14 replies to this topic

[SCCA_Racer]

Do you guys ever take apart your CV Axles and Re-pack them? I am thinking about doing mine, so are there any special instructions or order to taking apart the Torsen style axles? What about the grease you would use to re-pack? I know there is CV specific grease but what is the difference between it and wheel bearing grease?
Thank for your input.

[Qik Nip]

Never heard of anyone repacking them - erxcept when the damn balls fall out when you are swapping the differential! Seriously, I get the sense they are essentially indestructable. That said, I carry a set to the track in my spares kit!
Rick

[wreckerboy]

250K on mine and no problems... until now. Thanks for invoking Mr. Murphy.

[SCCA_Racer]

250K on mine and no problems... until now. Thanks for invoking Mr. Murphy.

Your welcome.
My axles I got came with a diff that has the wrong gear ratio so since I do not know how many miles are on them I thought it might be a good idea to re-pack them like the front wheel bearings. They feel good as they do not have any binding or clicking but I would hate to install and then have to fix them at or after the first event.

[SCCA_Racer]

So none of you guys do maintenance on you CV axles? Just carry a spare set?

[Keith Novak]

It's probably an overstatement to say nobody does. Remember, some people will have their lug nuts blessed and sacrifice 2 chickens and a goat before each race if they think it makes the car faster.

I thought about it and then decided I had better things to do.

[Brian Ghidinelli]

After having my left go bad (and finding the insides pretty gnarly on disassembly), we're rebuilding a set to go on the car for 2011. I would think named "CV2", that Redline's CV2 would be an appropriate grease but we haven't done them yet.

[wreckerboy]

It's probably an overstatement to say nobody does. Remember, some people will have their lug nuts blessed and sacrifice 2 chickens and a goat before each race if they think it makes the car faster.

I thought about it and then decided I had better things to do.

Are those tech shed legal chickens and goats?

[Keith Andrews]

I have not done Miata CV's. I have done CV's on other cars and had always heard to use grease with Molybdenum Disulfide (Moly). It is a thick black grease. I've used Swepco 101 and a Valvoline Synpower product I can't remember the specific product. Really messy job gloves and paper towels required. Check the balls and joint for any wear marks.

[Keith Novak]

Really messy job gloves and paper towels required. Check the balls and joint for any wear marks.

I hope we're still talking CV joints here.

[Keith Andrews]

I hope we're still talking CV joints here.

[MPR22]

balls are ok, but rt knee joint is showing signs of wear, what type of lubricant should i use after 347,148 hours.

[MazdaSteve]

We had the left rear CVJ explode coming on to the front straight at Road Atlanta during the ARRC enduro. The grease inside the boot had completely dried up.

[Rob Gibson]

I repacked the inners using Swepco 101 before Nationals and also before the 25 Hours of Thunderhill. No probs during either event.

When I took them apart after Nats it looked like virtually all of the grease I had put on had stayed put on the balls and cages leaving the inside of the boot relatively free of grease. CV2 doesn't seem sticky enough and gives me the impression that it will fly off and just stick to the inside of the boot.

WSM says the outers are non-serviceable but it doesn't look much different than the inners so it should be possible to repack the outers too. I'll be testing my theory in the next few weeks.

[Brian Ghidinelli]

I repacked the inners using Swepco 101 before Nationals and also before the 25 Hours of Thunderhill. No probs during either event.

When I took them apart after Nats it looked like virtually all of the grease I had put on had stayed put on the balls and cages leaving the inside of the boot relatively free of grease. CV2 doesn't seem sticky enough and gives me the impression that it will fly off and just stick to the inside of the boot.

WSM says the outers are non-serviceable but it doesn't look much different than the inners so it should be possible to repack the outers too. I'll be testing my theory in the next few weeks.

Rob, mind sharing a rough overview of how you did yours? We just pulled my donors apart last night. We pulled the shaft out of both ends and then I very carefully used a small hammer and punch on the top of the cage (the flat surface) to rotate it enough to get the first four balls out. I was able to get the first four pretty easily but the last two became sort of "wedged" in the edge of their cage hole so it wouldn't turn freely and move about. I think this was from rotating it far enough in either direction to get the first four out. I beat on it a bit with a rubber mallet and managed to get them out but it didn't seem like the right way to be doing it. Not really sure how easily it should come apart or what the right technique is... there was plenty of nasty black grease in there. Thank god for a solvent tank.