Spitfire Late Spitfire 1500 CV driveshaft

[Scott_Hower]

Sorry for the long post ... not sure what to do with this one:

I took the driveshaft out of my Spitfire last week for servicing; it was next on the list of things to restore. It's a late 1500 with a CV joint at the front. The rear is getting a new U-joint, which is simple enough. Or would be if I could press the caps out - they're stuck and soaking in PB at the moment. Hopefully I can press them out using some sockets and a vise.

The front is a different animal. It's got a coffee-can size cover inside of which is a "non-servicable" CV joint. Figured at a minimum new CV grease would be a good idea; the boot is in great shape. I gently pried the can off, folded the boot back and removed the snapring to clean/inspect/repack the CV joint. How do you tell if the thing is toast or not? The ball bearings (6) are all very smooth, the ball "cage" or whatever it's called seems to be ok, it pivots smoothly on the mating splined thingy attached to the shaft - there are some shiny areas where it obviously slides against its mate via the balls. The large flanged "collar" that bolts to the gearbox has "flutes" cut into it where the balls slide fore and aft - they're in good shape too - no obvious wear marks. Odo says 56k miles and it's correct.

I cleaned everything in mineral spirits and reassembled the joint (sans grease) to check for wear. How do you tell if it's Ok? It seems to pivot freely, but I dont know what I should be looking for/checking to determine if it's shot. If I pivot the flange at more than about 20degrees to the shaft and try and flex it, is seems to bind a bit, but that may just be beyond the angle the joint can handle. If I twist the flange against the shaft (flange face at right angle to the shaft), it has just a hair of play in it (it's dry, no CV grease).

Thoughts? Re-pack it and reassemble and hope for the best? I know nothing about CV joints. I've read that Triumph issued a recall for the TR7 with this type driveshaft and the dealer "fix" was to R+R the driveshaft backwards, with the CV joint at the back. The thinking was the UJ would take up the angular movement and the CV would deal with the axial movement (minor length changes). Anyone done this with a Spitfire? Will it even fit backwards?

I suppose I could have a shop cut it off and rig something up with a new yoke, I'd rather not do that if I can avoid it. A new driveshaft is a few hundred bucks.

 

[Andrew Mace]

If it feels smooth and "tight" I'd lubricate it, button it up and put it back in the car (once the u-joint on the other end is replaced). I doubt the CV joint takes all that much strain, since the propeller shaft isn't subjected to a lot of movement (as it would be on a "live axle" car).

 

[Scott_Hower]

Thanks Andy.

Forgot that I've got a pair of U-joints on the IRS end. The diff will get mounted with poly bushes, so that ought to help reduce the movement too.

I was paranoid about disturbing the balance, but realized there's a few ounces of grease flopping around in there, so I'm guessing it will be Ok. I know to keep the flanges "in phase". The shaft has weight strips welded to it.

Cant wait to wrestle the rear hubs off when its their turn.

 

[BRSLimited]

The grease you put in will have no effect on balance at all. It will actually throw itself around and balance itself out. The CV joint basicly takes the place of the front U joint and slip joint. They don't move that much so as long as there is grease and dirt and water havn't gotten in it will outlast the car.