>Obviously that the last person to =
install the
joint,
did not use a torch wrench.<
yeah... apparently that's the =
answer. strange
that it took five months for it to work it's way loose =
though.
I'll check with my mech and make sure a =
torque
wrench was used this time and have them go over all connections =
again.
wasn't too cool having that happen at highway speed!
thanks.
mick
hilo, hawaii
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2001 =
1:12
AM
Subject: Re: [Syncro] 89 Syncro =
driveshaft detached
Obviously =
that the
last person to install the joint,
did not use a torch wrench. Or =
as I've
seen, was even
more wreckless, and left a bolt or two loose. Seen =
this
at least a dozen time with VW products.
Not to brag but to =
prove my
point, I've alway used
a torch wrench when the torch specs. are =
given, and
I've
never had a CV joint come apart.
=
&nb=
sp; &nbs=
p; =
; =
Eric
Mick Kalber wrote:
I need some input here... I left =
Hilo going
north up the Hamakua coast on my way to Kailua-Kona yesterday... =
about 25
minutes out of town, just as we got to the bottom of the first of =
three deep
horseshoe turns through gulches in the area, I heard a loud clunk... =
like I
had run over something that had hit the bottom of the van... or =
maybe
something had broken below. As I slowed down rather quickly, =
there
were a series of sharp metal on metal sounds like the driveshaft was =
catching on something. Scared me to death... I tought the =
front diff
had gone out or something. Any subsequent moving of the van =
created
the same driveshaft catching metal on metal sound every eight or ten =
feet. Naturally I stopped the car as soon as I could get =
safely to the
shoulder which was at a very precarious position in the bottom of =
the gulch
where vehicles don't slow down much and visibility is poor at =
best. It
was raining steadily. I could see nothing amiss below the van =
so I
assumed the front diff (or something nearby) had broken
internally. Anyway, called
a flatbed tow truck and had the van trucked back to Hilo to my =
mechanic's
shop... about 32 miles or so. Cost me $87... I was glad it =
wasn't
more. Today my mechanic told me the left driveshaft had come =
apart
from the CV joint. Bolts were so twisted they had to cut them =
off to
repair... probably from the catching noise I experienced. =
Somehow the
bolts had managed to work their way loose... question is why? =
Tow cost
me more than the repair (thank God!). Why in the world would this =
happen? The only
background I can give is that we recently rotated the tires, back to =
front
and vice versa... not crossed, no spare added. All tires are =
Michelin
MTX's and are evenly worn with about 3/8" of tread on each. =
Funny
thing was, last week after we rotated them she pulled to the left, =
against
the crown of the road... badly enough for me to be concerned about =
an
alignment problem. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to check =
out the
pull to the left prior to my trip. But, oddly enough, there was no
mis-alignment prior to the rotation. So we have now =
re-rotated
(un-rotated?) the tires to the original positions and... guess =
what... no
more pull to the left. Hmmm. Also, checked tire pressure =
upon
return... all were at 38 except the right front which was at 40 for =
some
reason. The CV =
and shaft
had been disconnected twice before... once when we installed a new =
VC and
the other when we rebuilt the gearbox (rear). So, the initial
suspicion is that they weren't put back together tightly, =
right? But
that was about five months ago! My mech says if that were the =
case we
probably wouldn't have gone more than a few days before it came =
apart.
Over the past five months I've driven over many very rough roads and =
not
experienced any problem whatsoever. So, first, could the tire rotation have =
anything to
do with the shaft/CV working it's way loose? Seems pretty =
weird to
have been that, but we can't think of anything else. And why =
would the
tire rotation cause a strong pull to the left? Anybody have =
any
thoughts? Concerns me for future trips, especially here where =
there
are only a few qualified mechanics and lots of places to get stuck =
far away
from them. Yikes. BTW, my mech is a very experienced VW guy who races VW's =
and works
on them full time in his own shop with his son and two other =
guys.
He's worked on four of my vans over the years and I trust him
implicitly. We talk over ever detail of every repair. =
He's
taught me a lot of the little that I know (if that makes any
sense). TIA
Volks! Baffled =
in
Hawaii... Mick =
Kalber
89 =
Syncro Westy
"Daddeo"
Tropical Visions
Video, Inc.
62 =
Halaulani
Place
Hilo, =
Hawaii
96720
808-935-5557
808-935-0066 (fax)
hotlava@interpac.net
www.volcanoscapes.com Mick Kalber
Tropical Visions Video, =
Inc.
62 Halaulani =
Place
Hilo, Hawaii =
96720
808-935-5557 =
808-935-0066 (fax) =
hotlava@interpac.net
www.volcanoscapes.com
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