CV Joints

Author
Discussion

Dalamar

Original Poster:

253 posts

78 months

Saturday 15th May 2021
quotequote all
I'd appreciate your thoughts on what's a good CV joint these days for the Chimaera

GKN 301174 (can source from various places e.g. Prolinx)
MEYLE MCV0318
Shaftec PJ53N
SKF VKJA 8808
Ones from Dave Mac (I think they are EMPI 98-5094-B)

Mine are ancient and have some play that is giving a knock that is more noticeable at low-ish speeds coming on and off the accelerator.

Zener

19,018 posts

224 months

Saturday 15th May 2021
quotequote all
GKN/Lobro thumbup

MikeE

1,845 posts

287 months

Saturday 15th May 2021
quotequote all
How about the TVR Parts/Racing Green ones?

Dalamar

Original Poster:

253 posts

78 months

Friday 21st May 2021
quotequote all
MikeE said:
How about the TVR Parts/Racing Green ones?
I spoke with them and they don't sell GKN ones anymore. They had manufacturing issues in terms to dimension errors and supply and so moved away from GKN.

I did find a good price for a set from Design911 using the part number 93033203400 (Porsche 930 part number) and they sell them with the boot kit included but when I phoned them to check they were genuine GKN they mentioned that they couldn't supply a full set and that further deliveries would be in June... The GKN part number they supply is 302299 (CV and boot kit).

I then contacted and phoned Dave Mac. They supply ODM units (I think 14-146062 and 21-990171) which include the boot kit. These are used on their race TVRs and have a 2 year warranty. I decided to go with these. Looking forward to getting rid of another clunk from the rear axle!

ukkid35

6,252 posts

176 months

Saturday 22nd May 2021
quotequote all
Just fitted a pair of Shaftec PJ53N and a pair of Napa NCV1128

The Shaftec is the better kit based on the extra parts supplied

The Napa is significantly cheaper

Both are Ø108mm x 40mm wide x 94mm PCD x 28 spline as required

Alternatively you can pay three times as much for a GKN Lobro

PabloGee

331 posts

23 months

Wednesday 12th June
quotequote all
So I've come (with the help of Steve Sprint!) to the conclusion that I need to replace all four CV joints.

Outside of the current suppliers, all appearing to have the same thing at a similar price, reading this thread has really helpfully given a few options to look into, but two details I would like a bit of a point of view on:

- A life rule I try to apply is 'it's only cheaper if it's any good', which in this case raises the question on whether Napa CV joints are good enough?

- Some of the kits show a cover plate attached to the rubber boot, but not all (including the GKN version), is this a good feature? One person cited that they prevent the fitting of the locking plates



ukkid - how have/did your CV joints performed?

There's another thread where Steve_D points out that the plunge depth of the joints needs to be 'deep' at '+ - 14', but I really can't find that information

stevesprint

1,118 posts

182 months

Wednesday 12th June
quotequote all
You don't want to take any notice of SteveSprint wink

You might get away with only replacing the outer two but while you're there you may as well do them all.

PabloGee

331 posts

23 months

Wednesday 12th June
quotequote all
Haha, you're too modest!

All or nothing I reckon.
No point in doing half the job to then have to take it all apart again and do the others...

Dalamar

Original Poster:

253 posts

78 months

Wednesday 12th June
quotequote all
My Dave Mac ones were part number S155-BJ6062. They were really good quality.

Sardonicus

19,018 posts

224 months

Thursday 13th June
quotequote all
NAPA are dog st I wouldnt use them for a battery never mind a critical drive-line component eek the US have the same opinion scratchchin personally I would stick with GKN/lobro however I've heard good things about Dave Macs stuff

Belle427

9,234 posts

236 months

Thursday 13th June
quotequote all
Id agree, i wouldnt penny pinch here, ive no idea whats so special about the dave mac ones but they always seem to be the ones to go for.

PabloGee

331 posts

23 months

Thursday 13th June
quotequote all
I just called Dave Mac Propshafts, and they no longer do the CV joints.
Apparently the chap called John who did them has retired, so they only make propshafts now.

So we can all cross that one off the list.

GKN kits can be had for £51.45+VAT at the moment from design911.co.uk, which seems to be a sensible idea.
I'm sure mine are original, and if they are GKN, they've managed 87k miles before really showing wear.
Might get another 29 years out of a new set!


Sardonicus

19,018 posts

224 months

Thursday 13th June
quotequote all
PabloGee said:
I just called Dave Mac Propshafts, and they no longer do the CV joints.
Apparently the chap called John who did them has retired, so they only make propshafts now.

So we can all cross that one off the list.

GKN kits can be had for £51.45+VAT at the moment from design911.co.uk, which seems to be a sensible idea.
I'm sure mine are original, and if they are GKN, they've managed 87k miles before really showing wear.
Might get another 29 years out of a new set!
Thats a bargain price for what they are wink and we use the the larger 108 CV joint which is used by the Porker 930 IIRC

PabloGee

331 posts

23 months

Friday 21st June
quotequote all
I have confirmation from the design911 people that the parts are genuine GKN - they get them directly from GKN.

So I have ordered 4 of them, as a markedly better price than the TVR suppliers.
It's a shame to do that, because we all need our specialist suppliers, but when they are charging around 40% more for a non-branded version of something, I'm afraid that makes the decision for me.

I just need to assess whether the bolts can be re-used, but I'm expecting them to be fine. The play in my car is definitely within the CV joint, you can rotate the drive shaft a little whilst the bolted part of the CV joint remains still on the back of the hub. Interesting that the CV joints on the diff seem to still be tight, but I'm thinking I might as well do all four to save going in twice.

I'll report back on how it all goes

https://www.design911.co.uk/p/cv-joint-kit--consta...

scottliv

149 posts

49 months

Friday 21st June
quotequote all
I reused my bolts then marked them with Torque check. They have been fine. Make sure there is no grease on the mating faces of the CV joint and drive plate from the diff.

PabloGee

331 posts

23 months

Friday 21st June
quotequote all
Good point, I hadn't thought about that.
I suspect I might be cleaning it up a bit, and maybe painting the cover plate and spreader plates between the bolts.

Not expecting the GKN kit to come with instructions, but I would have looked at greasing the CV joint from both sides even as a smear. Obviously the bulk of the grease sits behind the boot.

Steve_D

13,782 posts

261 months

Saturday 22nd June
quotequote all
PabloGee said:
.......Not expecting the GKN kit to come with instructions, but I would have looked at greasing the CV joint from both sides even as a smear. Obviously the bulk of the grease sits behind the boot.
Agree the joints will most likely not come with instructions.
Yes you will need to pack them and I expect the grease will be supplied. Use it all.
When fitting the joint you will find a fine grove machined into the outer body of the joint close to one end. This is the end face that fits to the diff or the stub axle.
You may also find the joint is a very tight fit on the spline. Mechanically this is good as it is one point of free play you don't have to worry about but is can be a pain getting the joint assembled.

Steve

PabloGee

331 posts

23 months

Wednesday 3rd July
quotequote all
I am
Planning to start this job next week, and have just checked over the four boxes I have, and found that in one, the grease pack has split and a very small amount of grease has squeezed out, which has very slightly diminished the sticky adhesive on a cork gasket - but I think it will still fundamentally stick.
First question: do I need to use the gasket (it’s ordered from a Porsche supplier, and it’s listed as a gasket for that car)?
Second question: if I do use it, where does it go?

I was planning to pay close attention to what is present when I take the old ones off, and use that as my reassembly guide. Not having done that yet.

The ultimate question is whether I need to return the item, or just ignore that gasket and carry on?


Steve_D

13,782 posts

261 months

Thursday 4th July
quotequote all
I've never seen or used a gasket on these joints.

Steve

Sardonicus

19,018 posts

224 months

Thursday 4th July
quotequote all
Some brands have a recess to accommodate Steve VAG etc but not seen on TVR 🤔