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The Bently says to keep track of the position of the balls when you take apart and regrease the CV joints, so they don't change positions.
I got my balls all jumbled up!!
How many of you keep track of the position of your balls and have you had problems if you didn't in the past.
Oh keep the answer serious a little bit!!
Thanks.
I never take the things apart because they're such a pain. If the covers aren't ripped I wouldn't give them a second thought and I haven't needed to replace one in several seasons. I've found it's easier to just knock off a suspect CV joint and replace it.
I have put them together at random in the past, and not had any problems. Of course, this is assuming that the balls, cages, etc. , are all in perfect condition.
I inspect/rebuild/repack my CV's after each season. To keep everything in the correct place, I use an old egg carton and number the pockets 1-6 for the balls. I mark the inner cage and outer cage with a permanent marker after cleaning the CV in a parts washer and before disassembling the CV. I usually only make one mark on the cages to keep them oriented to each other correctly, and then count clockwise 1-6 for the balls. When I'm removing the balls, they go into the corresponding pocket in the egg carton.
Hope this helps!
MC
#14 GP VW Scirocco
Like what dead skunk said, unless all your doing is replacing the torn boot, just put more grease in and forget about it. P.S. The insides are much easier to replace than the outsides.
I have only been through 1 inside CV joint in 5 years running a locked front diff. I do change out the entire assemblies every year, just like with the front hubs/bearings.
I keep a spare set in the parts bin, so it's easier to replace @ the track, instead of getting all greasy.
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Tim Linerud
San Francisco Region SCCA
#95 GP Wabbit (Bent)
http://linerud.myvnc.com/racing/index.html
The position of the balls might make a difference in a street CV for longevity, but should make no difference at all in a race CV, especailly with synthetic grease.
I have never broken a CV road racing (oops, now I'm jinxed), but used to go through tons of them on ice. What made a difference on ice was: ensure enough shaft travel, good synthetic grease, and warm-up the CVs (i.e., by zig-zagging) before full-throttle with any steering angle.
Other ice racers have had good results simply by updating to the larger (100mm vs. 90mm) CVs, and one eventually solved his problem by having custom chromemoly cages built for the CVs (expensive in the short term, but cheaper over years of trouble-free race use).
[This message has been edited by Eric Parham (edited November 19, 2003).]
eric--I never had problems with CV joints in ice racing, but boy could I scatter those differentials--big tme.
Keeping them in their proper races will reduce drag on the drivetrain. We even polish our new ones (the races) until they roll real nice. After doing this to all four you can feel the difference as you push the car while turning the wheel.
Not sure exactly how much differnce it makes in a straight line on a smooth track but in corners and when the car bounces it should help.
Totally not needed however. Just a nice little extra thing you can do once you've done everything else.
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Bill Sulouff - Bildon Motorsport
Volkswagen Racing Equipment
## 2003 ITB NYSRRC Champs ##
[This message has been edited by Bildon (edited November 20, 2003).]
Bill: Thanks, didn't know that (although I had noticed the difference between nicely worn original and crummy rebuilt).
Joe: No breakage ice racing? Studded tires? AMEC runs the Menard ice race tires, and I thought everyone there in a VW had had at least some failures. I remember losing one outer and two inners in only 3 sessions on a single day. The first inner had been mine, borrowed a complete spare shaft, broke the outer, replaced with mine, then broke the inner... all on the LF shaft on a course with a very bumpy high-speed right turn.