CV joint siezed?

[steve.thomas]

Hi,
I have Sue Miller CV joints on my Plus2, and currently have the rear suspension apart to replace Lotocones and dampers. The passenger side is back together, and i was about to start to replace the strut on the drivers side, but i've just noticed that the CV joint is stuck at an angle and won't move. It is the inner CV joint that is the problem. I had disconnected the CV joint at the outer end and removed the complete strut assembly, and just left the CV drive shaft / joint resting on the wishbone. I have read there are issues with these joints at full droop, but didn't think it would be a problem in this situation. Has anyone experienced anything similar? I'm guessing it is necessary to undo the hex bolts and open up the joint - I can't believe anything has actaully broken as there has been no force involved, but something is wrong in there. I really don't want to have to remove the inner CV from the diff output shaft if i can avoid it, as it seems impossible without damaging the studs. There was previously no problem with the CV driveshafts, and no issue with turning the shaft after the strut was removed - it just seems to have happened by itself!!!

Anyone any ideas?
Thanks
Steve

[AHM]

Most likely the ball and cage have locked - Try persuading it a bit more!

[types26/36]

The CV joint can lock up if it is angled to a steep angle, the balls partially come out of the cage. Sometimes they can be coaxed back in without stripping the joint but if forced you can break a cage.
It has happened to me a couple of times and I have had to strip and reassembly on occasion, it is not that difficult but is a messy job, rather then me try to describe the procedure here is a video of how it is done, there is a part one and a part 2.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsytyVzokBg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOma2BMhrzc

[steve.thomas]

Thanks for the link Brian. On closer inspection the Sue Miller CV's don't appear to be serviceable - there are no heads to the bolts so no way to open them up. I'll have to talk to Kelvedon as they have taken over the supply of these now. I assume you were talking about CV joints on another car when you said you had done this a couple of times?

[types26/36]

Thanks for the link Brian. On closer inspection the Sue Miller CV's don't appear to be serviceable - there are no heads to the bolts so no way to open them up. I'll have to talk to Kelvedon as they have taken over the supply of these now. I assume you were talking about CV joints on another car when you said you had done this a couple of times?

Steve,
Are you sure they cannot be dismantled? all the Miller cv axles I have seen were Ford Sierra cv joints (although I believe VW cv's joints were also used) the ones I was referring to were the VW type as I made up a couple of cv axles sets for my cars.
I also dismantled,checked and reassembled a friends Miller drive shafts when one of his was jamming/clonking after he let it go into too much droop and that was the normal cv type joint.
Can you post some pics?
Here is a pic taken off Sue's site showing the CV shaft, it shows the normal cv bolted to the alloy adapter (which has studs in it) I believe the earlier adapters had bolts going into them.

[gus]

CV joints come apart after you take the axle out, usually a snap ring. Then you rotate the inner part of the joint such that the balls come out and the joint falls apart. If a joint is locked I am going to surmise that the axle is too short so that it is pulling while at an extreme angle. I think if it is not pulling, the axle hitting the body of the joint is the travel limit, but it may depend on the joint.

[steve.thomas]

Brian,
I was wrong, the bolts do have hex heads. When i looked with a torch it appeared they were smooth. I'll open it up tomorrow and hopefully re-fit the balls into the cage. Thanks for the replies.
Steve

[steve.thomas]

Just to close this out, Brian was right in that 2 of the ball bearings had come out of the cage. With the joint on the bench it was easy enought to refit them. The car is back together now and all seems well. In hindsight, if I had known how easy it is to disassemble the CV joint i would have done that rather than remove the CV adaptor plate from the outer drive shaft, which resulted in some damaged studs. I would recommend this method to anyone with CV axles who needs to remove the strut assembly.
Steve.