I just posted a long thread about my CV Swap, but I do have a few final questions now that it's done.
1. I got the GKN Drivetech Boot kit. I'd read somewhere in another post that someone recommended NOT to get the GKN kit. Of course this was after I already ordered it. Does anyone know why this is? Does GKN have a bad rep with that kit?
2. My car had a 17mm Allen bolt for the axle. The GKN kit came with a 27mm hex bolt, and it was slightly longer. I was able to tighten it down all the way, and it didn't appear to pop the joint back off, so that should be OK, right? Does anyone see any reason why I should buy a new 17mm allen bolt instead?
3. I tore the upper control arm boots with a pickle fork before I finally abandoned that route and went with the rear lower arm removal method. I was told that if I tore the boots, i would need new control arms. Can anyone confirm or deny this? I took the car out for a test drive and made turns, circles and found the bumpiest roads I could and I didn't hear or feel anything adverse at all, mush less from the upper control arms. Should I be alright not replacing them? What signs or symptoms should I be looking out for to indicate their failure if I keep them on there for now?
4. I read on a DIY that when re-assembling the joint, you drive it on the axle with a hammer and then feel behind the joint. "The plastic cone should have no play". I drove mine on with a 4 pound sledge and felt it click on, but I was able to move my cone. The movement was negligible and might not have even measured 1 mm, but I was able to shift it slightly nonetheless. I tugged on the joint several times to see if it was loose or could be pulled off (aka, hadn't clipped into place yet), but it didn't come back off. I held it firmly in place and hit it several more times with the sledge just to be sure.
Is ANY play at all on that cone acceptable? I took it for a test drive and didn't notice any adverse behavior, but should I be concerned?
Any insight on these questions is greatly appreciated.
Thanks for your time!
Jeremy
1. I got the GKN Drivetech Boot kit. I'd read somewhere in another post that someone recommended NOT to get the GKN kit. Of course this was after I already ordered it. Does anyone know why this is? Does GKN have a bad rep with that kit?
2. My car had a 17mm Allen bolt for the axle. The GKN kit came with a 27mm hex bolt, and it was slightly longer. I was able to tighten it down all the way, and it didn't appear to pop the joint back off, so that should be OK, right? Does anyone see any reason why I should buy a new 17mm allen bolt instead?
3. I tore the upper control arm boots with a pickle fork before I finally abandoned that route and went with the rear lower arm removal method. I was told that if I tore the boots, i would need new control arms. Can anyone confirm or deny this? I took the car out for a test drive and made turns, circles and found the bumpiest roads I could and I didn't hear or feel anything adverse at all, mush less from the upper control arms. Should I be alright not replacing them? What signs or symptoms should I be looking out for to indicate their failure if I keep them on there for now?
4. I read on a DIY that when re-assembling the joint, you drive it on the axle with a hammer and then feel behind the joint. "The plastic cone should have no play". I drove mine on with a 4 pound sledge and felt it click on, but I was able to move my cone. The movement was negligible and might not have even measured 1 mm, but I was able to shift it slightly nonetheless. I tugged on the joint several times to see if it was loose or could be pulled off (aka, hadn't clipped into place yet), but it didn't come back off. I held it firmly in place and hit it several more times with the sledge just to be sure.
Is ANY play at all on that cone acceptable? I took it for a test drive and didn't notice any adverse behavior, but should I be concerned?
Any insight on these questions is greatly appreciated.
Thanks for your time!
Jeremy
3rd Gear
1) I don't know about "GKN reputation", but I had GKN CV axles in my car.
The axles are manufactured in Italy and Spain, so the manufacturing standards should be pretty strict and qualitative. I would assume just the boots themselves would be manufactured in Europe as well, but you never know.
Nevertheless, GKN is the muuuuuuuch more expensive brand comparative to EMPI or FEQ (the ones appearing on the compatibility list when doing search on most part store websites).
Only the passenger outer booth was torn on my car, but I replaced the axles as a pair with new EMPI ones. I didn't have to deal with replacing the boot and they are direct fit.
As I kept the two old axles, I also purchased two GKN boot kits to have them for later on, as I found them on sale at ECS Tuning ($ 15/piece) - made in Germany.
I tried to google "GKN axles bad reviews", or "GKN axle boot reviews" and wasn't able to find anything that would make a bad rap sheet.
2) My car had 27 mm hex head bolts. Although I got new bolts with the GKN boot kits (were indeed 27 mm hex) I reused both old axle bolts as they're not torque-to-yield and they were in good shape.
However, the Ruville (made in India) bearing kits I purchased from Arizona Autohaus came also with new bolts, and they were 17 mm recessed (socket) head.
I think if you were able to tighten the new bolt all the way in, then you shouldn't have any trouble.
3) The arm's boot is just a "dust boot", so if you keep them greased you should have no problems until you are able to purchase a new set/pair of arms for replacement.
The axles are manufactured in Italy and Spain, so the manufacturing standards should be pretty strict and qualitative. I would assume just the boots themselves would be manufactured in Europe as well, but you never know.
Nevertheless, GKN is the muuuuuuuch more expensive brand comparative to EMPI or FEQ (the ones appearing on the compatibility list when doing search on most part store websites).
Only the passenger outer booth was torn on my car, but I replaced the axles as a pair with new EMPI ones. I didn't have to deal with replacing the boot and they are direct fit.
As I kept the two old axles, I also purchased two GKN boot kits to have them for later on, as I found them on sale at ECS Tuning ($ 15/piece) - made in Germany.
I tried to google "GKN axles bad reviews", or "GKN axle boot reviews" and wasn't able to find anything that would make a bad rap sheet.
2) My car had 27 mm hex head bolts. Although I got new bolts with the GKN boot kits (were indeed 27 mm hex) I reused both old axle bolts as they're not torque-to-yield and they were in good shape.
However, the Ruville (made in India) bearing kits I purchased from Arizona Autohaus came also with new bolts, and they were 17 mm recessed (socket) head.
I think if you were able to tighten the new bolt all the way in, then you shouldn't have any trouble.
3) The arm's boot is just a "dust boot", so if you keep them greased you should have no problems until you are able to purchase a new set/pair of arms for replacement.
Quote:
3) The arm's boot is just a "dust boot", so if you keep them greased you should have no problems until you are able to purchase a new set/pair of arms for replacement.
What kind of grease, specifically?Originally Posted by chefro
3) The arm's boot is just a "dust boot", so if you keep them greased you should have no problems until you are able to purchase a new set/pair of arms for replacement.
3rd Gear
I know it may be a stretch to get it online, but I bought some Liqui Moly at the same time with various parts.
However, you should have a pouch of grease that came in the GKN kit. That works as good as the other.
If you can find at a local parts store, also this lithium-based Mystik grease is excellent; or any other lithium-based grease would be good.
However, you should have a pouch of grease that came in the GKN kit. That works as good as the other.
If you can find at a local parts store, also this lithium-based Mystik grease is excellent; or any other lithium-based grease would be good.
3rd Gear
Yeah, the boot is there to keep the grease in the joint so that it does not dry out. Without the rubber boot, the grease will dry off faster, not to mention, will drip out when it gets hot. I remember seeing someone actually putting a grease fitting like old cars on A6, but that is overkill. Anyways, I would try to keep it lubed, but you should really consider replacing the control arms pretty soon.