence magazine stated that the joints should come off the axles 
with a little help from a mallet, or a shop can press them off if needed.  
I think Devek recommends just replacing the whole axle and CV joint as an 
assembly, as the cost of this item just about equals the cost of their 
labor to rebiuld one.  You could save some $$$ if your axles are fine.  I 
used Red Line CV-2 synthetic grease for the joint.  This is a MESSY job, so 
be ready with lots of rags and paper towels.  Apply generous amounts of 
grease to the joint, being sure it gets into the pockets holding the ball 
bearings.  If your joint comes apart before you put it on the axle, be 
aware there is a wrong way and a right way to put it back together.  Line 
up the long areas between ball pockets on the outer sleeve with the short 
areas on the inner sleeve.  The joint should move freely in all directions 
if you get it right.  The joint hardly moves if you get it wrong.  Put on 
new boots if yours are bad, and apply a light coat of grease to the inside 
of the boot.  This whole job should only take a couple of hours if you go 
slow.  Good luck.

Richard Sanders
79 A/T
80 5 spd