Inner CV Joint Rebuild/Replacement Procedure

Having benefited from so much great information in the forums, here's my small contribution. I'm sure there are a lot of improvements that could be made to the write-up, so please let me know what should be added or modified to make it more accurate and/or complete!

Llewellyn

A3 Jetta Inner CV Joint Repair/Replacement
You will need the following special tools:

• 30mm socket – axle shaft self-locking nut
• 8mm 12-point triple-square bit – inner joint to transmission flange bolts
• Snap ring pliers or VW special tool – inner joint circlip

Removing drive axle
1. Loosen the axle nut, then jack up the car and support it with stands.

2. Remove the 3 bolts holding the ball joint to the control arm. Make matching marks on the ball joint and the control arm if you’re not planning to get an alignment when you’re done. A little spray paint works well for this.

3. Remove the six 12-point bolts holding the axle to the transmission flange. I wasn’t patient enough to wait for the bit I ordered to arrive, and successfully removed the bolts with a T-40 torx bit. I did however wait for the 12-point bit to replace the axle – I don’t think the torques would be accurate with a T-40 bit.

4. Remove the axle nut and remove the axle. I had to lightly tap the end of the axle at the wheel hub, then it slid free easily.

Removing inner CV joint
1. Clean the grease off the inner CV joint, then make matching marks on the hub, ball cage and housing. This is essential if you plan to re-use the joint.


2. Remove the circlip. There’s probably a VW special tool for this, but I managed with a pair of snap ring pliers.


3. Using a hammer and screwdriver, carefully tap the protective cap off of the CV joint housing.


4. Press the CV joint off the axle. (I was lucky - mine came off by hand.)

5. Thoroughly clean drive axle.

Servicing Inner CV joint
If you are replacing the joint, this section is unnecessary. My boot has been torn for longer than I should admit, so I’m replacing the entire joint. To give you an idea of the state of the joint, I cleaned up grease that came out of the joint with a broom and dustpan…!

1. If you are planning to reboot and re-use the old joint, you need to be sure that everything goes back exactly the way you removed it. The marks you made before removing the joint from the axle will ensure that the races on the hub and housing remain paired.

2. Turn the ball hub and cage 90 degrees and remove from housing.


3. Press balls out of the cage. It’s probably not critical, but you could keep track of which ball was in each track by removing them in clockwise order starting at the alignment marks you made on the joint.

4. Tilt ball hub so the ball tracks are lined up with the rim of the ball cage and remove the hub from the cage.


5. Thoroughly clean and check the entire joint for pitting and/or other wear. Note: according to the Bentley manual, polished areas or visible ball tracks are not cause for replacement.

6. Replace hub into ball cage and line up the marks you made previously. Press balls into cage.

7. Replace the hub and cage assembly into the housing. Align with marks made earlier. When the joint is properly assembled, the small gap between ball tracks in the hub should be opposite the large gap between tracks in the housing (and vice versa).


Reinstalling inner CV joint
1. Pack CV joint with 60 grams of CV joint grease. Insert grease from both sides of joint.

2. Slide the inner boot onto the axle, pack the boot with an additional 60 grams of grease.

3. Install new splined dished washer, concave side towards the transmission.

4. Press the inner joint onto the axle.


5. Install new circlip.

6. Line up the bolt holes and tap the inner boot’s protective cap onto the joint.

7. Clean the gasket face of the joint housing and affix the self-adhesive gasket.


8. Clean the transmission flange.


9. Reinstall the drive axle. I opted to put some additional grease in the flange to work its way into the joint.

10. Install a new self-locking axle nut and the original washer. This needs to be torqued to 195 ft-lb, but final tightening should be done when the car is back on the ground.


11. Torque inner joint 12-point bolts to 33 ft-lb.

12. Line up the ball joint with the marks made on the control arm. Ball joint bolts should be torqued to 26 ft-lb.

Now thats a great write up. Sure to help a lot of folks. Thanks for sharing. Great pics also.

Thanks for putting this together and sharing it. I'll be swapping my inner joints soon.

CV joint replacement

Is this the same procedure for an A4 TDI?

Yea, need to do my inners on my A4 too. Is this the same? Don't have much time for surprises....

joebranko said:

Is this the same procedure for an A4 TDI?

Click to expand...

I can't answer that from personal experience, but see last post here:

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=250878

Sounds like yes - good luck!

Replace Inner Boot WITHOUT removing entire Axle?

Just trying to save time....

Does anyone know if I could unbolt the longer, right axle from the flange at the transmission and disassemble/repack the inner joint and replace the boot WITHOUT taking the axle out of the wheel hub?

I realize, I would be working under the car, but with ramps and jack stands, I think I could live with it. But, I am not sure if the axle would unbolt and drop down/over enough for access?

I have just been too busy to climb under and investigate this option myself. I can remove the axle if that will be easier...I just did the wheel bearing a couple of months ago.

Thanks for any input!

Scott (98 Jetta AHU 5 spd)

Speed-related hum...

Anyone have experience with replacing the CV joints on a 2011 Jetta? Any tips/tricks? This string looks pretty articulate as long as the engineering has remained the same for 2011.

rallywagon said:

Does anyone know if I could unbolt the longer, right axle from the flange at the transmission and disassemble/repack the inner joint and replace the boot WITHOUT taking the axle out of the wheel hub?

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I'm pretty sure you can get the joint out of the flange without removing the axle from the hub, but i think you'll have to loosen the ball joint. Don't forget to mark the position of the ball joint before you loosen it.

That said, I think you'll have a hard time working on the joint without removing the axle from the car, particularly when you try to press the inner joint back onto the shaft. Mine was quite a struggle, and I honestly don't think I could have done it working under the car. Removing the axle nut and taking the shaft completely out is quick and easy - well worth it.

BTW, when you go to press the joint back onto the shaft, a hydraulic press (if you have access to one) might make your life much easier (I unfortunately did not).

benmye said:

Anyone have experience with replacing the CV joints on a 2011 Jetta? Any tips/tricks? This string looks pretty articulate as long as the engineering has remained the same for 2011.

Click to expand...

I've never worked on a 2011, but I doubt the mechanics of the CV joint have changed significantly. Let us know what you find out!

Can someone post the best source for the 12 point bit and the cv boot kits? I have found several options on the boots, but just wondering if there are some to stay away from.

The 8 mm tripplesquare (the 12-point bit) is fairly common and available at most auto parts jobbers.

--Nate

Or you can refer to them as XZN bits.

Do you really need to mark the housing and the hub? I just did mine and all i did was realign the small gaps with the large hub spots. If you do it any other way, the joint will bind. Is the marking necessary though? I have a slight noise now, and i'm wondering if this has anything to do with it.

tperretta, you're right that it can only go together one way. If you're reusing the joint, however, it's important to make sure that the races on the hub and housing remain paired. Over thousands of miles, those races become worn and each pair of races will wear differently. If you don't put the joint back together exactly how it came apart, the wear pattern on your paired races will now be different on each side, affecting the performance of the joint.

That's my basic understanding - I'm sure someone else can give you a more thorough explanation of what the risk is if you don't keep them paired (and whether the noise you're hearing could be related).

turbos10, not sure if there are some boot kits to stay away from, but I generally get parts from ID Parts.

I wouldn't bother trying to service the CV joint on the vehicle. I tried it after the ball bearings dropped out whilst removing/refitting the gearbox and was baulking at the idea of releasing the hub nut etc with the wheel off and no brakes. As Kurtzl said, it's fairly easy to remove the propshaft and work on the bench. Easier to clean, easier to assemble, easier to check the operation and grease it up. The time spent removing the propshaft is more than compensated by the time saved servicing the cv joint on the bench.

I recently did this job on both CV joints on my 2003 Jetta with manual transmission, and benefited from this write up and thought I'd add a few of my experiences for the next guy.

I was able to remove both axles from the car without disconnecting the A arm or ball joint. The drivers side was easy - after I removed the bolts holding the inner joint to the flange, I lifted the joint up and above the transmission. There's enough room to pull the outer shaft out of the hub, and then get the whole thing out of the car. This is simple enough to do with one person that I see no reason to disconnect anything other than the axle nut and of course the inner joint from the axle.

The passenger side was not nearly so easy. There isn't as much room above the transmission, so I had to turn the key to the "on" position so that the steering wheel was free so I could turn the hub as needed. Once the axle was half way out of the car, I had to disassemble the inner joint, and then remove axle the rest of the way. Its definitely messy. Re assembly was fairly hard, as you have to re-assemble the freshly packed joint in the car, and two people are a necessity. If I had it to do over again, I'd probably just unbolt the a arm from the hub as it would be a lot easier.

Now that all is done, everything sounds good and there are no leaks. I'm glad I bought the parts and did it myself - it was messy and a little time consuming but not all that bad. Something like $45 later I'm back on the road.

That is a great write up on How to. But for the cost of a complete Axle I have a source that I pay under $100 no core so I do all most any VW or Audi installed for $220.
I have only had a few over the years and after many axles installed ever come back. This way its less labor and both ends are new.
Bob Mann

Missing CV boot clamp on inner joint

During an oil change on my 2003 Jetta wagon, I noticed some grease slung from the passenger side inner CV joint - not much, just enough to notice. I found that the clamp on the axle end of the boot was missing. This allowed some grease to migrate out of the boot. I cleaned it up and put a hose clamp on it.
The boot is in good shape. I hope this fix will last awhile, but I have a couple of questions for driveshaft experts:
1. A 1 1/2" hose clamp is definitely not balanced. Would this noticeably affect the axle balance?
2. I'm not sure how much grease was lost, but it definitely wasn't as much as you see from a failed boot. Also, no dirt could have gotten in, so the CV joint should be clean. I know the joint starts out with plenty of grease. Should I be worried about it having enough or just "play it by ear"?
3. Can you R&R an inner CV joint without pulling the axle on a Jetta wagon w/automatic transmission?
Any advice is appreciated.
tcpasley

Post Mortem from my job:

My CV inner/passenger boot has been torn for about 50k miles. I decided to replace the whole axle last April. My mistake was purchasing one from my local retailer. The brand was "Master Pro" - by the way. The Axle was about 1/2 to 1/3 as thick as the OEM, and also (critically) the bolts were hex, not 12-point. I used the same 30 ft-lb torque when I installed it.

About 5k miles later, I'm pulling away from a stop sign and POP! Car wouldn't go. I assumed it was the clutch, so I towed it home, and ordered a new clutch. When the clutch arrived, I got under the car and took a look and it wasn't the clutch. It was the axle. One bolt had snuck out, and the other 5 sheared-off.

Luckily, the old bolts spun right out of the holes.

I swapped the "bad" Master Pro axle for a rebuilt OEM one.

Same bad bolts, and also, had a HEX axle nut, not the 12-point axle nut. I switched with a spare (new) 12-point I had, and I ordered new OEM bolts from my trusty online vendor.

When the hardware arrived, I got to it. I figured, as long as I was "in" there, I would do my ball joints as well. I considered doing a whole refresh, shocks and struts and bushings, but everything else seemed pretty solid, and I was running out of money for this project.

I had a very difficult time getting the ball-joint out, and what I ended up using was a Pittman and Tie Rod puller (1 1/8"), that fits the ball-joint housing perfectly (with the axle out), and pops the ball joint right out.

But then I had a huge problem getting the ball joint back into the control-arm. It just wouldn't line up, and I had to rent a coil-spring compressor to release the tension on the strut, to get the new ball joint to line up right with the holes in the control arm. And even then, I was way-off, and could not get the new bolts to line up with my marks. (as a result, my alignment is pretty bad; going to get that fixed tomorrow).

Finally, the OEM axle:
Somehow, when I was trying to get it lined up for installation, I got it into my head that I needed to look inside the boot to make sure they put grease in there;; (or would I have to use my own?) Unfortunately, the CV joint came apart, and I had to take it back out of the car, and I had to clean it off and take the whole inner CV joint apart. Getting the ball bearings back in-place took the better part of a day. Because in the dis-assembly instructions, they tell you to mark it. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to mark it because I wasn't planning on taking it apart. It took many tries. At one point, I had it back together, but it wouldn't move. I tried every combination of every orientation I could guess. Finally, it went back together and had no play, and would move like it's supposed to. I re-applied the grease, and installed it.

If I had any tips that aren't in this, it would be that you can press the balls into the cage, and they kind of snap in from either the inside or the outside. If you snap them from the inside, then the hub cant get into the cage (no clearance). If you snap them from the outside, then the housing wont fit. You've got to get these ball bearings stuck half-way through the cage, and spaced (with each other) to match the hub.

The other trick is the one that all of the guides mention, and that's to make sure that the short race-gaps in the hub line up with the long race-gaps on the housing.

My joint came apart while the housing was still attached to the boot, and while the hub was still attached to the axle. I don't really know how that's possible, because it seemed impossible to put it together while the hub was still attached to the axle.

So this was probably the two most-frustrating things I've ever done, service-wise on this car. The ball joints, and the reassembly of the CV joint. I don't know what I was doing wrong, but everyone else seems to have a much easier go at this than I did.

A very nice write-up with good clear photos!

I just removed the inner CV joints on my Porsche last week, to have the outer and inner metal caps re-plated with yellow zinc and to install new boot bands.

I have mine all apart as well. After cleaning them I was surprised to see almost zero wear/scuffs on the surfaces where the balls contact. Mind you its a 19 year old car with only 77K kilometers.

TWeatherford said:

I recently did this job on both CV joints on my 2003 Jetta with manual transmission, and benefited from this write up and thought I'd add a few of my experiences for the next guy.

I was able to remove both axles from the car without disconnecting the A arm or ball joint. The drivers side was easy - after I removed the bolts holding the inner joint to the flange, I lifted the joint up and above the transmission. There's enough room to pull the outer shaft out of the hub, and then get the whole thing out of the car. This is simple enough to do with one person that I see no reason to disconnect anything other than the axle nut and of course the inner joint from the axle.

The passenger side was not nearly so easy. There isn't as much room above the transmission, so I had to turn the key to the "on" position so that the steering wheel was free so I could turn the hub as needed. Once the axle was half way out of the car, I had to disassemble the inner joint, and then remove axle the rest of the way. Its definitely messy. Re assembly was fairly hard, as you have to re-assemble the freshly packed joint in the car, and two people are a necessity. If I had it to do over again, I'd probably just unbolt the a arm from the hub as it would be a lot easier.

Now that all is done, everything sounds good and there are no leaks. I'm glad I bought the parts and did it myself - it was messy and a little time consuming but not all that bad. Something like $45 later I'm back on the road.

Click to expand...

I managed to get the passengers axle out without taking the ball joint off
Turn the wheel all the way to left , remove the caliper off the carrier and hang it from the strut. remove the brake disc and the stabilizer bar plastic piece and you can slide the axle thru the gap between the bar and A-arm

Hey There,,,

A huge thanks from me for this very well scribed tutorial. saved me much pain and suffering.

Well Done.
Cheers
Westy

Glad to hear it was helpful

necrobump

Thank you kurtzl
Best walk through I've found (and it's 2018 now). I think I can actually tackle this. Thanks to TDICLUB and vendors like idparts and also not least of all gearheadgarage.us
for the affordable DIY garage with LIFTS!!!

I'm just wondering if CV Boot Crimp Pliers should be added to the OP tool list.
edit: recommend something to clean out the old grease?
Brake Cleaner maybe?

Nice job!

STDOUBT said:

...
edit: recommend something to clean out the old grease?
Brake Cleaner maybe?

Click to expand...

A large roll of quality paper towels. Those heavy blue shop type paper towels work great. If you can't find them, then a roll of bounty paper towels will work as well. And start with a full roll. That grease is so messy, you'll use most of the roll if not the whole thing to clean the joint and then clean out the boot.

One other comment: usually the reason you'd be doing this is that the CV joint will have pits on one side (the driving side of the housing, driven side of the hub) of the races. Check the balls. If the balls are OK, you can clean the joint and balls, reassemble, and install it on the other half-shaft. Then do the same thing to the other side. By swapping sides, it is like getting double service from each CV joint.

Cheers,

PH

Make sure you put some blue locktight on that new or used axle nut and make sure its to at least 200ftlb
2 years ago i found out that the manufacturer of those nuts had a recal, i got a reman axle for some spare parts from autozone and the nut stripped when i took it off a year later, tried to find a nut but EVERY ONE other than ebay and some stores like IDparts and GAP had out of stock as they were recalled or so i was told. Simple solution, blue locktight, it has fixed my issues of new nuts still coming loss.
I now use RED locktight on it and to take it off, you get some heat on it!