Re: Help - 91 100 CV joints won't come off

["Arun Rao" <rao@quattro>]

On Jan 31,  5:07am, Andreas Meyer wrote:
> Subject: Help - 91 100 CV joints won't come off
>
> This is a 91 Audi 100. I just bought the car for my wife
> a couple of weeks ago and I am already doing my first
> work on it and I am stuck. It has bad outer CV joint
> boots and I am replacing both. I have both axles out of
> the car. Seems like that was the easy part. Now, how do
> I get that darn outer CV joint off the axle? There is
> this clip that I am unable to take out. This is what I
> tried:
> 	1. Squeezed the two tips of the clip together to
> 	   try to seat it in groove and used rubber mallet
> 	   to remove CV joint - no luck.
> 	2. Used needle nose pliers to push the tips of the
> 	   clip apart as far as it will go. This is tough
> 	   and used a second pair of hands. Then I used
> 	   the mallet again. Still no luck. Seems like
> 	   this should do it. Is there some special tool
> 	   that's needed?
> So, what's the trick. On my VW this was the easy part!


	No trick -- you're on the right track. I had the same problem
	and I had a mechanic take it off for me. He clamped it in a vise,
	used a pair of locking needle-nose pliers to squeeze (pretty
	sure, but I've forgotten) the clip, and then hammered the joint
	off with a hammer and a drift. It took pretty hard hammering, but
	it came off.

	Don't know if this is feasible for a '91 100, but a *much* simpler
	solution is to replace the entire driveshaft with a rebuilt one. I
	just did it last week on my '85 5KT: it cost $86, and (as you've
	found out) it's a lot simpler. Besides, if you've been driving
	around with ripped boots for a while (like me), the CV joint itself
	is in questionable condition.

	Good luck!

	-Arun

--
Arun Rao
Pixar Animation Studios
Pt. Richmond, CA 94804
(510) 215-3526