hi guys, first time i have had to do anything with my skoda and its the one thing i have never done my self before, how do i go about changing a cv joint? i get the general idea after asking a mate but is there anything on the felicia that can prover tricky?

cheers binner

is it an inner or outer joint??

is it an inner or outer joint??

sorry its outer

ok outer ones are fairly easy, you can do it without removing the shaft from the gearbox... if you do take the shaft out the gearbox you will need to drain the gear oil and refill after re-installation.

undo the driveshaft nut, then undo and remove the nut and bolt that hold the balljoint into the hub carrier, then using a long lever like a jack handle lever the balljoint out, slide the hub off the end of the outer cv joint spline....

remove the cv boot clips then position the boot out of the way... use a copper mallet or a hammer with a piece of wood as a drift and you just knock the joint off the end of the shaft. make sure you fit the new boot onto the shaft before you put the new joint on... it will be very messy though, cv grease is horrible sticky stuff so use some degreaser on the end of the shaft to clear away the old stuff before you put the new joint on... the joint will come with a sachet of grease, make sure you work it into all the rollers etc, then put the excess into the boot.

Edited 1 February, 201016 yr by TeflonTom

'you just knock the joint off the end of the shaft', but being careful not to pull the shaft out from the gearbox.

Tom, hope you don't mind my addition.

Edited 1 February, 201016 yr by myjalopy

'you just knock the joint off the end of the shaft', but being careful not to pull the shaft out from the gearbox.

Tom, hope you don't mind my addition.

you won't knock the shaft out of the gearbox like that!! you normally need to lever them out to be honest.. i have a crowbar that i had modified which i specifically use for this purpose

Yeah, as tom says, you won't get the shafts out of the box like that. BUT you need to be careful you're not putting the inner joint at excessive angle (which can be tempting to get the outer joint off) as they are quite easy to break if you do that. If you pull the shaft too much you'll usually just get the joint out, and sometimes pop the inner CV boot off.

Oh, another tip - WEAR GLOVES! As Tom said, CV grease is hideous filthy stuff, and it's a mare to get off. Best thing to do is to put a tray under where you're working to catch what drops out and also to clean out as much as you can before trying to knock the joint off. I've also found that cutting the boot off (after undoing the clips but before taking the outer joint off) can often be expedient as you can take a LOT of mess out of the equation doing it this way. Have a can of spray brake cleaner handy as you WILL make a mess and you WILL get it somewhere you don't want to!

get a replacement snapring/circlip too as most of the time they break on removing the joint

get a replacement snapring/circlip too as most of the time they break on removing the joint

yeah agreed, although if you buy a genuine skoda cv joint it comes with that too

You could, if you found it easier to, remove the shaft completely without removing the whole inner cv joint from the gearbox and thus not having to drain the gearbox i.e. remove the large clip round the inner cv then you can slide the shaft straight out but be very carefull that the 3 bearings with needle rollers don't fall appart, best to wind some masking tape around them. You can then put the shaft in a vice and work on it more easilly i.e. when you knock the otter cv off.

thankyou all very much for the help, i like this site already

il make sure i put this page up before i start just incase i get stuck, i know i said i have not done one before but i remember getting my mate to do one for me and i saw the state of him with the grease!!!!

if you can, get some pics etc and write up a guide for doing it. somebody else may find it useful in the future

well it turns out it was not the cv joint after all, got it up in the air and had a good look around and it seems to be the back and top gear box mounting, i presume its pushing on the shaft under load, had similar with a vauxhall last year.

any how i bodged it with a couple of tie wraps untill the weekend when i am off work again, took it down the road and its not half as bad :rofl:

you won't knock the shaft out of the gearbox like that!! you normally need to lever them out to be honest.. i have a crowbar that i had modified which i specifically use for this purpose

I was just reminiscing about an old Range Rover that I changed the CV on. The halfshaft was only held in by a circlip and came out pretty much of it's own accord. Then again, entirely different kettle of fish as it had a fixed axle.

Bit too much sherbet last night, chaps.