After sitting at an exit in Las Vegas Waiting for a tow truck
Thinking my Syncro Trans was shot
Only to find that a CV Axle had dropped on one side,
(onto the drive shaft frame where I couldn't see it )
I found that the One thing that is more important than torque is to
Keep the CV Grease Off of the bolt Threads !!!
It's a pain to do, but oh so important!!!
After inserting all of the bolts
And just before I lift the axle into position
I start wiping the grease off.
At the end of this process,
I wipe them with denatured alcohol.
and then I use a releasable lock-tite on them.
Then torque them down.
That grease is just so slippery
I don't care how tight the bolts are
chances are their going to come loose eventually!
Of course, After the job is done and the tools are put away
I treat myself with a little "natured" alcohol !!
But,,, that just seems to make me "more" slippery !!!  heh...  heh...  ;o)
best,
John C...
SLC, UT...

On Fri, Jan 21, 2011 at 6:03 PM, David Clarkson <dvdclarksn@aol.com> wrote:

> I always check the torque on mine when changing oil. I think Bentley calls
> for something like 33 ft./lbs. or torque on them and that just seems a bit
> low to me but what do I know?. I torque them only to what is called for but
> check them frequently since I had some back out once and the axle almost
> dropped. Just seems like a regular inspection item after that episode. I
> keep 6 spares in my onboard tool box now.
> ?
> David Clarkson
> 90 Westy
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: John Bange &lt;jbange@GMAIL.COM <lt%3Bjbange@GMAIL.COM>&gt;
> To: vanagon &lt;vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM <lt%3Bvanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
> &gt;
> Sent: Thu, Jan 20, 2011 5:22 pm
> Subject: CV bolts and DPO mechanics
>
>
>
>
> I found out what's worse than the DPO's mechanic not torquing down the 6
> left side inner CV bolts: him torquing down only ONE of them. If they were
> all loose, surely I would have heard the horrible rattling noise of a loose
> CV joint. Instead, that ONE tight bolt held the CV joint fast against the
> transaxle flange, and so long as ONE of the other five bolts was at least a
> half turn into its hole, all seemed well. As soon as that last bolt fell
> out, THWACK! The CV joint flipped off the flange and snapped off that one
> tight bolt. Fortunately it happened in the parking lot at work, so I was
> able to make a quick and dirty (VERY dirty) jury rig by stealing three
> bolts
> from the right side and drove home without incident with three on each
> side.
>
> I had intended to go over all that stuff with a torque wrench when I bought
> the van, but what with one thing and another, I've ended up driving it
> daily
> for work while dawdling with the Subaru swap on my work van. One more
> stupid
> thing to check on a newly purchased van: if the CV boots look too new to be
> original, CV bolts could be loose!
>
> --
> John Bange
>
>