mk4 CV axle questions

I picked up some CV axles on a recent trip to CA (left the state the same day the governor enacted that crazy lockdown). Anyways, I picked up these axles and some other goodies from a fellow TDIclub member.

My question - should I pack grease or do anything special before installing them on my mk4 Golf (BEW)? The Golf's CV axles both have ripped boots, and I've been procrastinating replacing them, but know I need to get it done.

Second question - Shoudl I press out the axle with an axle puller, or is there another way to do it? I tried using a nut, flush with the axle and a hammer, and I f***ed up two perfectly good axles at the junkyard, so I'm pretty sure that's out.

Third question - what are the torque settings for the M8 bolts that connect to the transmission? I usually just do it hand tight and maybe 1/8-1/4 turn more, but I'm sure there's a proper torque spec.

Second question: the way I do it is get a large punch that fits in the hole on the end of the axle and clamp a set of vice grips to the punch so u can hold it.

Then smack it real hard with a sledge till it comes out or loosens up.

I put anti seize on the splines of the axles when I reinstall them.

1. I'd say if boots are intact and in good shape (no obvious signs of grease extrusion), leave 'em be.

2. You're talking about taking your axles off your car? I've always just used a 3- or 2-jaw gear puller and never had much drama pushing it out of the bearing hub.

3. M8 12-point bolts on the inner CV: 40Nm (30ft.lbs.)

^^^^ This.

Cheers!

PH

94cobra2615 said:

Second question: the way I do it is get a large punch that fits in the hole on the end of the axle and clamp a set of vice grips to the punch so u can hold it.

Then smack it real hard with a sledge till it comes out or loosens up.

I put anti seize on the splines of the axles when I reinstall them.

Click to expand...

I honestly thought about anti-seize putting them back in, but wasn't sure if it was a good idea. I'll do that then!

Now I need to find a punch big enough. I don't remember if I have one here or not.

Nuje said:

1. I'd say if boots are intact and in good shape (no obvious signs of grease extrusion), leave 'em be.

2. You're talking about taking your axles off your car? I've always just used a 3- or 2-jaw gear puller and never had much drama pushing it out of the bearing hub.

3. M8 12-point bolts on the inner CV: 40Nm (30ft.lbs.)

Click to expand...

On my 2004 Golf, the boots are f**ked. I think one is missing most of the boot, or maybe it was both? I know for a fact both boots are ripped/torn.

30 ft lbs. That's reassuring, because I was probably hand tightening them close enough to that. I'll use the torque wrench when reinstalling though to make sure it's about 30.


As for a gear puller - is that similar to those pullers they let you "rent" at Autozone or O'Reilly's?

I thought you were asking about putting grease in the CV joints of the axles that you bought; I assume the boots on those are in good shape (?)...and if so, why mess with them?

I've put a bit of anti-seize on the mating surface of where the "face" of the CV joint meets the back of the steering knuckle. The splines of the axle itself are supposed to get a very light coating of high-pressure moly grease.

Gear puller I've used looks like this:

Nuje said:

I thought you were asking about putting grease in the CV joints of the axles that you bought; I assume the boots on those are in good shape (?)...and if so, why mess with them?

I've put a bit of anti-seize on the mating surface of where the "face" of the CV joint meets the back of the steering knuckle. The splines of the axle itself are supposed to get a very light coating of high-pressure moly grease.

Gear puller I've used looks like this:

Click to expand...

I didn't examine the boots in-depth. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to put grease on the part of the axle that bolts to the transmission, or if that's a solid piece. It was raining when I picked up these axles, and I didn't unload them from my trailer yesterday.

In a perfect world, I'd get rebuilt axles from Raxles, but with COVID-19, I need to conserve as much cash as possible (like everyone else).

Did you mean high-pressure or high-temp moly grease?

I think the manual just says "MoS2" (moly grease). So - whatever moly grease you have on hand should be fine. I think mine is "extreme pressure" so that's where I got the "high pressure from". ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Inner CV grease - if they're "open" (some I've taken off have been sealed with metal cap), I'd take a look at the how much grease is in there; pack in more (moly grease) if it looks a bit light.

I finally got around to doing this last night, carrying into today. I decided that I'm not screwing with my left (driver's) side axle until I switch to VR6 hubs (which will be in April) and upgrade front suspension.

The boot on the left side is good, but it's fubared on the right side. I ended up with 2 stripped M8 bolts on the inner CV joint, because someone ugga duggaed them with an impact (and yes, I know who it was).

Thought long and hard and got those off today with a die grinder, and then unscrewed what was left with my favorite Snap-On pliers (they come in handy for so many things).

Then the fun part. No matter what, my axle will NOT come off the hub. I stripped the hell out of my axle puller, not to mention I got one where the wheel lug bolts won't fit through. An engineer's hammer didn't work, and ultimately, I just said f*** it - went to my parts car (2001 Jetta) and stole the hub from there. I just hopped out of the shower (because I was covered in grease and dirt) to take it for a test drive, after I put everything back together AND torqued the inner CV bolts to 30 ft lbs.

I'll be even happier when I upgrade to VR6 axles, because hopefully I'll never have to mess with axles and hubs again (except in the rare instance of changing brakes/rotors/bearings).


Also, to the curious - I picked up GKN inner joint/boot kits from IDparts. Pain in the a$$, but cheaper than a new axle.

What's the story on the VR6 axles superiority pertaining to the hubs? I've pressed bearings in and out, removed axles multiple times in the MKIV without issues. But I haven't read up on the swap. Link or info?

What you want to get axles from the hub is a BIG impact gun. That and a 'chisel' aka tapered punch that is not going to wreck the threads. Check out the Chicago Pneumatic 715P...big bore, long stroke, and decent price. Or cruise ebay for a 4x rivet gun; their trigger/valve, being designed to help the operator avoid bashing a hole in the thin skin is much easier to start slowly. Teasing trigger, is what it is called...
cheers,
Douglas

KrashDH said:

What's the story on the VR6 axles superiority pertaining to the hubs? I've pressed bearings in and out, removed axles multiple times in the MKIV without issues. But I haven't read up on the swap. Link or info?

Click to expand...

I'm all for citing sources (was indoctrinated into us in grad school), but I don't have a citation, unless I use google to search through the forum.

The theory for the VR6 hubs is bigger brakes (larger rotors and more surface area on the pads). I use this car for a lot of towing, in addition to regular driving, so I feel like I could benefit from the bigger brakes, especially if you see some of the crazy loads I've pulled before I had a working diesel truck (mind you, at 45mph down rural highways and yes, trailer brakes). I picked up the axles and hubs as part of our junkyard's wheelbarrow sale (all you can fit in a wheelbarrow, getting through the 3'x3' jig without touching for $99). I can't use the axles, but the hubs are a plug and play swap apparently, obviously meaning I get to bleed the brakes again.

This set came off a GTI and it already has rotors and pads with plenty of life left on them, but as always for me, I prefer my Akebono pads, and I'd rather start off with new rotors while I'm down there.

PakProtector said:

What you want to get axles from the hub is a BIG impact gun. That and a 'chisel' aka tapered punch that is not going to wreck the threads. Check out the Chicago Pneumatic 715P...big bore, long stroke, and decent price. Or cruise ebay for a 4x rivet gun; their trigger/valve, being designed to help the operator avoid bashing a hole in the thin skin is much easier to start slowly. Teasing trigger, is what it is called...
cheers,
Douglas

Click to expand...

This Golf originally came from Quebec (imported by the previous owner), so rust has always been a big problem on things on the underbody. Changing the hubs actually is a good thing; I remember one of the bolt holes on the driver's side, where the hex bolts for the brakes screw in, was stripped of most of its threads, and this is something I've been meaning to address (specifically from rust). Now I can, by swapping axles. I had been planning on swapping them anyways, but just didn't plan on changing the hub yesterday the way I did.

I've seen an axle get stuck to a hub even with no rust. I think the wheel bearing was over heating and making noises and caused it to get stuck where no amount of pounding with a sledge would let it release. That is my guess.

I ended up removing the entire axle with the steering knuckle. Removed and replaced the outer CV joint end and a complete new steering knuckle.

I have had to take the carrier off with the axle, carry it over to the press, and press the joint out of the hub. I have broken a puller once trying. The press won't break. If it will not press it out, it won't come out.

As to which inner CV joints are stronger, turn Google loose looking for the GKN spec sheets. The TDI's come with the biggest, plunging style that takes 8mm bolts and has a 100mm OD. I have no idea what the VR6 style is like, but I know you can get the 108mm, TDI-style inners from a 930 that are substantially stronger than OE. They will need the VR6 inner flanges( at least Raxles makes these uprated axles ).

It is a confusing irony that even the Euro-nuts are still using English spline specs on all these interfaces...
cheers,
Douglas