radial play in VW CV joints?

[Brian]

How much is acceptable? I have several cars that use these axles, and all of my axles have a small degree of radial play - like 1/8" movement at the edge of the inboard brake disc. On one car I decided that was too much and replaced the CV joints, and it now has about zero play after one event. But I was snooping around the paddock, and checking all my other axles, and they all seem to have that same small amount of play.

Thanks for any ideas...

Brian

[DaveW]

Some CV's are modified to reduce the drag, either by using smaller balls, or honing the ball races to obtain a looser fit. That will allow some play, while the stock CV's are tight and have essentially no play. You could also have a few 0.001" of play between the splined shaft and the CV inner race. My loosened ones have (guessing by feel) about 0.02 - 0.025" radial play.

So, if you really had 1/8" RADIAL play that is way too much. Did you guess that by feel/sight, or did you indicate it? When I do it by sight, I always think there is more play than really exists, an optical illusion.

[Brian]

If I'm reading you right, you have .02" at the shaft spline, which is a 1/2" radius. I have .125"at about a 5" radius at the outer edge of the disc, a 10: 1 ratio on radius, so I would have .012" at the spline. I tried to measure at the spline but I couldn't get that rigged up.

Also, the way I am doing it is I hold the drive hub still and wiggle the disc, so that is getting any aggregate movement in both CV joints and both axle splines.

Brian

[DaveW]

I think I was not reading YOU right.

You meant circumferential (along the circumference at the disk OD) or, in other words, rotational, play. You said radial (meaning to me perpendicular to the shaft center-line). I have at least 1/8" circumferential play out at the disk OD, probably more.

So, I would think you did not have a problem. IMO, 1/8" rotational at a 5" radius is not much, especially with the clearanced ball-groove setup.