Issues with Beetle CV joint failure? |
|
Porsche, and the Porsche crest are registered trademarks of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG.
This site is not affiliated with Porsche in any way. Its only purpose is to provide an online forum for car enthusiasts. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. |
|
Issues with Beetle CV joint failure? |
stownsen914 |
Apr 22 2015, 09:10 AM
Post
#1
|
Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 913 Joined: 3-October 06 From: Ossining, NY Member No.: 6,985 Region Association: None |
Hi all,
With 914 CV joints being NLA now, I recently tried out Beetle CV joints when my old ones wore out on my 914/6 race car. I understand they are made by EMPI. I am using the same 914 axles I've used for years. After about 30 minutes of track time, one of the Beetle joints failed (the inner one on the right side of the car). Basically the joint seems to have been plunging too far inward and the lateral force seems to have just forced the joint apart. No broken parts are immediately apparent. The joint seems to have just fallen apart! I also noted that the inner races of the joints seem to be gouging the output flanges on the trans. This occurred on both sides fo the car. I had noticed some of this wear previously, but it seems to have accelerated significantly with the Beetle joints (especially considering only 30 minutes of use). See the pics below. It's hard to tell from the pics, but the wear spots are basically gouged into the flanges about a millimeter or so deep. I never had any failures or unusual wear with the 914 joints I used for years, so I am at a loss what happened here. Anyone have a similar issue with Beetle joints? I'm wondering if I should be trying Lobro or other joints, or a different setup entirely ... Attached image(s) |
McMark |
Apr 25 2015, 10:51 PM
Post
#2
|
914 Freak! Group: Retired Admin Posts: 20,179 Joined: 13-March 03 From: Grand Rapids, MI Member No.: 419 Region Association: None |
I'm convinced that my failure and apparently this one are just low quality control or poor manufacturing. I approach these bug CVs as just having a higher failure rate, sort of like the IMS bearing issues that trouble early boxsters. Not every one has an issue, plenty of people have run them without problem, but every once in awhile you get the one that kills itself prematurely.
What Andy has brought up does seem to pertinent as well. Some brands of replacement CVs are 'looser' out of the box. There are some that almost feel like they're going to fall apart new out of the box, some are tighter. I would say the test is that you open the box, and turn the cv vertical and if the center portion drops/extends on its own, its too loose. |
Lo-Fi Version | Time is now: 3rd June 2024 - 01:08 AM |
All rights reserved 914World.com © since 2002 |
914World.com is the fastest growing online 914 community! We have it all, classifieds, events, forums, vendors, parts, autocross, racing, technical articles, events calendar, newsletter, restoration, gallery, archives, history and more for your Porsche 914 ... |