A6 CV joint

[Eric Huppert]

All this commotion over a fairly simple task?

I've done lots of these (not as many as the lister with 50 though). Always
use the bolt and air impact gun. Torque specs for the axle bolt are fairly
high, so you're not going to hurt the threads or bolt! Once clip is loose
usefully have to tap gently on the housing as it will hang up a little bit
on the shaft

Once the axle is off and outer replaced I pack a little extra grease in the
exposed portion of the inner joint. Have never had to replace the inner
boot, they don't get much in the way of flex, so rarely split. My old 5000cs
had over 400k miles, inners were still good

Also use the impact gun to remove the triple squares. Works better imo as
you can push in, negating any slipping or uneven torque. Use loctite on
re-assembly. Yet to have a problem. (knock on wood) If bolt heads are
stripped you can use vise grips to loosen, but impact gun always takes them
right out

Bonus, these joints are much easier than the earlier versions on which you
needed three hands: one for clip pliers, one for brass drift, and one for
the hammer! Finally figured out I could zip tie the drift to the axle, and
hold it steady will still maintaining a grip on the pliers. Hmm, necessity
is the mother of invention?

Also be careful with the outer. Only takes a little slip and you can drop a
ball out! Clean with diesel fuel, kero, solvent, whatever...repack!

Probably a 45 minute job max once you've done a few!

Eric