Date:         Mon, 10 Apr 2000 20:11:15 -0500
Reply-To:     Joel Walker <jwalker@URONRAMP.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Joel Walker <jwalker@URONRAMP.NET>
Subject:      Re: Cost effective,,expected for 60,000mi svc
Comments: To: Modl6971@AOL.COM
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

> CV joint grease isn't something that ever requires changing.
The joints won't
> last anylonger replacing the grease. The labor to remove each
shaft and all 4
> joints, repack and replace the boots isn't cost effective.
You're better off
> waiting for a boot to tear or a joint to wear. So when there is
a problem
> with a joint on one drive shaft, you replace both joints with
new ones. See

i have to disagree here. cv joints should, in my opinion and in
all the vw literature i can find, be cleaned and inspected and
regreased every 30,000 miles or two years. i personally cheat a
little: i use three times as much grease as is 'recommended', and
do mine every 75,000 miles. :)  i've got over 140,000 miles on my
current 88 bus's original cv joints this way. my brother had
gotten over 200,000 miles on a rabbit by doing this ... and the
rabbit's cv joints area like the syncro front wheels: they have
to turn the wheels AND rotate the wheels, so they are under a lot
more stress. no, the joints didn't give out ... he wrecked the
car. so we'll never know how long they might have lasted.

i've never found ANY grease or oil that never needs changing ...
ALL fluids on any vehicle NEED replacing periodically, even the
transmission oil. heat and shear stress and contamination with
water, acids, metal particles, and all the bad things that cars
can do to fluids ... well, it takes its toll on the fluid. and
regular changes, in my opinion, keep the machinery operating
better and longer.

like the old commercials used to say, " you can pay me now, or
you can pay me later" ... how many oil changes could you have
done for the cost of a transmission? how much cv joint grease can
you buy for the cost of a rebuilt axle?

but each of us is allowed to maintain our buses as we see fit.
and as far as i can see, there's not any "One Right Way" to do it
... whatever fits your budget and works for you is fine, and if
someone else wants to do it differently, well, that's ok, too. :)

joel