DIY: Inner CV Joint, R&R with new Redline CV2 Grease

[Brent 930]

Sorry I meant inner.

[Henryville]

The ring HAS to be on the shaft or YOU removed it. It can NOT come off on it's own. The collar very well could be "stuck" to the bottom of the cv joint as you pulled it off the spline. Keep searching...

I have NOT done a set of 95 arms (95 vs 96-99 are different, how different I dont know)

The ring and collar HAVE to be there for the 96+ arms, otherwise there is nothing to stop the cv joint or keep it on the shaft.... Hope it works out for you

I took another look in the light of day, and it's clear my shafts are different from those you show. No groove for the retaining ring, but a flare in the shaft inboard of the splines that would serve the same purpose: to keep the CV joint from migrating back. As we all know, there were many changes between the '95 M3 and later years; this appears to be one of them.



Not at all uncommon for manufacturers to evolve designs, sometimes to improve performance, other times to reduce cost. My guess is, since one could start from a thinner and less complex shaft end and do less machining, this was a cost reduction.

[JETninja]

One thing to know, early shafts are slender and solid, later ones are much larger diameter and hollow. Probably other differences between them also.....

[Henryville]

Can't get the photo to display, so trying it as an attachment.

[99MPower]

yep... definitely appears the 95's dont have the ring/collar combo, as the shape of the 95 shaft serves that purpose....

thanks for the picture, and now everyone knows about the 95 vs 96+ differences

[Henryville]

I doubt I would have taken it on without the DIY, thanks again for creating it! Can't wait to get driving on this CV2 goodness...

[99MPower]

no problem

It's really not that bad, and I JUST came in from the garage as I finished assembly on my entire rear suspension, and got everything all torqued/marked/and ready to go

[SiGmA]

Great DIY Calvin, thank you much

So are the outer joints really not servicable? How did they get pressed on in the first place? I really want to take mine apart. From the condition of the inner joints grease, it appears that 170k was enough to turn the grease into a nasty nasty substance. Any advice?

[99MPower]

nope... I dont think they can be taken apart... .go the gas station.. get 3 gallons of gas, a 5 gallon bucket, and let them sit overnight...

clean them out the next day with some brake cleaner and your air compressor hose... dry/clean them out the best you can, and then just start packing in the CV2

[JETninja]

I don't know (have not looked) but maybe there is a way to check for wear/play in the TIS? That would tell you if you should bother with re-packing or picking up new Axles.

Since by the time of the E36 they tended to just replace parts, I'd probably look at something like a E30M3, Axle Joints are probably not that different.

[99MPower]

cheapest half shafts I've seen (NEW) are $575 EACH...

no thanks

[aultman7]

Bumping thread....

Could this be a source of my vibrations?

Notice how the right side is much darker than the left.

[dizzythree]

Of the diff? no. That's just your output shaft leaking.

[aultman7]

Of the diff? no. That's just your output shaft leaking.

Umm how bad is that?

[dizzythree]

well, you might be low on fluid, which could cause your diff to fail. not sure how bad that is in your book, but I would not be happy...

[aultman7]

Yeah that's in the bad section of my book...

...going to get diff fluid...

[shaeff]

Cal, or anyone else- was your outer boot a PITA to get on and stay there? Mine keeps wanting to slip off. I have yet to get the new clamp (as the one that came w/ the kit doesn't fit), but the boot certainly won't stay there by itself, which is going to make it a complete PITA to clamp...

[99MPower]

it should stay there by itself no problem... I'm working on my 4th set of half shafts right now, and no issues yet

[shaeff]

Hmmm... I wonder why mine keeps wanting to pop off then? Weird. I rebuilt mine today as you've illustrated above. First time is a PITA, second was fine except I put the center piece in upside-down so the c-clip wouldn't go on but I caught it quickly and swapped it no problem.

Getting my friend's boot clamps tomorrow, and I picked up the NAPA clamps today. (thanks for the P/N, as well as this writeup!)

I guess I'll see how those outers want to stay on...

Edit: I cleaned up excess grease on the boot and outer CV, clamped them with the NAPA clamps and they're golden. No issues at all. I think they were sealing very tight, and the grease was keeping any air from escaping- basically making it act like a bubble. I just lifted the boot a little with a screwdriver and it popped right in place.

[Pink]

Nice write-up OP! Just curious, how did you dispose of all the buckets of chemicals/gasoline and grease? The ground or the drain just doesn't seem responsible anymore, wondering if people have some huge tub they fill up and drop off at a disposal place or something.

Also I wonder why the outer CV joint can't be removed from the axle. It obviously didn't come that way. Unless it's actually welded somewhere it should come apart. If I had an extra beat axle laying around I would destroy the outer cv joint just to see how they come off. Any ideas?

[bmwpower]

Maybe I missed it, but you didn't put any sealant on the endcap before reinstalling, right? Last time I did these, it required sealant to keep the grease from seeping out the endcap over time. The sealant even came with the boot kit.

Just checking, because I may be tackling this project again...

[shaeff]

Maybe I missed it, but you didn't put any sealant on the endcap before reinstalling, right? Last time I did these, it required sealant to keep the grease from seeping out the endcap over time. The sealant even came with the boot kit.

Just checking, because I may be tackling this project again...

You're talking about the little tubes of Hylomar. I didn't use them. I didn't see any on the original boots, and I only thought about it after I'd put the CV's back in place. Oh well. It's been several months and no leaking yet. If they start to seep, I'll just pull the CV's and seal them.

[99MPower]

Maybe I missed it, but you didn't put any sealant on the endcap before reinstalling, right? Last time I did these, it required sealant to keep the grease from seeping out the endcap over time. The sealant even came with the boot kit.

Just checking, because I may be tackling this project again...

the second set I did, I used the hylomar that came in the kit. My set of halfshafts on my car didnt have that, and no issues yet

You're talking about the little tubes of Hylomar. I didn't use them. I didn't see any on the original boots, and I only thought about it after I'd put the CV's back in place. Oh well. It's been several months and no leaking yet. If they start to seep, I'll just pull the CV's and seal them.

same .....



the outer CV is not serviceable because it has the splined shaft for the hub. There is no way to remove that since it has to be physically tied into the half shaft to rotate it.

Not sure why they didnt design it a little different, but it's definitely not removable

[turbosporttsi]

Do the inner CVs on the 95 shafts just come right off after the snap ring is removed? I couldn't get mine to come off.

[99MPower]

Do the inner CVs on the 95 shafts just come right off after the snap ring is removed? I couldn't get mine to come off.

yes... once you remove the snap ring, it will come off..

it may require some "force" though