[V6-12v] CV joint job on a 1994 90S 5-sp. completed

[Tom Christiansen]

Folks,

In addition to the brake flush/bleed job I did the outer CV joints (on the 
front as I have a non-Quattro). Here's the scoop:

The drive axle is not all that difficult to get out, but the job does 
require a bit of patience - and one special tool.

1) Loosen the giant (27 mm hex head) bolt in the center of the hub. You'll 
need a breaker bar for this!!
2) Jack up car, put on jack stand, remove wheel.
3) Pull the ABS sensor out about half an inch.
4) Remove the 27 mm hex bolt.
5) Remove the 10 mm hex self-locking nut on the sway bar connection. The 
joint will turn on you, but it has a hex on the inside. A 17 mm wrench fits 
on it. It is recommended to take the sway bar off on both sides. It allows 
the bar to swing out of the way.
6) The shaft is held onto a flange on the transmission by six 8 mm 12-point 
socket head bolts. This is where you'll need the special tool (available 
from a well-assorted tool store). I believe the tool is called a 
tripple-triangle, although it does actually have 12 points on it. Maybe 
it's a tripple-square - or a double hex. Anyway. 12-points arranged like a 
socket head screw. On the left side I removed the heat shield (three 6 mm 
socket head bolts) and was able to get all six drive shaft bolts out. On 
the right side I couldn't get to two of the heat shield bolts, so I took 
the transmission out of gear, rotated the drive shaft, and took the bolts 
out one at a time that way.
7) Once you have all the bolts out, turn the steering wheel so the brake 
caliper moves in toward the engine (so turn left when doing the left side, 
right on the right side). You should now be able to negotiate the inner end 
of the drive shaft up and in allowing the outer end to drop out of the hub.
8) I guess it's easier if you have access to a workbench and a wise, but I 
just worked on the floor for this step. MAKE SURE YOU COVER YOUR WORK AREA 
as you'll have grease everywhere. Have plenty of rags or shop towels handy. 
Cut the boot clamps and reinsert the 27 mm bolt in the end of the joint. By 
turning the bolt you can pop the CV joint off. Take boot and joint off. 
There is one spring washer, a spacer, and a circlip in there in addition to 
the joint itself. Note the sequence and the orientation of the washer and 
spacer. Take the three parts off.
9) If you want to do the inner boot, cut the clamps and take the boot off. 
Cut a slit in the boot to make it glide easier.
10) Clean out as much of the old grease as possible.
11) Apply MoS2 grease (comes with the boot kit) to the inner joint and boot.
12) Slide the boot over the axle (easier said than done). Heating up the 
boot with a blow dryer may help some. Install boot clamps.
13) Apply grease to outer boot and slide it over the shaft.
14) Install NEW spring washer, NEW spacer, and NEW circlip on the shaft.
15) Grease the outer joint and drive it onto the drive shaft using a rubber 
mallet (or dead blow). Slide boot over outer joint and be done (at least 
with the rebuild of the shaft).

Install of the shaft is reverse of removal. Remember to use a NEW 27 mm hex 
bolt (comes with the outer joint kit) and a NEW 10 mm self-locking nut on 
the sway bay link. Note that Bentley prescribes that the 27 mm bolt should 
NOT be torqued to spec with the wheel off the ground as serious injury may 
result...

Torques:
27 mm hex bolt: 200 Nm + 1/4 (90 degree) turn.
The six 8 mm tripple-square bolts: 80 Nm.
Sway bar nut: 40 Nm.
Lug bolts: 110 Nm.

Grease:
The kits come with grease. Bentley prescribes using 80 grams of grease for 
the outer joint and 40 grams for the boot. It has no data on the inner 
joint. I used the same amounts on the inner joint and it seems to be happy.

Obviously, you use this procedure at you own risk and expense. If you kill 
yourself, get injured, or ruin your car in the process it's not my problem....


Tom