Dennis,

Good stuff to know;

I always had good luck with the moly grease (mo-lyb-de-num - what a
mouthful). Good high-pressure grease that works well under the pressure
loads  found in such devices as CV joints. Really sticks to those
surfaces and protects. I use Mobil 1 synthetic oil in my Vanagon - I
really like the stuff. My CV's are due for servicing again shortly. I'll
look into the Mobil 1 grease.

John Rodgers
88 GL Driver

Dennis Haynes wrote:
> FUN BUS has over 254 k on it and the CV's are all original. Boot kits done
> as needed. I do not use the grease that comes in the boot kits. It tends
> to dry up and turn to tar. When I did the boots at ~132k I used the Mobil
> 1 synthetic grease-no moly. One of the fronts is now starting clunk during
> tight turns. I also use grade 12.9 bolts that I get from McMaster-Carr.
>
> Dennis
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
> Scott Daniel - Shazam
> Sent: Monday, February 18, 2008 8:26 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: CV joints
>
> All right, then you better get 250,000 miles out of your CV joints.
>
> How do you keep the balls straight ? like know which groove a ball came
> from.
> They're not marked or color coded or anything.
>
> Have you measured any of the balls with a micrometer to try to find any
> measurable difference.
> I would think you'd be very, very into 'rotating' your CV's, that is
> install
> them so they drive the other way.
> You'll notice in the groove they get more worn in one area from always
> pushing on that one spot.
> They can be fitted to the 'push' or drive the other way, to spread out the
> wear more evenly over many miles, the same as tire rotation does.
>
> Surely you are also into this nuance of long CV joint life., mmm ?
> Scott
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
> John Rodgers
> Sent: Monday, February 18, 2008 5:02 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: CV joints
>
> Many have commented about NOT putting the balls back into the original
> grooves. That aspect of the maintenance of the CV's is one of those GOP
> things. Not a political statement, in this case GOP does not stand for
> "Grand Old Party" but instead stands for "Good Operating Practice". It
> is the cherry on the topping on the cake. It is that little extra thing
> that makes the job better than the next guy's.
>
> Consider that the balls and the grooves wear together. They develop a
> "wear fit". If you swap the balls around, the fit is now disturbed, and
> the balls and groves have to "wear in" again. At the outset, in the new
> "ball-in-groove" relationship the wear will be high until the fit has
> been worn in. All of this is going to produce extra heat of friction,
> and wear, making the parts more loose than in the original position.
> Additionally, there will be increased vibration, which in turn will add
> to the wear. Now, as a practical matter, there won't be much if any
> initial apparent problem of any sort. The CV will prol'ly run many
> thousands of miles with no obvious problems, but over time, the life of
> the CV will be shortened. It all boils down to how much you care about
> the condition of your balls.
>
> Regards,
>
> John Rodgers
> 88 GL Driver who wants his balls to last forever.
>
> Rob wrote:
>
>> I'm doing CV joints, buying a tube of grease rather than the 4
>> initial bags of it was my first (and only so far) mistake. I had to
>> put about 1/4 of the tube into a ziplock sandwich bag, zipped it shut
>> and cut a corner off to squeeze it into the joints.
>> My pitman puller worked GREAT to pull the joint off the shaft, I had
>> to take the joint apart first but it works well with zero stress to
>> the parts.
>> Good directions in the Bentley for reassy the joint.
>>
>>
>>
>> Rob
>> becida@comcast.net
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>