Hi All,

Quick intro: I'm a VA native currently living in the incredibly =
beautiful state of Idaho, and have an 85 Vanagon.  Attempting to solve =
my knocking problem, I've lurked the list for a good while, and scanned =
the archives. BTW, I greatly appreciate the list, and it is one of the =
high points of my evening after a long day at work.   =20

Here's the problem:
I begin to drive to work, a one hour highway drive.  About 1/2 hour into =
the trip, and sometimes sooner, I begin to hear a knocking from the left =
rear wheel ( it seems ) that increases and decreases in relationship to =
the speed I drive.  It is very loud, and has an almost slapping quality =
to it.  It drives me very, very close to iNsANity.  It grows louder as I =
go uphill, or try to accelerate.  If I let off of the accelerator, the =
noise disappears. =20

What I've done:
New tires, trued drums, had brakes inspected ( good ) burned incense, =
gnawed fingernails.

What I suspect:
After having a local garage put it up on a rack, I thought "Good time to =
grab the driveshafts 'tween the joints and see if those CV joints seem =
ok."  Now, I dunno too much about CVs, but when I grab those shafts and =
pull back and forth laterally between the wheel and the transmission, =
yee haa, there's a ton of back and forth play there.  I don't think =
that's right...  Is it?

Question:
Should I try to repack them, as they seem to fall under the "loose" =
category, or should I replace them entirely?

Any help here would be massively appreciated...I can pay for a CV =
replacement, but can't afford a psychiatrist...

-=3DChris=3D-