R&R drive axle, also non-Audi question

[Mike Arman]

Finally changed the LF drive axle yesterday - 86 5KS (5 spd, not Q),
weather and time permitted, at last!

Job was much easier than I expected.

Remove hubcap, loosen lug nuts, put socket onto whel nut, add breaker bar
and pipe, GRUNT.

Jack up car, put jackstand under crossmember and left jack point, leave
floor jack in position also, just in case.

Remove wheel, big nut, large washer.

Crawl under, loosen and remove the six CV-joint to drive flange socket head
screws - turns out they are 6 mm, not star drive, so the star drive set I
bought in anticipation of this task goes back into the toolbox, unsullied.
Can't get at all of them, so have to rotate flange - crawl out, car into
neutral, turn flange, car back into gear. Suckers are TIGHT!

Axle taps out of hub, wasn't stuck! However, there isn't enough clearance
to remove it, even angling the inner end upward, aimed forward.

Hmm. Turn steering all the way to the right, now there's room. Remove axle.

Clean inner spline, apply new paper gasket to inner CV joint. Note that a
number of paper gasket sizes with different ODs seem to exist - some are
not correct, so check before you take the car apart! Compare to the inner
CV joint you're putting on. The correct size just fits into the recess, no
looseness or play.

Look for loctite - and there isn't any. &*^%$$#^

Install axle without loctite (there wasn't any on it when I took it apart,
and it has been like that for YEARS with no problem).

Angle drive shaft into position, line up the holes with the drive flange,
insert new 6mm socket head screws with the three plates under them. Access
requires rotating axle several times, which means crawl out, put car into
neutral, turn flange, tighten bolt, repeat as needed. They're supposed to
be tightened to 60 ft lbs, and the best I can do is somewhat over 50. Seems
the 6mm driver is 3/8" drive, and the 0-100 torque wrench is 1/2" drive,
and when you add the adaptor, you can't get the drive+adaptor+torque wrench
combination onto the socket head screws  - no room.

Solution, use 3/8" drive 0-50 ft lb torque wrench (which does fit), tighten
to 50 ft lbs, swap for breaker bar, tighten one more grunt.

Use red magic marker on flange once each bolt is tight - "this one is done,
find another to tighten!" Eventually, I have six little red stripes on the
flange, so I know all six of the socket head screws are as tight as I can
get them.

Replace wheel, tighten lug bolts (75 - 80 ft lbs), lower car, tighten big
wheel nut - phooey, torque wrench goes to just 100 ft lbs, they want 207.
Tighten to 100 ft lbs, swap for big breaker bar and cheater (pipe), tighten
two grunts past 100 ft lbs, then stand on pipe and bounce up and down two
or three times.

Replace hubcap - done!

Car is now quieter, seems to have less vibration, and crunch-crunch-crunch
sound in cold weather and sharp turns is gone. Old outer CV joint boot was
split in several places, and the joint was quite innocent of any grease -
it was ALL gone!

Time was less than two hours, barely worked up a sweat. I prefer this to a
car payment ANY TIME!



Now for the non-Audi question . . .

Got a 15 foot fiberglass boat. Evidently, whoever painted the deck before I
got it did their prep with a chainsaw and their paint with a wire brush,
followed up by a final coat applied with a broom.

I took a small orbital sander and cleaned it up somewhat, but is still
isn't nice, and if I paint over it, it will look like hell.

Local body shop quoted me $800 to redo it - youse guys gotta be kidding!!!!
That kind of heroic measure is absurd, as is the labor of re-gel-coating
the whole thing - I just want it to look acceptable, it isn't a show boat.

Question - is there any kind of an overlay I might use to just place on the
deck? I thought about marine vinyl (like a vinyl top), cut to pattern and
glued down, and I also looked at closed cell PVC foam (like an exercise
mat), same idea. I'm not looking for shiny, but what I've got is no good.
Whatever I use has to be able to conform to the curves of the deck, and
obviously be waterproof. I kind of like the idea of the PVC layer, because
that would give me a semi-soft, non-skid surface, as would the vinyl.

Any ideas?

Best Regards,

Mike Arman