After installing brand-new CV joints I happened to notice that they looked like this after about a week of driving.

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They're rusty (the original 40-year-old CVs never rusted) but more importantly is the gasket is broken and coming out. New gaskets, torqued to specs. I've had the trans out of this car on about 3-4 different occasions, so I've removed/installed CVs at least that many times on this car without ever seeing this.

Any idea what is happening and how I might fix and prevent it from happening again?

Thanks,

Some guys don't use gaskets, just clean and silicon. I have had one do that, but it ended up getting torn on one side during assembly. Just my .02

That gasket does not look right ...

Do you have pics of the gaskets before you installed them?

Is that a stock CV? There should be a recess where the gasket goes. If the back side is flat without the recess, I would not use the gasket. Your condition may also lead to the bolts working loose.

Some CV joints don't have the recess for the gasket to sit in. Those CVs are usually modified T1 replacements. Clean off both surfaces, and use some sealant.

-Robert

I use sealant now. The groove in many CVs are not deep enough for the gaskets so this is common. Also, this leads to loosening bolts and if left alone can lead to axle disengagement and chaos.

Chaos

I don't use gaskets.

It may have been mal-allighned without noticing it right away, its a greasy dirty pain in the ass procedure, then with torques and spinning, then you got that, I use gaskets more than once and never had problems, but the previous owner or his mechanic choose to use them randomly.. eerrf!, I agree that you need to attend to that as the gasket if failing the bolts are not torqued against them as intended and may need attention before they may loosen.. In additon if the gasket comes out so may the grease.. then uh oh!

Keeps the undertrunk metal from rusting.

Drill some holes in those cv bolts and safety wire them.

I'll add info to this:

1) Those are GNK/Loebro CV's Same that MFG that came with the car originally. Original housing seem to be oxide treated.

2) They are Type1 CV's "and"... they have the gasket groove machined into them.

I had a similar problem, and it caused the bolts to get loose as well. I removed the gaskets and wrapped duct tape around the junction. Three thousand miles later, no issues.

Thanks for the replies. Here are responses to the questions posed:

@SirAndy: No, I don't have pictures of the gaskets before installation, but they looked right. The four gaskets used (I did all 4 CVs) came with the joints. I had one gasket left over from a batch that I purchased from AA. I held up the 4 new gaskets supplied with the CVs against the one from AA and it seemed identical. So I think it's safe to say they are stock, but see note below -- gaskets were modified.

I should add that the reason why I had this left-over gasket from AA is because usually when I reinstalled a CV joint the gasket came off looking like new and I always reused them. Never had this problem before.

@Bartlett: Not stock CVs. They're modified Type I.

@Rotary: There is a grove (I'm pretty sure there was, at least -- I will photograph this after I get them off).

NOTE: Now, the gaskets didn't quite fit in the grove. The place I bought them said I had to trim the gaskets. I trimmed a bit from the I.D. with an x-acto knife to make them fit, but maybe I didn't trim enough.

Has anyone used these modified Type I CVs with a gasket?

Thanks,

I no longer use gaskets on any Porsche axles. The bolts come loose. I used a thin film of RTV on the CLEAN drive flange and a little bit of blue loctite on the CLEAN threads and no issues any longer. I've had quite a few cars come back with loose bolts over the years with gaskets and none in the years since I quit using them.

Is it just me or do those gaskets look hugely thick? I get mine from Pelican appear thinner than those.. and when I am done the little humps on the O.D. are miniumally visible, no trimming, first I ever heard of that especially on the inner diameter? ( what is to trim? ) I guess if they are trouble like that, don't bother.. Hand triming may be the cause?

Ummm... I don't recall ever saying to trim the gaskets.

Hrm, that could be (the thickness) as I can't honestly recall the thickness comparison between the gaskets supplied with the CVs and the one new spare I had on hand from AA. I would like to think that it probably couldn't have been TOO terribly different or else I hope I would have remembered.

I had to trim the I.D. because they didn't fit onto the CV joint -- not in the grove and not around the roll pins. I agree, the hand-trimming is suspect. I'm being sent new gaskets (with the advice of not trimming them this time) but I don't know what I'm going to do with them now that I think about it -- if they are the same as before then they won't fit w/o trimming.

I would use a gasket compound at this point.

VW type CV's (even the new stock Lobro brand with the larger 914 size balls sold for VW bug applications from Scat) dont have the groove for the gasket. use of gasket in this type of cv will cause the gasket to squeeze out and lead to false torque down of the critical bolts.

for these, use a gsasket sealer material, RTV or formagasket. if you have the groove and wish to use the gasket, apply formagasket sealer to one side (CV side) to help hold it in place during install

Note some cheapo red chinese cvs are made that come with the gasket, BUT they have no CV groove, these CV's are junk (term chinese junk comes to mind), edges not deburred, and very rough race ways surfaces, very loose assembly too, kind of like a red chinese whore.

also be sure to NOT reuse the lock wahsers, they are for one use only!!!!

Not having had any experience with "a red chinese whore" (sic), I'll reserve judgement on that, but I usually use RTV on the perimeter of the CV joints. Only place on the car where I'll even think about using that nasty stuff.

The Cap'n

"for these, use a gsasket sealer material, RTV or formagasket. if you have the groove and wish to use the gasket, apply formagasket sealer to one side (CV side) to help hold it in place during install"

The gasket will stick postion a bit due to the film of cv grease, just ensure it stays there til your done, do not go straight to full torque specs, creeping up on it will assist in ensuring the gaskets are in postion and assist in an even torque down.. seems to me as RTV and CV grease don't work well together, it is a filthy job to ensure the grease is cleaned off for the RTV gasket, ... but then again I am just a perma grease back face down in the driveway..

you have all the fun!

Pussy.....you always said Chaos was your friend......

glue the gasket tot eh joint before packign with grease. i prefer form a gasket, but mentioned rtv cuase some folks prefer it. I donlt liek the way it holds up either, forma agasket is much better hear on the cvs cause of grease. rtv is really baad near gasoline

You don't know of what you speak. The CV balls are the same. All it would take is reading to understand that a gasket groove was machined into the CV.

I agree though... Standard Type1 CV's (which have the same size balls) do not have the groove. Use RTV or gasket compound for those.

I'd like to revive this old post to see if there is new advice on how to handle the CV gasket. I just did this job on my car. I was a bit pressed for time since my garage is up a slope and couldn't figure out to tow it inside, so did this in the street over the weekend and didn't quite think through the result. I couldn't get the gasket to stay in the grove since they were too tight for the machined grove (set from PMB). So all four joints are now pinching their paper gasket. I maybe could have done a better job where the shaft stubs are, but moving the joints around the trans and suspension, it's impossible not to knock the gasket out of place. As it was one side lost a ball which I had to refit while greased up under the car. That probably shouldn't be possible in new quality joints but...
Now that the car is in the garage I can try to mediate this. Duct tape sounds good. Or pull the joints apart? Then what? I don't see how I'd get them clean enough for a sealer to grab. How much does the gasket actually do? I wonder why the boot side get's away without one.
Maybe just figure on checking the bolts every year. But then I wonder if a lot of grease will get by the bolt spaces since it doesn't pinch there.
Original ones in the picture
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If you don't want to remove them (and you probably no need to), get some bolts drilled for safety wire, replace the existing bolts one at a time. Leave them loose enough where you can clean the gunk out. Tighten them to spec and safety wire them correctly. Then use RTV around the perimeter in the groove. Wrap with high-temp aluminum foil duct tape to ensure a seal. You could use regular duct tape, but the aluminum foil stuff will look a lot better since it is close to the same 'color' as the cv joint and will blend in looks-wise. The aluminum foil tape doesn't get all gooey either like regular duct tape does.