Date:         Mon, 6 Jul 1998 10:43:44 -0400
Reply-To:     Mark Schrope <mschrope@VIMS.EDU>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Mark Schrope <mschrope@VIMS.EDU>
Subject:      CV problem solved
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Just wanted to thank everybody who played the speed round of What Did the
Novice Screw Up.  Problem was solved with the help of everyone who
responded to me.  For those who didn't see my message Friday-  I went to
clean and repack my CV joints for the first time and when I got everything
together the CVs stayed rigid so I couldn't get the axle back on.  Here's
what happened for those who might find themselves in a similar situation
someday-

I did pay attention to the inner and outer hubs of the joint when I took
them off, so they were put back together facing the proper directions,
though they look identical to me from either direction but it's a bit like
looking at a maze so I'm sure I missed something.  At any rate, I put them
back the same way they came off so that wasn't the problem.  When I put the
inner assembly (hub, middle ring and balls) into the outer ring I didn't
get them in properly.  Actually, it was easier to fit it together my way,
but if you want your car to move you should do it the other way.  As
Darrell Boehler explained to me, when looking down on the joint there are
wide spaces and thin spaces on both the inner hub and the outer ring.
These are the spaces between the grooves.  When put together properly a
wide space on the outer ring should match a thin space on the inner hub.
It goes together wide space to wide space, but then doesn't move.  If you
look very closely in the Bentley pictures, and Haynes also I think you can
see this.  When you put everything back together the joints should pivot
very easily and go into there proper places without problem  If it's wrong
everything stays pretty rigid and won't pivot, though you can move the
center hub around a bit.  Of course, Joel Walker's suggestion is to not
take the joint apart and just regrease things, which is the simplest
solution and I would think a good one, if you are maintaining them at
proper intervals.  My problem was that I wasn't sure of the condition of my
joints and wanted to see how worn they were to decide whether to replace
them.

One minor tip that I'm sure I'm not the first to try but thought I'd pass
along.  When taking the axle off or putting it back on, try tying it up
with a cord to the frame.  Makes it a whole lot easier to get on and off.
When removing the axle, once you've got a grip on it you can just cut the
cord rather than trying to untie it with one hand.

Thanks again for everybody's help.  I was back on the road by Saturday
afternoon.

Mark
'89 Wolfsburg



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Mark Schrope
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
PO Box 1346
Route 1208, Greate Road
Gloucester Point, VA 23062
(804)684-7220 [office]   (804)684-7675 or 7007    [labs]
(804)684-7250 [fax]
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