Date: Wed, 25 Nov 1998 21:47:41 +0200
Reply-To: Jimmy Sanby <Sanbyj@TELKOM.CO.ZA>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: Jimmy Sanby <Sanbyj@TELKOM.CO.ZA>
Subject: Re: Syncro front axle spline damage problem
I have just been through replacing 3 front and 2 back CV's so here is my
two cents.....
My front Inner CV outer circumference is 100mm
Rear Inner and Outer CV's are the same at 108mm
Front Outer CV outer circumference is 98mm on the widest lip.
The price of the Front Inner's and Rear CV's where much the same. The
Front outer CV's are the expensive ones. About double the cost of the
others. The spines are totally different as well. Mine are definately
not interchangeable. I think there are different versions of the front
outer CV. Mine is classified as a 100mm one. The agents always ask if I
have the 100mm or the 90mm.
What size CV's have the other listees got?(Well those of you who know)
When I replaced/checked the front CV's both inners and one outer needed
replacing. After driving the vehicle for about 2 weeks the circlip came
out whilst pulling into a parking bay. A was luckely travelling very
slowly. I had to call my wife and do a roadside swap putting my old
spare outer CV in and recovering the half shaft before driving home on
three half shafts. After reading the manual carefully, I discovered that
they recommend replacing the circlip everytime.(Don''t ask me how many
times mine have been regreased/services on the same circlips) They are
very cheep, less than a dollar. Needless to say I have a few spare in my
garage now. There was minimal damage to the spline, and with a bit of
filing, I was able to reuse the shaft. WITH A NEW CIRCLIP!
For your third question, well I can't really answer... What do you mean
by a spacer ring anyway? I don't remember seeing one.
Hope this helps
Jimmy Sanby
Cape Town SA
'89 Syncro 15"
>>> V H Wolfgang Carolsfeld <wolfgang@ISLAND.NET> 11/25 12:31 AM >>>
Three questions re: Syncro front axles :
Are the inner rear CV joints really the same as the stock inner front
ones
even though they have different part nos. and big price difference?
Has anyone else experienced failure of the retaining circlips for the CV
joints or other cause of damage to axle splines ?
Is it possible that the rear CV joint, in the front installation (using
the
original spacer ring), binds somehow restricting lateral axle movement
and
thus pulling it out of the outer CV ?
The story that inspired the questions :
About 6 months ago I rotated tires on our 87 Syncro and temporarily had
severe clacking noise from one outer front CV. I had torqued the lug
nuts
on while the wheel was off the ground. The noise disappeared before I
could
get around to ordering a new CV so I abandoned the investigation.
Two weeks ago I had the front CVs regreased by the local corner VW
specialist. Outer CVs were ok, one inner was replaced with a new rear
type
CV and severe damage of the splines on the outer end of one axle (the
one
that had clacked briefly in June) forced replacement of that axle. Now
two
weeks later the (same side)front axle has slipped out of the outer CV
joint
(while driving around town) and shows the same kind of wear on the end
of
the splines. It appears that the original retaining circlips that hold
the
CV joints were reused on this repack job.
Thanks for your replies, to the list, or p-mail to
wolfgang@island.net
Wolfgang Carolsfeld
wondering about the local VW 'specialist'