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Date:         Mon, 12 Oct 1998 00:16:18 -0600
Reply-To:     Rob MacLeod <macleod@CVRTI.UTAH.EDU>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Rob MacLeod <macleod@CVRTI.UTAH.EDU>
Subject:      CV-joint story conclusion
Comments: To: vanagon@vanagon.com

Folks,

Last week I sent out a cry for help from Jackson, Wyoming about the noises that arose in the back end of our '87 Westy as we headed down the Teton Pass toward Jackson. I wanted to end your suspense and tell the rest of the story.

First, to those who responded, thanks a million for your valuable insights. There were too many replies to list all of you separately, but you know who you are and I love you all.

The general consensus was to continue on, driving carefully, and this is what we did, rolling carefully through Yellowstone from the south to the north end over three days, and finally all the way up to Bozeman, Montana and the local VW dealer, Dick Walter. The noise was there, more and more often, always pretty much the same thump (or low frequency "thok" as Joel better described it). It had one tone and volume when we accelerated, another, much louder one when we decelerated or turned a corner that would cause the right rear wheel to decelerate.

Of course, by the time we got to Bozeman, the noise had gone away and nothing I could do for the mechanic with me in the car could make it come back. But I was sure there was a problem and sure it was rear right, so I gave the go-ahead to open the thing up and look.

Sure enough, the inner CV joint on the right was a mess! Really worn races, glazing, even some material chewed out at the edges. Three of the balls were blue from heat and one looked pretty corroded all over. This CV was toast! I've got the parts so anyone who wants to can drop by and check them out. The grease was still present, but very thick and probably not doing much good. While he was at it, I had the mechanic take apart the left side, but things there looked so good that he was sure this one had been replaced already (I've had the car only since April). He said that on Vanagons, the inner ones almost always go long before the outer ones and that a truly catastrophic failure is rare because there is no turning of the axles as there would be in a front wheel drive vehicle. The things slowly beat themselves to death and are pretty loud in the process.

So, with all four CVs checked and greased, we headed off on the rest of our journey and had no more problems. Even the weather finally warmed up, I could stow my jeans and put my shorts on again, and the world was once again a friendly place.

One more think I should mention, the folks at Dick Walter were great, ready and willing to talk through options, did the job quickly and were a great group to work with. Total cost was $350. From this one experience, I'd be happy to have as good a shop closer to my home.

Thanks to you all again and look for the Westy Red Rocket (Utah 673 KPN) on a western road near you sometime soon!

Rob -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rob MacLeod, Ph.D. Nora Eccles Harrison Cardiovascular Research and Training Institute (CVRTI) Building 500, University of Utah Salt Lake City, Utah 84112 ____ __o Internet: macleod@cvrti.utah.edu ____ -\<, Phonemail: (801)581-8183 ....0/ 0 Fax: (801)581-3128 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------


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