Repack CV joints - huge improvement
05-19-2008, 09:56 AM
#1
Three Wheelin'
Thread Starter
Repack CV joints - huge improvement
I found a CV bolt loose (as in only being held in by the boot kinda loose) on the gearbox/right hand side of the car. Figured that might have something to do with my 3000 RPM vibration which is most pronounced just over 80 MPH. Tightened it, checked the others, not much of a difference, but better. Found some more moderately disturbing PO stuff along the way, like a mix of 6mm allen bolts and 8mm cheese heads, many with damage on the sides of the head, as if they had been rubbing at one point.
So yesterday I decided to re-grease and flip the shafts. Yeah, it's a hell of a dirty project, and its a real PITA when you have to work from the ground, but I managed to get it done in a long afternoon. I found that the joint with the loose bolt had pitting on one of the bearing surfaces, so I pulled a spare off of a shaft I had laying around. Of course, that joint was worse than the one I took off the car to begin with. Fortunately, the one on the other side of the spare shaft looked OK.
Got everything all lubed up, re-installed with the shafts on opposite sides from their original position, with all new bolts that I had ordered quite some time ago. Went for a low speed test drive last night and decided things felt good. Smoother than before, but I was sure I was just convincing myself of that.
Turns out I wasn't. On the way to work this morning, there is a huge difference. I still have a bit of the 3k RPM vibration (I can feel it though the shifter), but not nearly as much. And the 82MPH vibration is no worse than the normal 3k RPM vibration. It used to be bad enough that I would avoid that speed range (which sucks, because that's the traffic speed on 295 S in Jersey on my way to work). Bottom line, I still have a hard time believing CV joints that otherwise seem fine when on the car, and are pretty much OK other than grease (the pitting on the one wasn't all that bad - but I wasn't about to re-install a bad one when I had another laying around) can make such huge difference. So for any of you who are tracking down vibrations like this, its an easy job and you should definitely give it a shot. Filthy, long, and will cost you a tube of grease and a couple rolls of paper towels, but easy.
So yesterday I decided to re-grease and flip the shafts. Yeah, it's a hell of a dirty project, and its a real PITA when you have to work from the ground, but I managed to get it done in a long afternoon. I found that the joint with the loose bolt had pitting on one of the bearing surfaces, so I pulled a spare off of a shaft I had laying around. Of course, that joint was worse than the one I took off the car to begin with. Fortunately, the one on the other side of the spare shaft looked OK.
Got everything all lubed up, re-installed with the shafts on opposite sides from their original position, with all new bolts that I had ordered quite some time ago. Went for a low speed test drive last night and decided things felt good. Smoother than before, but I was sure I was just convincing myself of that.
Turns out I wasn't. On the way to work this morning, there is a huge difference. I still have a bit of the 3k RPM vibration (I can feel it though the shifter), but not nearly as much. And the 82MPH vibration is no worse than the normal 3k RPM vibration. It used to be bad enough that I would avoid that speed range (which sucks, because that's the traffic speed on 295 S in Jersey on my way to work). Bottom line, I still have a hard time believing CV joints that otherwise seem fine when on the car, and are pretty much OK other than grease (the pitting on the one wasn't all that bad - but I wasn't about to re-install a bad one when I had another laying around) can make such huge difference. So for any of you who are tracking down vibrations like this, its an easy job and you should definitely give it a shot. Filthy, long, and will cost you a tube of grease and a couple rolls of paper towels, but easy.
05-19-2008, 02:22 PM
#2
Rennlist Member
Yeah 295 can be a beatch when you have a vibration. I used to have a corolla that shimmied at 60, and down that road, you just have to deal with it or people will kill you if you do less than 70.
But yeah, I've been passed like I wasn't even moving going 100 down 295. People are crazy... even more so than I.
Great news about the car though!
But yeah, I've been passed like I wasn't even moving going 100 down 295. People are crazy... even more so than I.
Great news about the car though!
