Hi all, I’m sure this has been covered, but could not find another topic to read through.
My front outer CV on the drivers side is just starting to make a little noise, so am looking to replace them. Seems like another part hard to get!!!
I’ve had a good inspection of the front end of my van, and everything else seems sounds, but wondering if anyone has specific things to check while I have it apart?
My ball joints do not have play, so I think I will leave them for now. I will buy some of the suspension bits to have here just in case anything looks like it should be replaced while it’s apart
(looking to get something like this 4WD Front Suspension Bushing Kit All Rubber Bushings | Van Cafe )
I have ordered a couple of complete front axles (Lobro/GKN). The plan is I can then re-build my old axles at some stage.
The axles do not come with the spacer (at the diff side) or bolts/washers, so I will look to buy these new also.
Any other suggestions while I’m in there?
The job looks fairly straight forward, but any tips/experiences from others would be great.
Hi Richard,
Rudi is no fan of powerflex urethane bushings. Just because they’re easier to fit, doesn’t mean as durable or better performance. Rubber all the way as it was designed.
Hate to raise it, but have you checked extent of corrosion between rubber bushings … forward end of radius rods? Rudi’s son rewelded mine.
A local T3s corrosion was so bad … needed to cut out all corrosion and weld in steel plates. Expect this is happening to all 30+ year old T3s. Apparently leaving this problem unrectified, makes retaining accurate wheel alignment problematic.
Thanks Ken, I have not been in a van with powerflex, but am happy with the performance of the originals, so no plans to go away from standard.
I have had most bits apart in the front end, and always clean/paint/grease as needed, so not real corrosion in mine so far!!
New axles have arrived, they are as advertised, GKN/Lobro complete assemblies which is great. Made in Spain however!!
On a quick inspection, they look nice, even pre-greased. That said they look a bit light on with grease, so I might pull the boots back and re-pack the grease before using them. Plus I can check they are assembled correct before installing.
Richard,
Just to be clear with what Rudi found with mine, the full extent of corrosion cannot be seen until both front end radius rod rubber bushes and their metal “washers” are removed. Then and only then, can it get fully ugly.
Video shows not all corrosion is removed nor adequately dealt with, so rebuild is compromised.
Same Gerald, Bus Depot. It’s scary when you look at various sites how much is out of stock! I hope it does not mean the market will be cheap rubbish to satisfy demand
Thank you for the video Ken, I have had mine out once just to have a look, but will be sure to look at it again. I’ll have a look over the week end what else may need doing. I see one of my ball joint boots is aging, if I can source the boots I might replace them also.
I could not find a video on the front wheel bearing replacement. How involved is that job? I do not want to replace mine, but would be nice to at least get some fresh grease in there!
Front wheel bearing replacement is not hard but requires having a press and the right jigs to do it right without damage to the bearings. They are a sealed unit and it is possible to remove the bearing seal but the risk of damaging the seal is very high. The bearing is used in BMW, Porsche 911 and is a common trailer bearing in Europe. Warning on the inner cv bolts they are longer because of the spacer, VanCafe were selling bolts 3mm longer for them but that is wrong. Nearly damaged one of my flanges because of that, ended up throwing them out and getting longer one for the local bolt store.
Thanks Brent, much appreciated. Yes looking at the bearing, probably best to leave them as is and not re-grease them. I was wondering if they could be removed without a press, so might be I put off until the ball joints need replacing and do it all at the same time.
Thanks also for the tip on the bolts, I did see the bolts were only a couple of mm longer, but the spacer is much thicker than that!
I think I have a bolt kit from Van cafe, so will double check before using them.
Good the hear from you also Brent, hope you have been well.
