CV joints have a reputation of being very difficult to work on. While this may be true for other makes (I've heard that Ford makes a particularly nasty joint), maintaining and/or replacing the joints for an A1 chassis VW is fairly straightforward. I'm going to detail the process I went through on July 25-26, 1998 with my '88 Scirocco 16V. My driver's side outer CV boot was ripped, almost in half, and had been that way for quite a while. At high speeds, I was beginning to notice a slight knocking when turning to the left, so I figured the joint probably needed to be replaced (note that knocking isn't necessarily indicative of CV joint failure, but in my case it was pretty obvious considering how long I'd driven with a ripped boot...) In addition to replacing the outer joint and boot, I went ahead and replaced the other three boots and repacked all the joints. It was the first time I'd done this job, and though it was long and messy, I'm glad I did it (mostly for the $350 I saved in labor fees). The job took all weekend, but remember that is was my first time and I did all four joints (plus my inner tie rod boot, but that's another story).
Also note that while this procedure is outlined for an '88 Scirocco, the method should be almost exactly the same for other A1 chassis VWs. Check your manual first.
One of the most important things about this job is having the right tools. Pictured above are some of the more specialized tools you'll need for this job.
| Number | Tool | Price | Description |
| 1 | Gojo Orange Hand Cleaner | $2.99 | Don't laugh - you're going to get VERY greasy :) |
| 2 | Carburetor/Parts Cleaner | 11.99 | Try to find a can of of cleaner that comes with a dip cage for your parts. |
| 3 | Latex Gloves | 3.59 | The CV joint grease (molybdenum disulfide) is toxic. Better to get the stuff on the gloves than all over your hands and rags. |
| 4 | Engine Degreaser | 1.49 | Getting the hint yet? While you're under there in the innards of the suspension, it's a good idea to clean the whole area up. |
| 5 | 3/4" Breaker Bar with Extension and 30mm Socket | 66.80 (total) | Depending on how tight the last guy torqued your axle nuts this may or may not be overkill. They're supposed to be torqued to 170 ft-lbs, so breaking a bar is a real possibility. Get it from Sears so that if it breaks you can get another for free. |
| 6 | Rubber/Plastic Head Hammer | 11.69 | For tapping the joints on and off the drive shaft. |
| 7 | Gear Puller | 22.49 | This is kind of optional. If the inner joint is stuck on the shaft this could come in real handy for pulling it off without damaging the splines. |
| 8 | Split Ring Pliers | 9.89 | A great tool for removing circlips. |
| 9 | Piston Ring Expander | 6.29 | I used this for putting the inner joint circlip on the drive shaft. The split ring pliers don't quite work for this job. |
| 10 | 8mm Triple Square | 6.99 | This is a tool that you MUST have in order to get the drive shaft off the transaxle. It looks kind of like a torx, except it has 12 points instead of six. DO NOT use an allen key on these bolts. They're torqued fairly tight, and if you strip them then you've got a real nightmare to deal with. |
| 11 | Full Sail Amber | 5.49 (six-pack) | Helps the creative thinking process and doubles as a throat lubricant :) |
Not pictured, but also important: Grease rags, paper towels, shop manual (e.g. Bentley), and the usual assortment of tools. I also bought a special pair of pliers to crimp the outer boot clamps (called "CV Joint Boot Pliers" strangely enough) - it was around $20.
I got my parts locally from Bow Wow (AKA Autovice) in Lynnwood, WA. The outer joint kits were made by Lobro, the inners by Meistersatz. All the kits include boots, circlips, and the proper amount of grease.
| Number | Part | Price | Notes |
| 1 | Outer CV Joint Replacement Kit | $145.00 | Includes new joint, axle nut, boot clamps, and instructions. |
| 2 | Inner CV Joint Boot Kits | 20.00 each | Driver's and passenger side kits are different. Includes gasket and final drive (triple square) bolts. |
| 3 | Outer CV Joint Boot Kit | 15.00 | Includes axle nut, boot clamps, and instructions. |
| 4 | Final Drive Flange Seals | 2.95 each | It's fairly common for these seals to fail. If that happens, tranny fluid will leak into your inner CV joint and dilute the grease. Since they're cheap, it's a good idea to have replacements just in case. |
Once you've got all your parts and tools together, and your car parked on a good, level working surface, it's time to begin. Remember to set your emergency brake and block the rear wheels. The first thing we'll do, BEFORE jacking the front end up, is to loosen the axle nut and lug nuts. Note that if you're doing CV joints on both sides, just follow these procedures in parallel (i.e. as you go along) for the other side as well.
The caption for the photo above could read "Necessity is the mother of invention", or even better, "Yet another use for our beloved Bentley manual"... This crazy setup is how I got my axle nuts loose. With the car on the ground remove your front wheel's center cap. This will expose the axle nut. Get out your big ol' breaker bar and 30mm socket (with extension if you need it to clear the wheel). To get the most bang for the buck, you will want to support the socket from beneath. I put the can of carburetor cleaner on the ground, with the Bentley on top of it, then my plastic head hammer on top of that. It just so happened that this pile of stuff was just the right height to support my socket's extension. Chances are you'll also need a cheater bar of some sort - I used a fiberglass windsurfer mast because I didn't have anything better :). Hopefully you'll be able to loosen the nut without breaking anything in the process.
Next, loosen the wheel's lug nuts, but do not remove the wheel. Now you can jack the front end up. Do it one side at a time, and put jackstands in the proper places (under the frame just behind the wheel well).
Now's the time to grab a light (if you need it), and crawl under the car with your socket and triple square in hand.
This photo shows my driver's side drive shaft before the operation. Note the ripped outer CV joint boot. Yuck! Also note that even though my wheel is off in this photo, I ended up putting it right back on a short while later.
Take a look at your inner CV joint. You will see a bunch of those triple square bolts on it - these are what hold the joint (and the shaft itself) to the final drive of the tranny. Now's the time to remove them. You'll find that there is just one "sweet spot" for you to get your socket wrench up there and onto a bolt. That's why the wheel is still on there. With the gear in neutral, you can grab the wheel and rotate it until a new bolt moves into the place where you can get to it. If the bolts are tight (which they should be), you'll also need to either have someone step on the brake to keep the axle from spinning, or you can sort of wedge your body against the tire. The driver's side seemed a little easier to work on, because there's a bit more room.
Once all the bolts are off, you can grab the whole joint and move it clear of the final drive. In my case, the final drive flange seal had come loose, so the whole joint was full of tranny fluid instead of grease! I don't know whether it was because of that, but the inner hub of the joint fell out along with all the bearings once I had pulled it free of the tranny. If that happens, just put the pieces in the parts cleaner because you'll need to regrease that joint anyway.
Now it's time for the wheel to come off. Also, remove the axle nut completely, along with the washer behind it, and throw them into the parts cleaner. The next thing to do is to get the outer joint out of the wheel bearing housing so that the entire assembly (joints and shaft) can be removed from the car. Now I've heard that it's possible to do this simply by turning the wheel all the way to the left (if you're doing the driver's side), and pushing the inner CV joint up into the tranny, while pulling the outer joint free of the wheel. You're welcome to try this method, but I found it a lot easier to do this after removing the ball joint. This allows the wheel bearing housing to be pushed out enough to allow the splined shaft of the outer joint to clear without any trouble.
This photo shows the outer joint (complete with ripped boot), partly removed from the wheel bearing housing. I wasn't able to get it completely free without also removing the ball joint. To make this job easier, I swung the brake caliper up out the way. Just put a socket (mine was 1/2") on the lower caliper nut, and some vice grips on the "nut" next to that little boot inside the caliper and loosen. Leave the top of the caliper fastened, and you can swing it up out of the way. Take the brake pads out while you're at it, because they'll probably fall out anyway. Now you can loosen the nut that holds the ball joint clamp tight. Bentley says that you can remove the joint after loosening this nut, but I found it necessary to remove both the clamping nut and its bolt completely. Now take your rubber hammer and pound the control arm down until the ball joint stud slips free of the wheel bearing housing.
This photo shows the control arm free of the wheel bearing housing and the drive shaft completely removed. With the control arm free, it should be a simple matter of gently pushing the wheel bearing housing while pulling the outer CV joint out of it. Once you've done this, you'll be holding the drive shaft completely free of the car. Get it out from under there and put it on some newspapers or other work area.
Here's a view looking the other way. This is the final drive flange, with the draft shaft completely removed. Notice how clean it looks? It should be full of grease, but since my flange seal had failed all the grease was broken down by leaking tranny fluid. Not good!
You'll now take the complete axle assembly and put it on some newspaper or something so that the grease and dirt doesn't get all over. For lack of a garage I had to do this in my driveway, but besides the occasional pine needle this arrangement worked out just fine. Now you need to remove the CV joints from the drive shaft. This can be easy or difficult depending on what type of circlips your joints use (there are two types) and what condition they're in. I lucked out - mine were the "easy" kind, requiring only a screwdriver to pop them off. I'd recommend starting with the outer joint, so you can rest the whole shaft flat on the ground on the inner joint. Take a knife and cut the CV boot lengthwise (you'll be replacing it anyway), and in the process cut (or bend) the clamps which hold the boot onto the shaft. Once the boot is off, you'll see the circlip(s) which hold the joint onto the shaft. Since these will be replaced as well (the boot kit should have them, double check that it does), you can bend these to your heart's content to get them off. If you don't have a replacement circlip you'll have to be careful not to bend it too far out of whack. Also be sure to remember which circlips correspond to which joint and which side of the joint. On the outer joint you'll need the rubber mallet to work the joint off the end of the shaft. Be very careful to ONLY hit the joint on the outer edge so you're not jarring the bearings themselves. If you're lucky the joint will come off with a few light taps. Once the outer joint is off, you'll expose the circlip that was holding the joint on. The inner joint is similarly removed, though the hammer shouldn't be required.
Ok here's what you should have now - all the joints off the shafts, and lots of grease and dirt around! At this point, take a deep breath - the worst is over :) You can now disassemble the joints themselves (unless you're replacing them with new ones) and soak the inner and outer races and the bearings in the parts cleaner. Disassembly of the CV's is kind of like doing a Rubik's cube, but not nearly as tough. Try to remember how it came apart, so that putting it back together will be easier! Also clean off the drive shafts and any other parts you'll be reusing.
Here's the pieces for the outer joint, sparkling clean and ready to be put back together!
At this point I called it quits for the day and started on the assembly/re-installation the next morning. So with a fresh start, I dug into my CV joint/boot kits and started on the re-assembly of the joints. What would be a good idea here is to FIRST put both the inner and outer joints back together without repacking them. Call it a "dry practice" run so that you're sure you know how they are reassembled. One thing to note: if you're using the Bentley as a reference (there are pictures in there detailing the joint assembly), you should be careful. The instructions there are misleading in that they say that the grooves of the outer race must "match" the grooves of the inner race. In fact this is absolutely false - the grooves of the outer race are aligned in the opposite direction as the ones in the inner race. If the races were transparent, each bearing would be in the middle of an "X" shape made by the grooves. Comprende? The problem is that it's very possible to put the joint together the wrong way - trust me I did it :) A simple test that you did it right is that the joint is able to move freely in any direction (even without grease). If the joint seems stuck once you put it together, then you've done it incorrectly, and under no circumstances should you install it in the car!!
Once you're confident you can put the joints back together (get help from your local mechanic if you can't), then it's time to don the rubber gloves and starting playing with grease. Your boot kits should contain a tube of grease - one tube will do one joint. I put half the grease inside the joint and all around the bearings, and the other half inside the boot. Check the label on the grease or your instructions, because those proportions might not be optimum for your specific application.
Now we put them back on the drive shafts. Check to see if you need to slip the new boot over the shaft before putting the joint on. Sorry if I'm a bit brief here, but I can't recall too many of the details of putting the joints back on the shafts. One thing I do remember though is that the piston ring expander is great for opening up the inner joint's circlip enough to reattach it.
Another issue is getting the CV boot clamps crimped. For this I actually went to my local auto parts store and bought "CV boot clamp pliers". Sure enough they did the job quickly and painlessly. Another option a friend of mine suggested is to put a small nail between the jaws of regular pliers - squeeze the clamp between one jaw of the pliers and the nail.
Here's the finished product! Nice new CV boots full of fresh grease, and a clean axle!
I hate to wimp out this way (I've heard it too many times from my own Bentley), but installation is simply the reverse of removal :) Remember to put in your new flange seals if you have them, before attaching the inner CV. Also be sure to tighten the triple square bolts on the inner CV real good (you should have also gotten new bolts from the inner boot kit). It wouldn't help to have your CV fall out while driving! And again, be sure that the joints are properly greased and rotate freely and smoothly. If not, something is wrong, and you should check it out while still in CV-joint mode. Finally, get that axle nut on there REALLY tight - remember it should be tightened to at least 150 ft/lbs!
When everything is back together, and you've gone over your mental checklist to make sure it's all done (and there are no extra parts!), take the car for a test drive. You shouldn't be hearing any weird noises or feeling any resistance from the front while driving straight OR turning. If so, and there are no other problems you're aware of (like bad wheel bearings), you might still have a bad CV or installed them incorrectly. If there are no problems, then congratulations, you've done it right! :)
I know there's probably something I've missed (let me know!) but this should at least give you a basic outline of how it's done. Like I said, it's not a real tough job, provided you are careful and allow yourself plenty of time. Good luck!
