Drive Shafts

[bigjeeze]

I think it's time I replaced the drive shafts on my Mk2 it's now done 212k on the same pair and there are a few rattles and bumps appearing. What I want to know is how good are the cheaper ones available.  Basically the inner cv's  are shot but to buy them separately is more expensive than buying a complete shaft.  I have found them on Euro and GSF with prices varying between Ã,£72 and Ã,£163 each.  I have also seen them for Ã,£80 pair on e bay etc.  I have seen some posts where there is sometimes a sizing issue but this aside are the cheaper ones OK?   Times is hard and getting harder so I don't want to spend any more than I have to but safety is paramount.

Any advice gents?

[wrenners]

I replaced the complete right side on my mkii, outer shaft, intermediate shaft and gearbox stub. I got these from 'jandrcvjoints' for Ã,£80 online. After 6 months 13,000 miles they all need to be replaced again. DO NOT buy these. I have been checking 'motomax.pl', so far nobody has commented on the quality. Still haven't decided what to go with.....

[Mirez]

Yeah on the last Galaxy I had (when you'll recall I had major wobbling issues!), I replaced the drive shaft assemblies with Ã,£80 ones and they were absolute crud - even stepping up to the Ã,£140 mark they were still poorly made and in the end I replaced them again with ones direct from VW. At that time I also replaced the HS with the Motomax one and wrote that article.

Well, since then I have obviously changed car, and after fitting a Motomax HS to this one as well, they were kind enough to send me a set of inner CV's for evaluation. I've had them on for 30K miles now and they are still tight and slop free

Since I can't be bought for a set of CV joints , this is my unbiased conclusion. Firstly quality wise they are clearly a step up from OEM, the metal is good, the bearings good and the machining all good. They are painted in a green paint, I'm unsure why but its gives a nice finish. I especially like the way they have a recess for the CV clip / cable tie to sit it so the boot is extra tight. I have only a couple of negatives, the first is that (by design) they make fitting the driveshafts fractionally harder as you loose a little access to the bolt heads where they no-longer have the recess's in the CV body. Using a an extended spline tool fixes this and it's more down to how VW designed them to bolt together then anything else. Secondly, one of the boots they supplied perished within 10K... When I spoke to them about that they said it was the first they had heard of and that the boots were made in Italy from decent rubber, both of which I can confirm. So this could have been a one-off or that my local MoT station decided they would try for a few more quid this year... who's to say, but after a lot of faff to get the right size I managed to replace both boots with plastic VW ones and haven't had any problems since.

Overall, I'd say they are excellent and an upgrade over OEM. If you look on their website (http://motomax.pl/eng/index.html) and then "on-line store" I see they are listed there at 128EUR (about Ã,£105) but I can't make out if that's each or for the pair...

[bigjeeze]

Thanks Mirez

13K doesn't sound that good!   I looked at the Polish site - but the price is 128 euro per joint plus 28 euro each for P&P that doesn't stack up economically for me.  I will have to have a think and maybe try for some good second hand ones.  I have already replaced the intermediate shaft with the motomax one so I know that is OK but after spending 210 on two tyres I can't afford to spend hundreds going to VW.

[wrenners]

Hi Guys

I have ordered the Motomax intermediate shaft and is to be delivered Friday. However after pricing the outer shaft at Ford(euro 367 part no 1334647) and VW (euro 513 part no 7M3407761) I am looking for FORDMPV Forum to suggest/promote/advice on a good quality aftermarket manufacturer, Please and thanks

[vpavlov]

To resurrect an old thread...
Mirez, can you provide us with a part number for the plastic VW CV boots you used for the Motomax inner CV joints?
I installed the Motmoax CV inner joints today and also have some reservations about the longevity of the CV boots supplied.
Thanks in advance.

Yeah on the last Galaxy I had (when you'll recall I had major wobbling issues!), I replaced the drive shaft assemblies with Ã,£80 ones and they were absolute crud - even stepping up to the Ã,£140 mark they were still poorly made and in the end I replaced them again with ones direct from VW. At that time I also replaced the HS with the Motomax one and wrote that article.

Well, since then I have obviously changed car, and after fitting a Motomax HS to this one as well, they were kind enough to send me a set of inner CV's for evaluation. I've had them on for 30K miles now and they are still tight and slop free

Since I can't be bought for a set of CV joints , this is my unbiased conclusion. Firstly quality wise they are clearly a step up from OEM, the metal is good, the bearings good and the machining all good. They are painted in a green paint, I'm unsure why but its gives a nice finish. I especially like the way they have a recess for the CV clip / cable tie to sit it so the boot is extra tight. I have only a couple of negatives, the first is that (by design) they make fitting the driveshafts fractionally harder as you loose a little access to the bolt heads where they no-longer have the recess's in the CV body. Using a an extended spline tool fixes this and it's more down to how VW designed them to bolt together then anything else. Secondly, one of the boots they supplied perished within 10K... When I spoke to them about that they said it was the first they had heard of and that the boots were made in Italy from decent rubber, both of which I can confirm. So this could have been a one-off or that my local MoT station decided they would try for a few more quid this year... who's to say, but after a lot of faff to get the right size I managed to replace both boots with plastic VW ones and haven't had any problems since.

Overall, I'd say they are excellent and an upgrade over OEM. If you look on their website (http://motomax.pl/eng/index.html) and then "on-line store" I see they are listed there at 128EUR (about Ã,£105) but I can't make out if that's each or for the pair...

[Mirez]

Yeah somewhere in my stash of paperwork I'll have the part number, will see what I can find for you.