Jim,
This is a repost of one I did last august.  Skip to the 2nd paragraph
for the symptoms, which sound quite like yours:
Edward

I just replaced one of my outer CV joints.  It went so well I thought
I would write about it.  Seems like we always write about troubles we
have working on our vans.  I was worried about stripped or broken
bolts.  Especially the ones on the outboard joint which is hard to
get to inside the box shaped control arm.  I did have to use this
combination to install the outer bolts:  1/2" drive torque wrench +
1/2" to 3/8" adapter + short extension + long extension + 3/8" to
1/4" adapter + 8mm socket + 8mm star bit.  Got a nice new CV joint
and boot kit from Bus Depot which installed perfectly.  Used the
cheap blue nitrile gloves from harbor Freight Tools to keep all that
nasty grease off my hands.

The symptom the outboard joint was exhibiting was like
this:  intermittent and slowly worsening over several years.  A low
heavy knocking sound related to wheel rotation speed.  Occurred when
under more power.  Occurred more often when turning such that the
suspension was not at it's neutral position.  Also would happen when
climbing straight up a mountain at full power in 2nd gear (AT).  In
that case it would often go from quiet, fade in to more intense and
then fade out back to quiet.  Hands on analysis eventually found that
I could move the outer end of the driveshaft up and down very
slightly and hear/feel  a tiny version of the heavy knocking sound.

Happy wrenching!
Edward