Hi Jim,

        Yes, I’m guarding my original CV joints and trying to care for them.  This is partly why I check for rips so often.  I want the joints clean and greased so they will last. 
And I appreciate the two you sent me!

I'm not certain what is on my 84.  Is there any way to tell if a CV is an original VW? 

I’m hoping to find a tired CV joint that way I can take apart and practice putting back together.  This way I won’t be so terrified if one I'm working on tilts and comes apart. 

Eric Caron 

> On Jul 24, 2023, at 4:17 PM, Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> 
> I still use OEM axle hardware, and I mean the stuff that came on the van.
> It's better than anything you can buy these days, plus it's free to me,
> plus it has never let me down after 400K miles of use. I did replace it
> once with new stuff, which failed, so I went back to the old and it's still
> on there.
> 
> Jim
> 
> On Mon, Jul 24, 2023 at 3:05 PM Eric Caron <ericcaron96@comcast.net> wrote:
> 
>> Hi folks,
>> 
>> I try to avoid summer van work and enjoy the van as much as possible.  I
>> can do bigger projects in the winter in the garage.
>> 
>> But, today I successfully removed the rear axle on the 85 Auto and once
>> the parts from T3 arrive I’ll rebuild and put back on the van.  I don’t
>> mind this job as I’ve done it so many times.  I do hope the new CV boots
>> turn out to be good ones so I can do this a bit less often.
>> 
>> The support pieces like the bolts, washers, and grease also become
>> expensive.
>> 
>> My understanding is I’m not supposed to reuse the bolts.  But that is sad
>> as they are so new often less than a year old.
>> 
>> The other side is not ripped yet so I’ll leave it.  I think the other side
>> is Rockford boots as they feel stiff.  The Rockfords on the other side gave
>> out a long time ago.
>> 
>> The boots on my 84 that gave out were Lobro but to be fair I don’t know
>> how long they were on the van.  Still the transmission was replaced in 2021
>> so I would think the boots were looking good at that point.
>> 
>> 
>> So what projects are you folks doing?  I’m looking forward to continuing
>> to build my van preparedness.
>> 
>> Eric Caron
>>