[Vwdiesel] cv joints ?

[James Hansen]

It's usually outers, as they have a harder life.
Try something.

Crawl under the caddy, and knead the accordion part of the outer joint
boots to push (inject) some old
grease back into the joint.  In winter, old grease does a poor job of moving
around, moreso than fresh stuff, which is part of the reason for
repacking them.

If the joints are just getting stiff, and you haven't used them up yet, 
a repack job is usually all that is necessary.  Kneading some grease that
is trapped in the boot back into the joint is a temporary measure, but
will tell you if it is just insufficient lube, or it's been poorly lubed
for too long, and has worn out- the binding or thumping noise won't just 
go away.  It could be innners, but that is unlikely, the outers are 
generally the first to get dry.

If the thumping goes away, you should be good to go for just repacking
the joints.  Labor intensive, but cheap to do.  I refuse to buy someone
else's relubed joint as a rebuilt one when I could have just repacked
mine in the first place. Most of the rebuilding process is just that, 
cleaning and repacking good joints that have been returned as cores.

The 89 jetta that I no longer own, but still get to work on has 
580000kms on it on the original joints.  Repacked my me every three 
years.  Joint failure on low horsepower applications such as these 
originates with lubrication failure more often than wear of the actual 
joint.


To repack them, get some nitrile disposable gloves, 8 bucks a pack of
100, and get dirty.  It's easy, and a tube of grease is not that 
expensive. Get a synthetic lithium or aluminum base if you can, 
preferably with moly in it. if you can find it.  Works great in the 
cold.  If not, just stuff for CV joints, preferably the black stuff 
(moly microgel)
-james

Photo Bug wrote:
> My '81 diesel Caddy has an unusual sound.  It doesn't do it all the 
> time but I want to know what it is if anyone has input on it.  When I
>  first start out all is fine but after about 12-14 miles of stop-n-go
>  city driving, there is a thump thump thump sound up front that 
> increases with speed.  It has 125,000 actual miles and I've kep it in
>  tip top condition.  Counld this be a CV joint going bad?  I also
> note that at slow first gear speeds on the expressway during rush
> hour riding in it feels as if the pavement has waves in it when it is
>  actually quite flat.  I'm thinking about replacing both axle shaft 
> shafts complete and with lifetime warranty - only $65 each side. 
> Thanks so much for your help!
> 
> Tom Norris '81 Rabbit LS diesel '81 Caddy diesel '83 Caddy LS diesel
>  '03 Jetta wagon diesel 
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