CV Joints

[juan benae]

how do we feel about mixing & matching CV parts? ive always assumed that all the parts should stay as a unit. ive got 6 complete joints that i can make four good ones out of by mixing, then put all the bad parts together for an emergency spare in the trailer unit with an axle. some wear and pitting on the fouled parts, cages and housings.

thanks in advance

[Steve]

Hi Juan,

I don't have any issues about mixing & matching CV joint races, cages & balls, IF,.... IF they are in serviceable condition. This means that any races or balls that have brinnelled (pitted) should be discarded, even for emergencies since those are failure-prone and will not gave any warning. Heavily pitted races prevent the balls from moving smoothly which places much bigger stresses on the cages. Cage failure leads to CV coming apart and thats not pretty when one end of the axle behaves like a flail.

In short, if its worn, buy a new CV joint or two to have a good, reliable spare axle on hand.