CV joints - stiff or loose?

[felix_666]

I have recently reco'ed a set of CV's from my project car, they were stiff and difficult to rotate before and after the job, i haven't been able to strap them on to the car and heat the grease up so it can spread around, but still their considerably stiff.

Then pulled the half shafts from the donor car and they are nice and loose and freely swivel/rortate.

Pulled both apart to compare them and they look much the same in terms of wear.

Which should they be, stiff or loose???

thanks.

[c.d.iesel]

....we're alright, your alright, yer axles are alright

new should be tight

used loose - but not too floppy

and look better than this-=>

[TobyB]

CD's right on this one-

what you want to look for, though, is smoothness in the stiff ones,

and no real free play in the loose ones.

Any 'catching' feeling's not a great sign, either.

These suckers are pretty darned stout, and go for almost ever,

if the boots are intact. A welded diff will wear them out, but slowly...

hth,

t

[felix_666]

ok i think i get it, but the stiffer ones are difficult to rotate around, they sort of seem stuck then they snap to the direction your moving them, and your saying this is better than the loose ones.

Neither have any play, just some travel of the cage to slid in the housing of the cv axially, for when the wheel goes up and down.

thanks for the help.

[TobyB]

Hmm, I'm not sure that kind of stiffness is good-

if it's binding and 'clicking' it means something is binding up,

and there are potentially grooves on the races,

or the balls are galled... (I hate that...)

But again, I've never seen a failed joint with good boots, (on a stock- ish car)

so it very well still may be stiff and 'new'.

hmmm...

t

[felix_666]

probably the most frustrating job I've ever done so I'm going to stick with the new feeling and wait till they completely seize up. Replacing the whole shafts isn't too hard.

thanks again.