Hi all,

Where's the best place to buy the decent quality CV Joints at the best price?

My pass. side started popping about a week ago and knew I probably needed replacements but on a short cruise this morning that all got reinforced as the pass side (tire side) broke. After jacking up the teener and starting to take out the half shaft the transmission side balls and cage just feel to the concrete. So it appears I need both ends and guess I just as well replace the drivers side while I'm going through the process.

A VW friend told me he got an entire replacement 1/2 shaft for only about $30 more than him ordering just the CV's when his went out in his VW truck. I know mines type IV but there's not a whole lotta places locally that stock this stuff so any parts houses that you can recommend are appreciated and will any VW 1/2's work?

Zim's is probably as close as you're going to get to 'local' outside your dealer.
914 CV's are NLA and this is going to be a worse problem before it gets better ... ask around...

there are no (other) VW CV's that work ...

One 914 I bought had I believe to be VW Bug, or Bus or something CV joints on it. The shafts where 914, but the CV where VW, the mounting was the same, same diameter, four bolts, two pins. The only visiable difference was the balls and race were smaller, so presumably they are not rated as strong??? However they were on my car with no problem, until ignored torn boots got the best of them.

Can anyone pipe in on this, or other replacements that fit the stock hubs? How about aftermarket sandrail and dune buggy CV's, they got to make some strong ones, do any fit????


dave

Dave

We could do the 914/bus axle upgrade found here, (look for the "High Performance 914 Axle Upgrade Kit"). http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/shopca..._pg8.htm#item47

The price for the whole set up is $729.25 <_< Couldn't Mueller of some one make these flange adaptors for us?

I too found a set of cv with the small balls. Don't know what they were originally intended for.

Try Performance Parts. Complete rebuilt axles for $164.00 (when I bought mine)

Replace the whole axle rather than just the CV joint.
It seemed alot easier and cheeper at the time.

john

As I understand it, Lobro is no longer making CV joints for the 914. If you find some old stock they are running about $170 - do a WEB search. Reconditioned axles are about $100 - again you will have to do a WEB search to find them.

Ken

I happen to be privy to the fact that Eric (Partsman on this forum)(a Porsche parts dept. guy) bought the last 14 914 axle sets out of Germany last month. He supplied 10 complete sets to Brad at High Performance House and that is all she wrote. It is cheaper to buy the whole axle set that to attempt the CV joint replacement but when they are gone they are gone.

Well I spent a lot of time yesterday trying to find replacement halfshafts and you can pretty much kiss that idea goodbye. I called every major flaps along with most every online or speciality parts place I could find or think of. Short story is if you're willing to pay $400+ you can get shafts that still will take a few days to get to you or the other option was to send your shafts out to have them refurb'd and average price is around $150 not including all the shipping charge. My teener is my daily driver right now as the suburban needs a new tranny and so I don't really have the option on waiting for them to be R&R'd.

736conver (Brian) here on the bbs contacted me as he refurbs and sells these on evilbay. The price was reasonable and he could ship right away so now I've placed an order with him. Overall I think it's a pretty sad state of affairs for replacement halfshafts out in the marketplace.

One interesting place I stumbled up was these folks:

http://www.cvcoupling.com/index.html

I've contacted them to see if they've a manufacture working on this product as it seems like a pretty interesting development in replacement for lobro cv joints...but I digress.

jPs

I actually dont refurbish these myself. ARI does them. But I keep the cost really low. $125 for a pair of refurbished axles is dirt cheap.

Transform used to sell CV's that would fit 914. I have them on my car with a 2.0L six and Khumo 205-50 R compound tires with no problems. You might want to give them a call.

Kelly

now for the big question - can you do 914.6 halfshafts ...

(can i tell you i think that is an excellent price without you wanting to hike it too much ?)

ArtechnikA,

I sent you a PM.

Brian

Me too please. Or post it here.

Are we talking shafts only, or complete with both CV's?

sure - here's the essence after the chit-chat is edited out...



well - i thought i could, but i can't...

ETKA says the halfshafts are the same; i'd thought the inner splines were different, but it looks as if the only difference between /4 and /6 - nowadays anyway - is the stub axle.

for sure i have one shattered CV, donno if the axle shaft is bent or not (and no real immediate plans to pull them to see...)

if we had a plug & play solution to use the bigger 911 or 930 CV's - even if it meant new axle shafts - even if it meant new drive flanges - i bet they would sell. (actually, i wonder how hard it would be to mod the flanges for the 911 10mm bolts; the 8mm stuff has always scared me a little ...)

so - it looks as if there is -no- difference at the halfshaft component level ...

If I recall correctly the original 914-6 axle/cv have fewer splines than the 914-4 axle/cv. The good news is that the four cylinder axles/cv’s are a bolt in replacement for six owners, most sixes have probably already had this done. There isn’t any substantial strength difference, and I think the balls are actually smaller in the six cv.

Note: Blatant AD! I have 20 new 914/4 CV joints available. $85 and freight, each. There MAY be a couple more back in the monster stash I bought, but I wouldn't count on it. Nice plug n' play deal with no fooling around with drills, adapters, different axles, what have you. The Cap'n

unless, of course, you have only a pair of 914.6 axle shafts ...

Sorry Rich. If I find a set of /6 shafts, they'll be stashed for my upgrade on Dad's Car. But that's only if I find them first. If the Cap'n gets to 'em before me, you might talk him outta them.

i already have a set of /6 axle shafts - onto which /4 CV's won't go ...

.........................and 914/6 CV joints have been NLA forever ............... The Cap'n

I just contacted this guy to see if he can manufacture adaptors for us. If he can for $140 that would be pretty great IMHO.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...item=7924947847

What VW type is the bus? I am looking into prices for the whole axle to generate a price idea for conversion.

II

Thanks dude!

The guy has already emailed me back and believes that he can do it. I think so too, and it may even be less because there will be no cost for studs

Dr Evil,

you can buy those adapters from Scott @ Renengade Hybrids.....they don't look all that difficult to make, I just have not had a reason to make 'em since I was told he has them available

The parameters that I am using for my search of a axle are: '76 VW type II 2.0

Auto parts giant has the whole axle with cv and everything for $56.60 each so for a whole set up it looks like it may be around (140+56.6(2)=) about $260 There is a $35 core charge each, but you can get used ones form the junk yard for like $10 a set. That sounds good to me. If anyone is interested let me know so I can give this guy an estimate on how many might be needed. He may be able to lower the price for a larger order. I wont be ordering these, you all will have to make your own orders. I am just trying to see if this is a good idea.

Mike,
Are they less than $140? I'm gonna go check it out.
THX

Nine gone...................... These are in genuine Porsche boxes, NOS, and are not gonna be there forever, guys. 3 pounds of good German steel! New, not put together out of old worn out pieces and new boot kits .............. The Cap'n

Looking for data! I emailed Scott at Renegade, no answer yet and the adaptors are not listed in the catalog. Pelican has the set for $730

I need the bolt pattern for the bus CV, and the bolt pattern for the 901 flange. I have the latter that I could measure, but not accurately enough.
I also need the difference in length between the bus and 914 axle so that I can figure out how thick the adaptors can be. Any measurements would be greatly accepted.

More info: The type 2 bus joint has approx 12-17 degrees of bend radius and cost less than the type 4 bus axle which has a bend radius of 21 degrees.
Which would be better for our purposes?
There are parts compadability between the type four bus CV and the 924, 944, 951, and type 411.
What years are the TIV busses? What else are they called? Campervan?
THX

you'd need to work out the angularity of the suspension travel.

as long as you're getting data, make sure you get the number for total allowed axial travel. exceeding that number will kill a CV in a flash...

What is that? The in and out dimention?

ALL the busses are called Type 2. Even the Vanagons have a coding beginning with 2. IRS Busses and Vanagons ALL take the SAME CV joint. I dunno where you got the difference, unless you are speaking of the Type 4 , which is a bloated type 3 and the original home of the Type 4 engine we all know and love. Type 4s were available in the USA from my 1970 through my 1974. Most were automatics. The Type 4 uses Type 1 (Bug) CV joints. Type 1 CVs fit 914s, but don't have the roll pins and were made to take about 60-70HP. Bus joints don't have pins either.
You need to think about the angular loading, the minimum and maximum axle lengths, the suspension travel, and the torque in making your choices. Even having the pins doesn't seem to help the 914 CVs. A well known 914 driver had a bunch of CV failures in showroom stock back in 74-75, but ONLY after changing to Koni shocks. Leads me to think there are a lot of factors we haven't even considered. The Cap'n
BTW, I looked briefly at the listings for some of the other cars you mentioned, and all are different.

Hey Krust,
Here is one of my sources for my cross data.
http://www.stacken.kth.se/~levitte/rescue-...porsche924.html
Scroll down to the CV part. Lemme know what you think.
THX

Have you guys considered contacting Jim Smolka? He makes adapters for early 911 axles to 914 tranny flange. With a '69 to '72 911 hub and stub axle, you'd be set. I'm also looking into the sportomatic tranny flange option that Karl mentioned earlier.

Gary,
The 911 axles cost more, and handle the same amount of tourque that the bus ones do. They are also roughly the same size thus, it makes more phiscal sense to convert to less expensive, redily available VW bus axles, than the more expensive 911 ones, IMHO. I am not 100% and am great at being wrong though. How much are the ones from Jim?
Mike

Well the fedex dude delivered the ones I ordered from Brian today and I sure can't complain as they looked GREAT especially considering the price...a mere $125 + shipping.

Haven't hooked them up yet but sizing them up to the originals and they look like a match. Same size balls, cage, cups and shaft....the wife even concured

Can't wait to have my teener back

The adaptors from Renegade are $280, FYI. Just found out.

He's wrong on the cross apps. There's NO such thing as a Type 4 Bus, he's wrong on the 924/944/951 stuff, and he's wrong on the oil filters. Other than that, I can't comment. When cheap is your driving force, you are apt to make some BIG mistakes. And, of course, just because you read it on the internet doesn't make it true! The Cap'n

I have a set bus axles with 911 CVs (which I'm told are exactly like bus CVs and may even be the same thing) with renegade adapters. I could bring them to the D&G swap for measuring to answer some of these questions.

BTW, this stuff is 115% NOT for sale

How much?

Hey, what you said was posted on the internet, does that mean it might not be true?

Just pulling your peg leg Ahab

smart ass

As I recall, they were about a C note for the pair, delivered. Again, I'd check with Jim to make sure they're still available. Nothing wrong with pursuing the VW sol'n. My daily ride right now is a '68 beetle convertible. There's value to me in keeping the drivetrain components porsche.

Gary

what do you make of this kit?

its made for a VW but I wonder if it could be modified or custom made to work with a 901?

http://thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail....l.php?id=106550

Maybe it's just the picture but those shafts look short.

BTW: I installed the ones I got from Brian and they bolted up fine with no issues. Again, just a mere $125 is tough to beat.

JPs,
I think the deal that you got was great and I have been watching those shafts sell for a while. My intention is not to necesserily take away businees from that person, nor is it to cast doubt on their product quality, mine is only to find alternatives for the NLA CV joins. My contribution here is mainly data gathering, kind of what if stuff. If I were to buy a set right now, I would deffinetly go with what you got. Its dirt cheap and works great. your thread just interested me because I was goofing around with my CVs for a while (since abandoned effort) and they seemed to be out of spec. Rebuildeing CVs is not fun IMHO. Its messy, and them damn balls never do what you want them to. I'll be PMing the guy who did your set up for some info soon (I hope) as to weather I am goofing up my CVs or if they are in fact out of spec. Congradulations of your CV install. Make sure you check your bolts as ther has been a rash of them coming out <_<
Regards,
Mike

synth,
thats a neat kit. It comes with the out put flanges for a VW tranny, and the shafts are very short. But, I bet they could make something that would work for our cars. I wander how much $$$?
-Mike

Mike, not a problem I'm just trying to followup so people know they worked. The real test will be in a few thousand miles to see if they hold up. I really wish the guys that offer the Thompson couplings would email me back as reading the specs and the thought of no moly lube or boots seems really appealing.

I think your going the right route as the more products available for the 914 the better!