Thanks to all that responed to my Question:
   It's clear that they are needed to keep thing together,
    ..,.   plain B
            Eric                   86-VW4x4
            vw4x4@fyi.net          72-240z
            Pittsburgh, PA USA     1936-Chrysler

On Wed, 22 Oct 1997, Dennis Haynes wrote:

> No!  The outer CV joints actually hold the bearing together.  You can use an
> old joint in its place if really needed.
>
> Dennis