Stupid damn ball joint

Hey all,

So the ball joint popped on my 87 prelude, and
took along with it the inner CV Boot. That was
it though, as when it popped, we were barely
moving.

My question is, how important is it that the
roller bearings inside the inner CV joint are
oriented the correct way? See the attached URL
to see what I mean.

http://spaces.msn.com/members/terryloewen/PersonalSpace.aspx?_c01_photoalbum=showdefault&_c02_owner=1&_c=photoalbum

OR

http://tinyurl.com/9hnup

I put the driveshaft back together, and I am
pretty sure I did it the right way. Unfortunately,
I was in the middle of nowhere about an hour
away from my computer, and the Hayne's manual I
had along was not terribly specific.

So, is this 'mission critical'? What is the reason for
the orientation as per the manual, and why the hell
do the rollers fit both ways?!?!

Thanks
t

 

You can assemble them both ways, but they don't "fit" both ways. I've seen
some aftermarket rebuilt axles that had the inner joints assembled wrong,
and they usually will bind up. If yours seems to be working ok, then you
probably got it right.

 

Unfortunately, haven't had a chance to test it
yet. Couldn't get the damn ball joint stud to
move. So I fixed the drive shaft (I hope I
assembled it properly), and removed the steering
knuckle, brought it back to the city to replace
the ball joint, and will be going back out today
to whail of the remaining piece in the lower
control arm... lots o fun.

I am tempted to open up the inner CV Boot and
check to see if I did it properly, but I am
almost 100% sure I did.... Dammit.

t

 

Yes, the rollers fit both ways but work correctly when installed as per the
diagram. If you're not absolutely certain that you got the rollers correct,
then it would be worthwhile to slide the inner joint apart and verify. I
don't remember the exact consequences of putting them on backwards, the
joint could fail (out of all the driveshafts I've worked on I've never
actually put them on backwards). Since the rollers are asymmetric, when
they're installed backwards they will not sit as close to the inner hub as
when they are correctly installed. This difference in the spacing could be
critical for the correct operation of the joint since the rollers will not
sit corretly aligned in the outer race of the joint.

Eric