E53 CV Axle DIY

[RFaber]

I found that the new CV axles needed to be pulled into the hub. i was lucky to have a 60+ year experienced tech help me (father in law!!) he showed me a trick for pulling the axle in, (after ensuring the splines were all deburred and coated with a thin coat of antisieze. I made the puller from the old axle nut. but in future i may fab up some other longer puller.
good luck. and whatever you do, DONT POUND ON THE RUBBER BOOT TO DRIVE IN THE AXLE!!!!!!!

[squidzilla]

Here is the link for CVJ in Denver: cvjaxles.com in case anyone can not find it on the web.

[cn90]

Originally Posted by trader4

If your CV joint is kaput because the boot has been torn for a long time or it's otherwise failed, making noise, etc then replacing it is in order...

1+,

CV Joint in any car will easily last some 400K if the CV Boot is not cracked, allowing dirt to get in!

I know a VW Passat owner with 400K on stock GKN CV Joint. This happens b/c he routinely replaces the boot every 60K-80K, at the first sign of minor cracks.

Most people don't bother looking at the wheel well once a week. If you do, you will spot the grease from a broken CV boot in a second. By the time noise is there, the CV Joint is damaged, a new axle is needed.

And yes, stick to GKN or used BMW axle (junk yard or ebay). The stuff you get from local auto parts store is another story. If you get the ebay or junak yard axles, inspect the boots and replace with GKN boot (don't use EMPI or Rein boots!).

In many cases, if you disconnect the INNER CV Joint, it is a much easier process than d/c the OUTER CV Joint.

[cn90]

Re different grease on INNER vs OUTER CV Joint. Personally I don't worry about tghis issue because millions of vehicles out there use GKN axles and grease is the same for both inner and outer. Maybe the X5 is "unique" lol...

[admranger]

Originally Posted by cn90

Re different grease on INNER vs OUTER CV Joint. Personally I don't worry about tghis issue because millions of vehicles out there use GKN axles and grease is the same for both inner and outer. Maybe the X5 is "unique" lol...

Having done both the inner and outer boots on my 2005 X5 4.4i with factory boot kits bought at the dealer, I can guarantee the grease is different inner to outer.

Outer joint has a moly grease and is a standard CV joint. Inner is a tripod joint and the moly particles will clog the needle bearing parts of the tripod joint. The inner grease is a nasty yellowish stuff. Pegasus racing sells it separately, Tripod Joint Grease but I found the boot kit to be cheaper than just ordering a tube of grease and reusing the old boot.

[jdstrickland]

I once completely disassembled the CV joints in a Honda Accord. I washed all of the needle bearings in solvent and put the whole mess back together with wheel bearing grease. The clicking went away and I got several tens of thousands of miles of continued use, commuting about 130 miles round trip per day.

I was not aware of any special qualities for the grease.

I had torn boots on the outer joints. My goal was to reverse/mitigate the damage done by the tears in the boots,it worked. The outer joint sees far more travel than the inner ones.

[David.X5]

Once I discovered that Redline makes high-performance CV grease, I had to use that for all the CV joints I rebuild (4 since).

Redline is the shiznit!!!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0053O9FQS/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&cre ativeASIN=B0053O9FQS&linkCode=as2&tag=lavengcon-20&linkId=CM4WP7N2HDQLCDNZ

[cn90]

Re grease...

I have done tons of vehicles (Honda Odyssey van, Volvo S70, XC90 etc. etc.), the grease is the same for outer and inner.

The Volvo uses the same supplier GKN-Lobro as BMW X5. The Volvo tripod design is similar to BMW X5 with needle bearings etc. Anyway, the X5 is unique lol...probably overkilled engineering...

[RFaber]

Ive changed a few CV axles, and i always seem to have to pull the axle in snug, ive used OEM ones, cheap chinese ones, and mid grade ones. they all seem to need some sort of assistance to fit! (the only one that didnt was the original one, with the boots (and grease) changed!! even it needed to be snugged in the last 1/4 inch with an axle nut, Ive only ever experienced this with BMW!! ive checked the back of the hub and the new axles, and they all seem fine, just snug! so i made up some tools and not had any problems since!!

[cn90]

trader4,

I think RFaber refers to a tool he made.

I did the REAR bearing on my 1998 528i (E39), same idea as X5 Front and Rear bearings. The tool I made (to pull the axle outward during install) is mentioned in post #42 in the DIY that I wrote a while back on bimmerfest...

DIY: 1998 528i REAR Bearing the Easy Way! - Bimmerfest - BMW Forums



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