A6 CV joint

[cody at 5000tq.com]

Quoting John Larson <westcoast at mypowerpipe.com>:

> You asked:  "Ok  after washing the car I seem to have now a torn CV   
> joint...   I
> thought I heard something yesterday and looked and there it was... not
> bad sounding yet... what are the feelings of a clean and repack vs
> replacement... and how much of  DIY job is it... never one on one of
> these...  BTDT on a 90 CQ  but not one of these..."
>
> It's the SAME job.  You've recieved a number of questionable   
> answers, but this is the way it is.  IF you've heard no noise, then   
> buy a boot kit (441 498 203A, assuming it's an outer)and put that   
> sucker in.  Break the axle bolt loose, jack up the car, remove the   
> wheel and the ball joint pinch bolt, pry down the A-arm (I use a 5   
> ft. long digging bar), push in the CV joint, and move the axle to   
> where you can work on it.  Run the axle bolt in to draw the joint   
> off the axle.  The c/l of the joint and axle need to be in line, and  
>  the axle won't come all the way off.  You should be able to tap it   
> off from that point.  Clean the joint (no mean feat!), put 1+ tubes   
> of grease in the joint, put the boot and washers on the axle, put   
> what's left of the second tube of grease in the boot, and install   
> the joint, using the old bolt as a protective device upon which to   
> hammer.  Installation is, as they say, opposite of removal.  Have a   
> good time.  You'll need, in addition to the prybar, a goodly sized   
> BFH, the proper socket(s) for the axle bolt, and common hand tools.   
>  NO puller required.  If you need the torque specs, I can look 'em   
> up.  Have a good time!  John


Using the bolt to pull the joint apart doesn't always work FYI. I've  
personally destroyed a bolt and outer CV of a customers car, so I'm  
speaking from experiance here. Some, and I don't know how to identify  
them before having them out of the hub, axles seem to have a larger  
tapered hollow area at the end. The bolt withh go in and pull the  
joint fine, but it will destroy the threads on the bolt. Then when you  
try to pull the bolt out of the axle is takes out the CV threads too.

I use a screwdriver to feel the axle through the hole and only by  
experiance of having taken a dozen apart can tell which axle is which.  
The only "safe" way is to mount the axle in a vice, cut the boot off,  
then use a brass punch and hammer to knock the joint off. There is  
also a factory tool for the job, but a hammer and punch is  
significantly cheaper ;-).

-Cody Forbes
http://www.5000tq.com