Oops, I take that back... one of the joints that I thought only had the
grooves has pitting in three of the 6 tracks on the inner piece.  I
guess this means I'm down to one that I think I can keep.  Do people
agree with me?
-Wes

Wesley Pegden wrote:
> Thanks for all the replies and help!
>
> Here's the damage report.
>
> I have all joints out and pretty well cleaned up.  None of them are
> perfect: two of them have shallow grooves in the outer ring, but no
> pitting.  Is this cause for replacement?  (If so, I need to replace
> all 4).  The joints weren't making noise while on the car, and off the
> car in my hand, they felt good and smooth.  The grooves average
> perhaps 1cm long and 1mm wide, and they're not very deep... some are
> easier to see than to feel, and some are easier to feel than to see.
> But then again, some tracks on the outer piece have 2 or 3 of these
> (usually in parallel).
> One of the joints has a ball with a little nick on one of the balls,
> and a little bit of pitting in some of the tracks of the outer ring
> (in addition to the grooves)---I guess I'm thinking I need to replace
> this one.
>
> Finally, the last one has slight pitting on several of the balls, some
> wider grooves on the outer piece (one almost a cm wide), and
> significant pitting in one of the tracks on the inner piece.  I guess
> I'm thinking I need to replace this one.
>
> So, I guess my question is... am I right that I'm best off replacing
> these two, and is it unwise to keep the other two, whose problems are
> mainly grooves?
>
> Thanks very much,
> Wes
>
> .John Rodgers wrote:
>> Nope!  Wear rates are diferent in each CV and that wear changes the
>> specs. our fits and clearances in the mixed parts would be all out of
>> whack. The mixed-and-matched CV assembly wouldn't hold up very long
>> and there would be ve\irtually no reliability. The thing would
>> probably come apart and leave you stranded halfway between Somewhere
>> and Nowhere, USA.
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> John Rodgers
>> 88 GL Driver x2
>>
>>
>> Wesley Pegden wrote:
>>
>>> I think everything I've read has been pretty clear about this, but I
>>> just want to check... I can't mix and match pieces from two of my
>>> (original lobro) joints to get one good joint, right?  The stamping on
>>> both joints is the same:
>>> VW [logo] 211 501 331 B
>>> LOBRO 49/83 W/GERMANY % N
>>>
>>> (The percent sign is a diamond with a W in it).
>>>
>>> Thanks very much,
>>> Wes
>>>
>>> Wesley Pegden wrote:
>>>
>>>> Let me rephrase that... does a nick in one of the balls mean that
>>>> JOINT needs to be replaced?
>>>>
>>>> -Wes
>>>>
>>>> Wesley Pegden wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Does a nick in one of the balls mean a new bearing is required??
>>>>> Thanks...
>>>>> -Wes
>>>>>
>>>>> Sam Walters wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> For excellent instructions on CV removal, cleaning and
>>>>>> reassembly, and
>>>>>> installation, check these two links.  The second expands on the
>>>>>> first.
>>>>>> Pictures and explanation of how to know you reassembled them
>>>>>> correctly.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>  http://volksweb.relitech.com/cvjoints.htm    Tom Carrington's
>>>>>> web site
>>>>>>
>>>>>> and Ben Huot's additions to this at
>>>>>> http://www.benplace.com/cv_joint_maintenance.htm
>>>>>>
>>>>>> --
>>>>>> Sam Walters
>>>>>> Baltimore, MD
>>>>>>
>>>>>> 89 Syncro GL, Zetec Inside
>>>>>> 85 Westy Weekender
>>>>>> 85 Mercedes Benz 300D Turbodiesel - to become veggie oil powered
>>>>>>
>>>>>> All incoming and outgoing email scanned by
>>>>>> automatically updated copy of Norton AntiVirus.
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>