Date:         Wed, 26 Jul 1995 17:25:41 -0500
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         jfourni@comp.uark.edu (Joseph F. Fournier II)
Subject:      stuck CV joint (kinda long)

The other day I was parking my new (though somewhat seasoned) '71
campmobile and
I noticed, as I was backing up, smoke eminating from under the rear
passenger-side wheel. Fortunately, I was backing into a shady spot where I
planned to to some canoe fitting.

Upon inspection, I found that the one wheel was egg-frying hot and the
other was fine. Mind you, I've only had this bus on the road for one (count
'em - *one*) day with dependable idle and brakes. This was not the standard
brake-smelling smoke, nor was it oil (though it also speweth forth in
droplets from the engine). In truth, I've never smelled this kind of smoke
before.

My first suspect was bearings, so I tore into it and down to the wheel-side
CV (noting along the way that I kept forgetting to read key peices of my
idiot book...also known as "being proved by fire"). So I got out the
bearings, killing one in the process and got the CV out and torn down and
inspected what remained of my bearings, etc.

Well, I don't know how I did it, but somehow I managed to get my CV joint
to freeze up when I put it back together. Now I can't get it to move
through the motions. This being the first CV I've had in hand, I'm not
already all that familiar with the motions, but I know how it moved when I
took it out, and it don't do that no more.

I don't remember forcing anything or hitting it with a hammer or jamming
dirt down it (though one of my alternate personalities may have done any or
all of those things while I wasn't watching...if in fact I have alternate
personalities who have managed to allude me all these years). I do know
that the instructions said clean it with solvent so I took it apart and
used the only handy solvent I had (gasoline)...but I wiped it quite dry and
shiney and looked for pits and stuff and I let it warm up from that cold
gas feeling while I wolfed down some grub. I also noticed that the angle of
my CV probably isn't 20 degrees anymore (looks more like 10)...though I
could be wrong about that.

Oh, one more thing I might have done wrong: I didn't take the cover off the
CV housing either to take the balls out or to put them back in. I took the
whole  wheel side apart and removed the axles, but lo, I don't have a vice
or even a dependable jack (I used one from my '72 Ford on a
convieniently-bent-and-soon-to-be-replaced rear bumper)...thusly, I left
the cap on. After I put it back together, I did grease it as well as
possible without moving it, but unless some magic has been worked as it sat
inside the bus today, that didn't free it up.

8( I'm going home to see if I can snake it apart by first somehow removing
the cap...if that doesn't work, I might get creative and hold a blow-dryer
on it to see if some of the grease might work its way down in between the
balls (come to think of it, though, I closed the windows in the bus for the
mondo storm we had last night and with the temps we've been having it
probably reached 110 in there today.)8  Then, there are always chants and
incense...which may work with this bus, who has no doubt seen many groovy
parties and stuff.

If anyone has had a similar experience, I'd appreciate a note. I'll check
back this evening (surely greasing the keyboard in the process).

Thanks! Joe Fournier
        '71 Campmobile (awaiting complete resurection)