Jeff Curtis

Ag02M5, I JUST sent him an email asking if he still had the trailing arms.

I actually have a spare set but would prefer to keep them around "just in case".

Geoffrey/Tom W. - where are you sourcing the NEO grease from?

Geoffrey, I look forward to the pics, am getting a lathe setup at a friend's machine shop and am eager to see where you drill/tap your holes as well.

Tom W. - funny, I was thinking the other day that my car is actually about 30% "Turtle V.1" with the entire front clip and the 3.8RS tail from the Turtle.

Geoffrey

Sorry about the delay on the pictures, I had to clear some space to clean and lay the axle out. This is an axle I'm in the process of rebuilding. It happens to be a lightweight gun drilled Porsche Motorsport axle, however, it takes the same inner and outer CV joint and stub axle so the process and tools are the same. You can see on the left the 3 holes drilled in the stub axle (hardend steel so use a drill press) and again in the cover. I made a tool to center the holes, so on one side it slips over the stub axle and the other side slips inside the cover. This ensures that the holes will line up and are exactly 120 degrees from each other. To improve the longevity of the axles, you can polish the cv joint for a smoother riding surface for the ball bearings.

NEO is available from HRP World.

Jeff Curtis

EXCELLENT, now I see what you mean Geoffrey, thanks!

SO, to clarify, we have to post this axle up in a lathe with the outer assembly ASSEMBLED?? ...or do you pop the assembly apart for that to modify? If you have to post up in the lathe assembled, how is it associated with regards to the stub axle?? ...I would assume the stub axle is chucked up and you use the weep hole in the main axle shaft to center on the (forget the name of the pointy thingey)

...AND you turn it S.L.O.W.L.Y.??

Thanks again...nice design, we will do our best to copy it and claim it for ourselves.

Geoffrey

The axle is fully assembled when I do it (it is the first step). I chuck up the splined end of the stub axle and use a steady rest for the other end (or when lazy I just hold it). Then I simply cut off the crimp. Yea, I turn it somewhat slow.

Indycam

"I just hold it" ?
You hand hold the free end of the axle when its turning in the lathe ?

Geoffrey

yes...but I'm not advocating doing that...and probably should not have mentioned it either...

Indycam

Thats as crazy as spending a boat load of money on a car and then driving 10/10ths on a race track .

Geoffrey

Just wait until I decide to sell it...GT3RSR deals are getting easier and easier to find...

Jeff Curtis

Hey, as long as you're turning it SLOW and have greased up your hand you're probably OK, I can imagine that scenario...might even be steadier than using a roller-rest??

Geoffrey, a few more questions for now, about how far in do you cut on the crimp?? Do you just slice into it or "carve" away at it until it releases? Is there still a bit of clamping force available after cutting the crimp or does the tension and resulting seal completely rely on the 3 allen head bolts?

I really appreciate you posting all this...it's the best damned plan I've seen yet...as a matter of fact it's the ONLY plan I've seen yet for these axles that have integrated stub axles on the outer CV joint.

Thanks again bud.

Geoffrey

I cut just the crimp away without ever touching the stub axle. You then take a hammer and punch and gently tap the cover off of the stub axle without damaging it.

Tom W

Jeff: I never bought it - it was obtained for me by Jerry Woods, they do all the work on my car. I have very little free time thanks to work. Other than racing I try to keep my wife happy. We are in Maui now and went whale watching this morning - incredible does not describe it. A couple pics.

The astute may note that it is against the law to get closer than 100 yards. But, if you stop the boat and they approach, that's ok. They spent over an hour hanging out with us. I had to take the telephoto off the camera they were too close!

Geoffrey

Cool

Indycam

"Hey, as long as you're turning it SLOW and have greased up your hand you're probably OK, I can imagine that scenario...might even be steadier than using a roller-rest??"
No , no and no !

Geoffrey

Another thing that I do is that I polish the moving parts of the CV joint. You'd be surprised at how poor the finish is on the standard part. My experience has been that polishing them will reduce friction and again, help them to live longer. The one on the left has been polished, the one on the right is a new one.

Jeff Curtis

Hey Geoffrey, I don't think your pics made the post...don't see any. Would like to!

Can I get you to do one more favor for me? Can you take a Starrett or a Vernier Caliper (probably more accurate) and get me a "flange thickness" that you wind up with after cutting away the crimp?

We cut on a spare axle I've had laying around this morning, thought we had enough but we dinked it a few good times to remove the cover and it wouldn't pop off...it's obvious we didn't take away enough material. If you could get me a rough measurement (at least) of how much flange you have left that would be great.

Also, what size allen head bolts did you say you used?? ...fine or course thread?? I see that there's not much room to use a larger one on the edge of that cover where there's "flat" area to torque down on.

Alright one more question, WHERE is this O-ring associated?? Is it on the face of the CV housing or the perimeter "inside" the flange area of the cover?? We're using caution when cutting because I would think it's along the perimeter of the housing for a good seal.

Again, I really appreciate your help...this is one of the best examples of "P-Car Inginuity" I've seen in quite awhile and I'm somewhat obsessed with getting this right.

Tom, those are GREAT pics...pretty cool indeed.