Snappy

Got under the rally FX this afternoon, yeah, that don’t look right. I’ve now done this so many times that with the impact gun, it took me longer to air up the compressor, jack up the car and put it on stands than it took me to pull out the CV shaft. Is it supposed to do this? I suppose the good news is that the splines did not strip so I don’t need a new hub, which would be harder to find than the shafts. Although these shafts are getting hard to find through common channels too. Last time I ordered from Napa, the one they ordered from the mainland was the last one they showed in stock. Empi make all kinds of shafts, although they seem to be known for VW parts. Unfortunately it looks like these new proudly manufactured in China in ISO9001 facility shafts still cannot handle the stress of rallying. It actually may not be a fault of the manufacturing and the specs of the OEM shaft are simply not high enough to hold up to the abuse I’m putting it through.

The fit and finish compared to an old OEM shaft is certainly good. I’m thinking possibly the range of motion in the OEM design is not enough. When I pulled back the boot I found the joint like this. It took a tap with a hammer to put the cage & balls straight.

Yes, the shaft is sheared clean off. This looks just like the previous shaft I sheared, except that one failed at the opposite end. This one is at the wheel hub end. Well, an inquiry was sent to RCV Performance who specialize in 4340 & even stronger 300M chromolly CV shafts for off road trucks and custom applications. It’ll be a pretty penny, shafts for listed applications run $500 & up per, but considering I’ve already spent just shy of $500 in towing fees, it’d be worth it if they’re strong enough to not break. Nice touch is their joints have zerk fittings, and a no-questions asked lifetime warranty.