Joel's_84_944

HI,
I was putting my CV joint back together when the ball bearings fell out and I can't remember how to put them back together. I checked the other side of the axle but the bearings look like they won't fit. Does someone have a detailed diagram on rebuilding the CV joint (besides the Haynes manual which only tells me how but doesn't really show how they fit together). I marked the sides so It could fit together, but after I removed them I cleaned them and the marks were gone.

thanks in advance....Joel
<img src="graemlins/cussing.gif" border="0" alt="[grrrrrrr]" />

Peckster

It could be worse. A buddy of mine bought a log house that was to be dissassembled and moved to his property for him to build later. He marked the logs carefully, in watercolor paint.

I swear to god this is a true story. And it wasn't me.

Perry 951

Just put the bearings in the center race (axle) and try and slip the outer cage onto them at a 45 degree angle. Mark a starting point and keep rotating it to diffrent bearings until it pops in. It kind of twists on, but you'll know it when uou get it right. Don't force it.

944Fest (aka Dan P)

Worth remembering, when looking at the outer and inner "hub", line up the WIDE dividers on the inside of the outers with the NARROW dividers on the outside of the inner hub.. It sounds like a stupid tongue twister but if you line up wide with wide and narrow with narrow it will lock into a siezed single piece, which can be very difficult to shake loose.
It sounds silly and is very hard to describe in words. If you look at the parts and read carefully it may make sense to you.

Good Luck

<img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

Lizard944

Joel,
Do what Dan P, and perry951 are saying. Look at page 144, ill. 10.6 in the haynes manual. It gives a good head on shot of the bearing races. Just look at the way the inner and outer ball grooves are oriented, and position them that way before you start loading the bearings in. I actually loaded the bearings back in while the axleshaft was still connected to the joint. I would tip the outer race, then load a bearing into the retaining ring,from the axle side, then straighten the outer race . Then load a bearing on the other side and repeat this until all six bearings are in place. After that, I packed the grease in. Be careful not to tip the outer race too much or a bearing will fall out of the opposite side. I remember being so frustrated with this, that I was ready to chuck them in the garbage and just buy new ones. Remember to clean the grease out of the bolt holes on the joint ( i did this by passing small strips of cloth through them) and put some locktite on the cheesehead bolts before installing them. Plenty of horror stories of bolts backing themselves out and axles flying off at highway speeds

Lizard

Danno

Also make sure the mating surfaces between the axle and the back of the hub is perfectly clean. No grease or anything allowed because it's the friction from this interface that transmits the power across. The tension from the bolts simply create the friction. If you'e got grease there, the friction will be reduced greatly and you'll shear your bolts off.

Also tighten the bolts to 33lb-ft which will feel like you're going to snap or strip them, but that'll hold.

Type_LT

The easiest way (at least easiest to me) to get the bearings back in is to put four in at one time such that the two remaining empty bearing slots are opposite to each other. Then insert the last two bearings one at a time by tilting the inner race. I found by putting four bearings in at once the inner race was held enough such that no bearings fell out when putting the last two in. When your done you should be able to move the inner race parallel to the axis of rotation easily with very little resistance. Did you find any golden bearings (bearings that got too hot?).

Joel's_84_944

<img src="graemlins/cussing.gif" border="0" alt="[grrrrrrr]" />

OK. I can get the Four Bearings in first, but I can't get anymore than 4. When I try and add the 5th, one of the bearings fall out. Man this is frustrating. I just want to throw them in the garbage. My wife is even helping me and we still can't get past four. <img src="graemlins/crying.gif" border="0" alt="[crying]" /> <img src="graemlins/crying.gif" border="0" alt="[crying]" />

Type_LT

Try to shift over one spot with all the bearings when your trying to put the first four in. Can you take a picture of the joint? I've lost mine so it's hard to describe relationships between parts.