Hi guys: Concerning the axle driveshafts on the 246GT, are the inner and outer CV joints the same part number? Or are they different?
Inner and outer are the same, make sure you use the correct size rubber boot clips eg Oetiker clamps, the original ones dont work that well when reused.
CV joints are the same outer and inner. A common trick is to flip the shafts so that the CV's are loaded on the opposite side therefore doubling their life.
Just out of curiosity, at what mileage interval would one do the "flip" and what would their life span be, with or without the "flip" ?
Difficult to answer. If the rubber belly's are well maintained incl. correct type and amount if grease they will live very long and potentially life long (Your life) with the mileage put on these cars now a days. What kills these bearings are broken rubber seals, lost grease and ingress of dirt. FYI Dino's and (older) Porsche 911 share the same bearing. Best, Peter
Thanks but I'm aware of all this ^. I was just curious and wanted further clarification from someone apparently having enough experience with this "common" practice (or "trick" ?).
I doubt many have enough experience in their life time, working on dino's to answer that question imho I very much doubt the trick would work as swapping the driveshafts around wouldnt make the slightest difference as the wear rate across the joint is uniform and would be same for both sides, thats the whole idea and beauty of the design. Most are changed through bad maintenance ie split boots but...... As Peter quite rightly points out, they (the actual CV joint) would outlast the car, 150k miles. The CV boots are more prone to failure as you are probably aware.
The trick is common in the VW and Porsche world where these CV joints often are used almost to the point of failure. I suppose it is more theoretical in the Dino world where even a regularly used car could take decades to wear a CV joint that is well maintained.
As I alluded in my reply to Peter, I’m quite aware of all this, but was more curious about Nuvolari’s comment suggesting he has experience with or knowledge of this “flip” practice being common in Dinos. Turns out he apparently doesn’t (see his post above this).
No one suggested otherwise, you asked a question and some politely tried to answer it. The design is such that wear rate is equal everywhere.
Not aware of VW or Porsche CV joint failures Rob, the design is a brilliant piece of engineering and caters for even wear throughout its movement, thats the beauty of it. CV joints installed on driveshafts with a high angular movement from base line often fail quicker. The Dino driveshafts are more aligned so last longer.
I have replaced CV joints out of sheer thoroughness, never had one go bad on me, except for the boots. Washed them, regreased and off we went. Not on a Dino though Regards, Alberto
German car guys do it as a practice. And yes the German car guys do replace them for being worn out. A guy I knew who was a VW lifer told me they drove them to point of failure. I recently put an entire set in a Dino that probably had 30 degrees of backlash.
The design is yes but acceleration load is much higher than deceleration. My F355 showed wear on the acceleration/drive side of the CV components so I swapped sides.
Again, I thought this thread was started in reference to Dinos, not German cars and since Nuvolari’s initial comment didn’t specify latter, I became under the impression he was referring to Dinos. Silly me.
How bad did I say they were? Drive side was highly polished and decel side was not. I thought it best to swap sides and re-grease but I'll consult you next time for approval.
