How difficult is it to replace Front CV joints?

cdbob

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I have a 2004 Jetta that has worn CV joints and depending on the cost to get them fixed I may just try to do them myself. A mechanic at work figured it would probably take about a day and half. What do you guys reckon?
 
Sometimes the spline can get stuck and that may give you a lot of headaches. Sometimes it won't go in easily, but it's a fairly straightforward job. A shop would probably charge you 1.5hours of labor for each side.
 
replacing both sides shouldn't take any more than 4 hours.

have your manual with you, you'd probably need to undo the cv lock nut, separate complete hub assembly from the strut, pull the cv out.

you intend to replace the cv joints only or getting a complete cv joint + shaft set?
 
Just the CV joint? Normally the kit is the whole transmission arm (or however you call it in english, the thing which goes all the way from the gearbox to the wheel hub). The reason is they're protected by the rubber sleeves and grease, and that can be a bitch to replace all by yourself.

I can't fix many things in my car but this I can do, it's not impossible for a beginner, but it takes a while and a bit of strength, at least in my car.
 
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Like everyone has said if you're going to do it yourself then I'd replace the whole assembly especially if you're keen on doing it yourself.
 
I'm not familiar with the Jetta, but on my Cougar, the front axles/half shafts can be replaced in a home garage in 4-6 hours.
 
Just repacked and put the CV cup back on my MR2 (so, relevelant in that it's a transverse setup, even if it's shifted back a bit, shouldn't be too different with a vw, right? maybe?):

Depends on how far you want to go, replacing the half shaft with cv assemblies would be easiest, as long as you can undo the hub side with an impact to something. if you do want to just do the cup/bearing, that's still doable, you should be able to disconnect the inner joint from the differential with a hefty hand full of torque to the retaining bolts, then pull off the boot and slide off the cup. clean out the liquefied grease, and undoing a circlip should let you pull off the bearings (a hammer will be necessary). clean/replace as necessary and pack in plenty of CV specific grease.

Assembly is the reverse of disassembly :p

(I would recommend cleaning the splines well to aid with shoving the bearings back on the shaft likely to require the aid of a large socket to avoid hammering the bearings, and another hammer.)

all said and done, it would be easier to do the half shaft, but if you're working on the cheap, it's not too bad.

Day and a half sounds excessive. I got one cv bearing removed, cleaned, reinstalled, and reassembled in the halfshaft in, I would estimate to be, less than 90 min sitting under a 4post lift. I bodged around a bit and the most difficult part was getting to the bolts behind the heatshield ...which would have been unnecessary if I had just rotated the wheel. Whoops.
 
Well the dealer quoted $2000 to get them replaced, $1400 of that for labour (are there a few free blowjobs in there? :?) so there's no question I'm doing them myself. It also appears I need to do my ball joints and my brake pads.

For a complete axle/ cv joint kit. Are there any ones you guys would recommend?
 
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Well, new Cardone Select halfshafts (the whole CV axle, per side) are about $50 each for those things on RockAuto, so I'm wondering how much of a PITA they are to change for the labor rate to be that high.
 
It's an easy job, but you should have good tools. And maybe one or two "special" tools.
 
Well the dealer quoted $2000 to get them replaced, $1400 of that for labour (are there a few free blowjobs in there? :?) so there's no question I'm doing them myself. It also appears I need to do my ball joints and my brake pads.

For a complete axle/ cv joint kit. Are there any ones you guys would recommend?

Raxles.com

They are rebuilt but they are top quality - they only use OEM axles (afaik). The ones at rockauto, autozone, etc...are also remanufactured most of the time, but just are not the same quality.

Ball joints - do you have to change the whole control arms on your car?
 
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