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CV longevity


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clocking shouldn't be a problem... well the axles at the part stores have the same p/n and never specify left or right... am i wrong?? ive bought alot of axels from trucks to honda's to subaru's...omg alot of subi axel cuz i seem to kill them often... its mainly cuz of the lift and the fact that its 2 in over stock geo... but i was losing them at stock geo.

my point is part number are the same so that means left and right would not be clocking sensative... it would make sence tha that say "HONDA" being non symetrical halfshafts would be possibly clocking and definitely side sensative. as one is longer that the other and there is no way to put a left on the right or vise versa...

 

 i really dont think soobs are clocking sensative... please show me if im wrong... im open to learning something new... all in kind words btw thank you

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As soon as CV boots start cracking replace ASAP irrespective of boot quality. As soon as dirt gets in / grease dries out they fail.

eg had a GL 86 leone wagon til 09 never had to replace cvs as always replaced boots as soon as they started cracking

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  • 7 months later...

just a few thoughts after doing an inner joint today on an axle for a
2003 H6 Outback. (wife reports a bad smell from the front of the car so,
I assume the axle I had laying around will need to go back in the car
after i reboot it. It's the OEM axle with a green cup that came out of
the car. She says the smell is from the driver's side. If so, that is an
Empire (no longer EMPI) axle and its boot did not last long at all! I'll know more
later)



The amount of grease included in the Beck Arnley boot kit is 120gms -
~4.25oz by weight. (I had the kit here without realizing there was
grease in the box! there is also 2 bands and 2 different sizes of
snap-ring and basic instructions)) It seemed heavier/thicker than what
was running out of the joint. The paperwork with the kit indicates the
grease is lithium based with moly added. i have read that inners and
outer use different grease.......? I used all of the package. I first
used a flat stick to fill the ridges inside the boot, I used a narrow
stick to smear the bearings, then squeezed the rest into the cup.



I think in one post in a different thread there was a brief reference to
this next point; the 'rings' that come off the bearings have an
asymmetrical profile. Try to leave 2 on and carefully remove one,
keeping the outer surface in mind, clean it, and eyeball its profile.
The 'narrow' side faces 'out'. I didn't try fitting one backwards so, i
don't know if can be assembled incorrectly. Again, other axles may be
different - this is a 2003 H6 outback front axle - inner joint.



I marked the rings, the cup's position, and the tripod's position - so
everything went back like it was. Some people say it's unnecessary.



The 3 little bearings on the end seem to be held in place by very small
circlips. Does anyone ever take them apart to clean, inspect or grease?
How? Anyway, hoping this grease gets in there too.



Would i do anything different next time?



1. wear gloves (my hands stink!)

2. NOT use brake cleaner or solvent on the tripod unless I could take
the little tripod bearings completely apart. (just wipe down very well)

3. Investigate the actual grease used in OEM inner joints assemblies.

4. Be more careful with the Lisle band tool (almost destroyed a band)

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All Cardone Remanufactured parts have a lifetime warranty. In that case, they're relying on you selling the car before they have to replace it more than a couple times.

 

The Duralast Gold CVs are NOT Cardone, or Remanufactured at all. They are definitely a much better quality. I'm very tempted to use them the next time I need axles.

 

Ive been running duralast gold new axels in my wheeler w/ an ej and I daily it. Fronts only have been replaced and they hold up quite well the shafts are larger the cups are larger and I havent broken one yet . But again for sake of mentioning it my teats are still origional with over 300k on them turning 235 75 17 a/t.

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Ive been running duralast gold new axels in my wheeler w/ an ej and I daily it. Fronts only have been replaced and they hold up quite well the shafts are larger the cups are larger and I havent broken one yet . But again for sake of mentioning it my teats are still origional with over 300k on them turning 235 75 17 a/t.

quoted for typo humor
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  • 4 weeks later...

Just for the sake of reviving this old thread, on of my oem axles grenaded on me due to ball joint failure, so my first axle so far has been the NEW not reman axles from napa, and I'm not happy with them at all. Deadly shuddering straight out of the box! Marcus recommended AZ duralast  new, but I have to wait 3 days >.< I'll let you guys know how these ones turn out for me

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  • 4 years later...
On ‎9‎/‎29‎/‎2014 at 10:03 PM, 1 Lucky Texan said:

...I think in one post in a different thread there was a brief reference to this next point; the 'rings' that come off the bearings have an asymmetrical profile. Try to  leave 2 on and carefully remove one, keeping the outer surface in mind, clean it, and eyeball its profile. The 'narrow' side faces 'out'. I didn't try fitting one  backwards so, I don't know if can be assembled incorrectly. Again, other axles may be different - this is a 2003 H6 outback front axle - inner joint...


...I marked the rings, the cup's position, and the tripod's position - so everything went back like it was. Some people say it's unnecessary...

...The 3 little bearings on the end seem to be held in place by very small circlips. Does anyone ever take them apart to clean, inspect or grease? How? Anyway, hoping this grease gets in there too....

2. NOT use brake cleaner or solvent on the tripod unless I could take the little tripod bearings completely apart. (just wipe down very well)…
 

Has anyone had success re-greasing and booting the CV joints (NOT the DOJs)?  I'd like to get in there and have the same grease in both ends of the axle, but it sounds like the CV isn't REALLY serviceable?

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40 minutes ago, 1 Lucky Texan said:

they are so close to road debris I think it makes them not a good candidate unless caught the same day they split. I tried it once decades ago on a Honda and the joint still failed within weeks.

If the outer boot is still intact, I see no reason a grease and boot refresh couldn't be a good idea.

I'm more concerened with being able to disassemble and reassemble the CV.  Sounds like removing the tripod from the CV cup is a force-fit and has to be hammered apart, unlike the DOJs that can be easily disassembled.

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1 hour ago, carfreak85 said:

I'm more concerened with being able to disassemble and reassemble the CV.  Sounds like removing the tripod from the CV cup is a force-fit and has to be hammered apart, unlike the DOJs that can be easily disassembled.

Mount CV by axle stub in soft jaws in a bench vise with cup upward. Gently pivot on two opposite balls by tapping on opposite edge of cage with hammer & brass or aluminum drift until you can pop out balls with small screwdriver. Then back other way to get other two. Lastly, rock out cage with last two balls by twisting & pulling.

Clean thoroughly & reassemble same way after lubing lightly with fresh grease. Or squeeze remainder of grease packet thru center hole of inner race after assembling joint. 

Take note of scratches in inner & outer races. If balls appear scratched & grayish it may be too late to save the joint. Find another.

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4 hours ago, carfreak85 said:

Has anyone had success re-greasing and booting the CV joints (NOT the DOJs)?  I'd like to get in there and have the same grease in both ends of the axle, but it sounds like the CV isn't REALLY serviceable?

Many times.

 

I've never tried to disassemble the joint itself, but I've pulled the boot off, and flushed with quite a bit of parts cleaner. packed with fresh grease and a new boot, and driven. Most of my cars have suspension/knuckle/brake setups swapped around often, so I'm not sure how many miles, but several axles were used and reused on different cars, some of them lifted, and my only outer CV failures were clearly a result of excessive lift and offroad abuse.

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Drill a hole in the center of a piece of 2x6.  Piece maybe 12 inches long.  After removing the doj, and the boot, slide block onto the shaft to the cvj.  Clamp the axle in a vise, cvj end down.  Put something  a little padded to catch the cvj under it.  One moderate hit with a medium sized hammer to the block should pop it right off.  Hit close to the axle and straight as possible.   Now the cage will turn enough to get the balls out. 

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4 hours ago, Subarule said:

Does longevity vary if the car is being driven only on paved city streets without major ruts?

Absolutely.  Even with ripped boots I’ve put 100,000 miles on rears and 50,000 miles on fronts with ripped boots and no issues and no clicking.  No big deal.  

If you have ripped boots and drive in sand, off-road, or aggressive stone/aggregate abrasives used for winter treatments - they’ll literally start clicking on day one. Been there done that multiple times.

So yes - extrapolate that out to everything in between.  It depends how badly the grease is compromised and how much actual abrasives are introduced which depends on the local roads and winter treatments. 

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10 hours ago, carfreak85 said:

Has anyone had success re-greasing and booting the CV joints (NOT the DOJs)?  I'd like to get in there and have the same grease in both ends of the axle, but it sounds like the CV isn't REALLY serviceable?

Yes.  Why not - remove boot, regrease, and install another boot?

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