Re: 87 4000Q CV Joint Boots

[J_T_Douglas%mwcorp1@MWMGATE1.mitre.org]

>I planning on changing the front CV joint boots on my 87 4000Q this weekend.
>I'm doing both inner and outer on both sides.  Any suggestions, pointers or 
>tips
>from anyone whose done this yet?

Oh boy, this was a fun job on my 5000.  I made so many mistakes, I guess it was 
just my day to be stupid.  Seriously though, its not a hard job and I could do 
it much more quickly the next time.

The stupid things I did (that you won't have to worry about) :-)

1. Had a hard time getting the outer joint off.  When the circlip stays spread 
by itself, you are making progress.  You really have to whack it pretty hard.

2. Had a hard time re-assembling the joints.  Tip the inner assembly for each 
ball, then make it flush before proceeding with inserting the next ball 
bearing.  Actually, the pictures show it this way, but I was just being stupid!

3. I actually whacked the end of the joint to get it back on the axle and ended 
up "mushrooming" the threaded part.  Fortunately, I found a machine shop to fix 
my goof for $35.  The ground it down and re-threaded it.

Well there is a little more but this is all the public humiliation I can stand 
:-)

Actually, I finally got it back together and everythings works fine.  Learning 
can be hard sometimes if there is no one to show you the way. 

Jason
86 5000S

PS - I had good luck using brake cleaner for cleaning the joints.  The 
Meistersatz boot kit was real nice - it comes with a new axle nut.