Subject: Re: Compatible? Q vs non Q 1/2 dshaft

[Joshua Van tol]

You've hit the nail on the head. I've run across this as well, and  
have long considered "rebuilt" axles to be complete junk, suitable  
only for installation on cars that are shortly going to the junk yard.

"rebuilt" AC compressors are often a similar proposition, although  
there's so much variation in compressor designs and re-builder  
practices that it isn't a sure thing one way or the other.


On Apr 12, 2006, at 6:26 PM, E. Roy Wendell IV wrote:

> snip
>> Thanks Huw.
>>
>> I need the front 1/2 drive-shafts for one of my VW
>> Quantum Syncros. The outer boots are ripped.
>>
>> I guess I'll just get them rebuilt at this place I've
>> dealt with before for about $65 bucks a piece.
> snip
>
> No such thing as "rebuilt" driveshafts, or at least not ones
> equivalent to new. I love reusing and recycling as much as anyone but
> CV joints are one use only items. Once they wear to the point that
> the balls get loose you are done. The tolerance of ball to groove is
> very tight. Once the groove and/or ball wears appreciably there is no
> real option other than replacement. Some companies have attempted to
> fix them by installing oversized balls and/or machining the grooves
> oversized. In both cases, the surface hardening treatment  applied to
> the grooves is gone and wear will be accelerated vs a new joint. The
> economics of the complicated machining involved dictate that it's
> just as cheap to make a new joint as to machine a used one.
>
> The good news is that in the average quattro (or syncro) you'd be
> hard pressed to wear out any of the joints other than the outer
> fronts and even those seem to last a very long time. The rest just
> don't experience a lot of angular motion. Boot failure is the only
> common problem and that is once again confined to front outer joints.
> I've cleaned, greased, and installed a new boots on a few front outer
> joints that had been run for some time with a split boot and gotten
> tens of thousands of miles of continued service without a problem.
>
> 65 dollars sounds about right for the parts and labor to reboot a
> joint. My guess is that those "rebuilt" joints are just that-
> serviceable ones that have been disassembled, visually inspected, and
> reassembled with new grease and a new boot.
>
> E. Roy Wendell IV
> erwendell at mac.com
> Too many type 44 tq
> A pair of MR2s
>
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