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