Tom M'Guinn

One of my uncertainties when assembling these CV joints was which way to put them on the axles. I wrote to EMPI and they said it didn't matter, which seemed questionable. More research and help from xschop confirmed that the CV joints go on the axles so that the small shoulder on the inner star gear should point to the middle of the axle (i.e., toward the boot). Like this:

Tom M'Guinn

Van's videos on Youtube are great, so I won't re-cover any of that ground, including how to assemble the joints themselves. The other thing I'd note is that the joints can be clocked side to side to improve their range. Using a 5/16 dowel, you can line up the joints on the splines so that the narrow gaps on one end line up with the wide gaps on the other. It's easy to be off by one or two splices, so using the rod helps confirm you are dead on, like this:

Tom M'Guinn

This tool makes the snap rings a snap (ahem)...

Tom M'Guinn

As for the mount, it's a nicely designed piece, with a reversible hanger to allow more room in V8 cars. He sent it with hardware and in raw aluminum, but I ended up powder coating it red for no particular reason other than to put the Eastwood kit to use. Pictures below show how it gets assembled and installed on a normal (non-V8) 951. Because the mount and the reversible hanger and the factory bracket can all bolt together in either direction, there are 7 ways to get it wrong and one way to get it right -- as in the picture below where the mount is installed in the car (and not necessarily in the other shots)

ehall

Tom, what's manufacturer of those snap ring pliers?

Tom M'Guinn

OTC 7313

mikey_audiogeek

Nice work, Tom!

Cheers,
Mike

333pg333

Just following on from this. Chasing some spare CVs through the Driveshaft shop. Again their reputation for fantastic customer service seems to be elusive. They're asking me for part numbers seemingly unable to either look in their records for my previous service or use the requirements and pics I've already sent them and join the dots...

However, I'm also wondering how the users of the XShop setup are getting on and also wonder if their CVs would fit the driveshaft axles? Problem is I don't have the spline count on ours and don't really want to pull things apart just to get this simple spec. Does anyone have some of the V2 LR uninstalled to count the splines?

Tom M'Guinn

My XShop axles are doing fine, though not fully battle tested yet. Not sure I follow the rest of your question. Xshop doesn't supply the joints themselves, just the axles -- he recommends the VW/EMPI joints. What combo are you asking about here?

333pg333

Ahh, right. I didn't quite follow that correctly Tom. (Scanning the thread at work.) To me it looks like the 'kit' that is supplied from The Driveshaft Shop via LR comes with their own axles but just a generic GKN CV. I was just trying to buy some backup CV's from TDS but then wondered if the ones you have are 1: Very strong 2: Would fit my axles.

I also was trying to find anyone that has the same axles as me that weren't installed and could count the splines for me. This is what TDS is asking from me as they can't or won't do a little bit of investigating from their end.

E-man930

LR uses 25 spline late style Lobro / GKN CVs. The EMPI ones are 33 spline and match the pre 87.5 and earlier 951 CVs. One quick note, XSChop does NOT make the axles, they are common EMPI units you can purchase for $200 or less a pair and then machine a second circlip groove in them. This is all XSChop does and then doubles the price. If you want some indestructible axle shafts a VW bug vendor in California sells US made ones out of 300M alloy steel that are much stronger than the cheap Empi axles made for VW drag bugs...

Dave951

Who is the vendor in California? Website...etc

E-man930

http://www.pacificcustoms.com (search for "300M")

Another high quality US manufacturer that makes race proven drive train parts is Gear One.

http://www.gear-one.com/Htmls/axles.html

And for indestructible US made CVs ==> http://www.gear-one.com/Htmls/drivetrain.html

Humboldtgrin

More info on LR axles. The set I have are super nice and beefier then the stock turbo axle shafts. They cost but what doesn't when upgrading a 951? http://www.lindseyracing.com/LR/Parts/944CVAXLELR.html

Dave951

Thanks E-man.

Does anyone have the measurements of the axle shaft length?