T4 Outer CV Joint removal

[Slant5crazy]

Hi Guys,
Helping out a friend with his 94 T4 5cyl manual.
We are trying to clean and regrease the CV joints and fit new boots.
Have shafts out and inner joint off, but cannot for the life of me find the pesky circlip to slide off the outer CV to clean it properly and refit boot.
All I can see is the cupped washer.
I know there is a circlip 'coz there's a new one in the boot kit.
Is this another case of industrial (male) blindness?

Enlightenment would result in many karma points for the enlightner.
As usual, the workshop manual that we bought at great expense is as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike. The Bentley one costs more than the car.......
Thanks,
Chris

[Golf Loon]

If its like a Golf 3 one, you simply hit it briskly with a hammer!
A piece of wood as a buffer helps prevent damage.
Then tap it back on.

[Slant5crazy]

Thanks for the speedy reply and wisdom Matt.
Am I not hitting it hard enough?
I'm sure that the round-section outward-sprung circlip must engage in an internal groove in the joint itself. Is it possible that this groove is too deep?
Maybe I should whack it like I REALLY mean it.
I'm using a piece of 25x25x4mm aluminium angle as a drift as it engages with a fair bit of the joint. This is being hit with some conviction by a mash-hammer.
It seems to make more sense to whack this rather than hitting the cup washer.

Are these things meant to come apart?
Am I being a wimp?

Thanks again,
Chris

[jets]

On the T4, the CV joint is removed be screwing a special screw in the end of the shaft. As the orig. bolt is a stretch bolt & is replaced anyway I reworked mine by turning the thread away at the end so the screw will go in far enough. The tapped hole in the joint seems to be tapered & the screw just tightens up. While I had the screw in the lathe I drilled & reamed a hole in the end to take a dowel pin that I had. The end of the pin sits in the centre drilled hole in the end of the shaft.
A couple of other points on this job is to not put the weight of the van on the wheels after the bolt has been loosened/removed. Purchase new gaskets that go between inner joint & drive flange. If you removed lower ball joint, replace stretch bolts.
I am intending to do a write up on this procedure with pics in the near future.

[jets]

Heres a pic om my modified jacking screw.


http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2008/02/CVjointremovaltool1-1.jpg

[Jmac]

Nice drift! There is a special tool for that job that screws onto the hub with the wheel bolts, then the centre screws in and pushes out the shaft.
Cant remember from the top of my head the part number but i do have it some where. Im sure they would be made now as an aftermarket item. The MK3 golfs when they were newer were shocking to get off and u used this tool. There was loctite on the splines on them.
Still i like that drift woulnt mind getting one of them, how much to get that done mate?

[jets]

This tool only removes the CV joint from the shaft, it doesn't push the shaft from the hub. This tool will only work on the T4 [ I think]. Does the mk3 have same design as a mk1 where a nut is used to clamp the axle to the hub?
I hope I have read & understood your post correctly.

[Slant5crazy]

Thanks guys for the update.
I ended up looking up on 20v.org where they had a detailed how-to invoving using the bolt to jack the joint off.
Worked a treat.
Looking forward to your detailed how-to for this forum.
Thanks again to all.
Chris