Replacing the CV joint on a VAZ 2115 with your own hands

Interruptions in work are a signal for comprehensive diagnostics, but somehow everything is not on the way to the car service, and it would be nice not to forget, but it is forgotten. You have to take a risk, postponing a trip to a car service center until later, although it is known that a car in a faulty condition is dangerous to the life and health of the driver himself and the people around him. Driving carefully is perhaps the most important thing if any problem makes itself felt. Not everyone has the useful skill of self-diagnosis.

Negative emotions in connection with a car breakdown are a natural reaction. It’s still not worth following their lead. Wear and tear is inevitable. Constant care, attention, and careful attitude will allow you to delay this moment and drive more kilometers. A well-maintained car is a source of positive emotions, regardless of the brand.

How to replace a VAZ-2115 CV joint

It's sad when something goes wrong with your car and it needs repairs.
Extra waste of time and money that does not fit into the schedule and budget only causes a feeling of annoyance. Few people will be happy that something has broken down in the car. Even if it was obvious that a breakdown was about to occur, there was no joy from this event. Sometimes you don’t understand: what’s wrong, what’s creating interference and obstacles? Interruptions in work are a signal for comprehensive diagnostics, but somehow everything is not on the way to the car service, and it would be nice not to forget, but it is forgotten. You have to take a risk, postponing a trip to a car service center until later, although it is known that a car in a faulty condition is dangerous to the life and health of the driver himself and the people around him. Driving carefully is perhaps the most important thing if any problem makes itself felt. Not everyone has the useful skill of self-diagnosis.

CV joint needs to be replaced

VAZ-2115 is a beautiful economy class car. Of course, many people dream of a luxurious and spectacular foreign car. The VAZ-2115 car may lack gloss and shine, but it is characterized by lightness and elegance. Good build is another feature. But not everything is so smooth. Nothing lasts forever, and this means of transportation begins to bother you over time.

A CV joint is a part whose load is high. This is a constant velocity joint, an element that is fragile and strong at the same time.

Sometimes it breaks and needs repairs. But how can you determine that it is he who is causing trouble? Millions of reasons sometimes provoke the same failure. Should a driver take on the job or is it better to go to a service station? In order to make the right decision, you need to carefully weigh the pros and cons.

Symptoms of a problem

You can determine that a CV joint has broken based on certain signs. Diagnostics in this case does not cause problems. There are characteristic symptoms. If they appear, you need to look at the condition of this particular part.

The breakdown is accompanied by:

crunching under the wheels;
jerking when changing speed or starting to move.

It is the crunch that is easiest to notice, and it is this sign that you should focus on first when making a diagnosis. But how can you distinguish the sound emanating from the outer element from the sound made by the inner CV joint? You can check the condition of the external one by turning the steering wheel all the way and starting to drive. A crunching sound while driving in a straight line indicates a malfunction of the inner CV joint. You can also check the condition of this part by lifting the car and spinning the wheels idle. The sound that appears is a 100% guarantee. One of the CV joints is faulty.

If crunching or jerking occurs, you should also inspect the mechanism. The boot may have cracked. A visual inspection will allow you to find cracks, chips, deformation and it will become clear what is wrong and what to do.

Tags: DIY repair

Comments 54

I did everything as written. The left boot was changed normally. but with the right one the thread was cut off by the nut. I do not know why ?

Perhaps the thread was already loosened, or maybe the nut did not fit the thread, or maybe it was pulled too hard.

bought a new car

andrey19810205

Perhaps the thread was already loosened, or maybe the nut did not fit the thread, or maybe it was pulled too hard.

maybe because it was poorly countered?

andrey19810205

Perhaps the thread was already loosened, or maybe the nut did not fit the thread, or maybe it was pulled too hard.

This means that the bent parts of the nut were not bent properly

well it turns out like this. On the classics I never bothered to bend anything, everything was always fine. here the thread is only half hardened

Tell me... did you have any play in the wheel drive relative to the inner CV joint? i.e. I have a play of 5 cm, if the drive is pushed towards the box and back, pulled out... the inner CV joint stands motionless relative to the box, spins when the drive-shaft rotates (it’s just such a problem, I disassembled the suspension, the car fell off the jacks, they lifted it, and the front lever was unscrewed from the body, they were pushing back and forth to level the car in the garage, the right front strut came off, the drive flew out of the CV joint, the boot did not break, I sorted out the matter, i.e. the CV joint remained in the hub, the hub nut was tightened , and the drive flew out.)

Yes, there is play, it should be, otherwise the drive would be cut off when the suspension was working, and when the steering wheel was turned, it would break.

Damn, I was already thinking about taking everything apart further. broke the car :-((((

andrey19810205

Yes, there is play, it should be, otherwise the drive would be cut off when the suspension was working, and when the steering wheel was turned, it would break.

That's right, you're right! I just found it on the Internet... The grooves in the internal joint housing are straight, which allows the parts to move in the longitudinal direction, “lengthening” or “shortening” the drive (this is necessary to compensate for the mutual movements of the suspension and power unit)... that’s it, now I’m calm

Fix the breakdown without the help of a specialist

In order to determine whether it is worth going to a service station or doing it yourself, it would be good to know how to replace a CV joint on a VAZ-2115. What is better - to overestimate your strength or underestimate? Some people like to repair their cars; in the old fashioned way, they don’t trust this activity to anyone; others consider it a relic of past years. Many people used to understand mechanical engineering. Both adults and children wanted to create a robot. Having bought a car, we traditionally explored it with pleasure.

The CV joint is completely changed. So there’s not much to tinker with: you don’t need to take it apart, examine the device, or look for any element. Buying a CV joint, both external and internal, is not a problem. The boot is also easy to find, but that’s not what we’re talking about now.

The algorithm of actions is as follows:

Secure the vehicle using the parking brake.
Place locking bars under the rear wheels.
Remove the protective cap and unscrew the hub nut.
Loosen the wheel mounting bolts.
Now the car should be raised with a jack.
It is necessary to remove the bolts that secure the ball and steering knuckle.
The drive must be pulled out of the hub; the steering wheel must first be turned to the left.
Cut off the old boot and remove the CV joint.
Put on a new CV joint, carefully treating it with lubricant, which will help extend the life of the part.
Put all the parts back in the reverse order.

The procedure is not complicated. But physical strength is needed here. You will also need ingenuity - only an auto mechanic, to whom experienced craftsmen and teachers have revealed their secrets, knows how best to do all this. But if you repair a car for your own pleasure, without knowing absolutely anything about the CV joints and the nuts that hold them together, fantasy and imagination will come in handy, as well as confidence, clarity of movements, good emphasis, and reliable fixation of the car.

Damaging adjacent parts and aggravating the situation is difficult and yet real - we must remember the risks and potential threats. There is a possibility of injury. Caution comes in handy when repairing your car yourself, no matter how simple or complex the procedure. When replacing a CV joint, it is better not to rush, prepare for the fact that the process will take several hours, and have time. The replaced CV joint will work properly for a long time if you monitor the road and the condition of the boot.

Consider the device

The stable availability of spare parts for any domestic cars in stores, and their quite affordable price, makes the repair (replacement) of a CV joint not costly, both financially and in terms of time. However:

You should take into account that replacing a boot in terms of the volume of work performed is no less than replacing a grenade on a VAZ 2115
That is why in practice, due to the labor intensity, replacing the boot cannot be called easy, in addition, you will need skills in using metalwork tools and following the rules in accordance with safety requirements when starting to perform such work
CV joint, also called a “grenade” for its peculiar shape, its task is to transmit torque from the box to the wheels of the car, the design of the CV joint is not complicated, it consists of the main seven elements, photo below

The main elements of the CV joint and the CV boot (boot)

However, although its service life is designed for a long time, replacing the VAZ 2115 CV joint is a procedure that has to be performed quite often and this largely depends on the intensity and operating conditions of the machine
The need for replacement arises when play appears in any connections of the device, or when there is a characteristic crunch and crackling sound when turning the wheels.
Replacement is usually carried out after checking and confirming the version of the CV joint malfunction, and you need to diagnose it to make sure that the whole problem really lies in it

How to understand that a grenade will soon break in a couple of interesting ways

Of course, the first sign of a malfunction of the external grenade is a crackling sound. If you hear a crackling noise while driving with the steering wheel turned, it is definitely a CV joint. The greater the angle of rotation of the wheel and the harder you press on the gas, the louder the clicks.

Another sign that does not always appear is vibration on the steering wheel at speeds greater than 80 km/h. The vibration is only slightly similar to the vibration from an unbalanced wheel. It usually manifests itself as a slight twitching of the steering wheel.

How to understand that the outer CV joint has broken.

If the CV joint breaks, the car will stop moving. In any gear engaged, press the gas, the speed increases, but the car does not move.

How to understand that it is the outer CV joint that has broken, and not the internal one or the clutch in general (the first signs of failure are similar to the signs of a clutch failure)? First of all, start the car and put it in any gear. Next, open the hood and look in turn at each of the shafts going from the box to the wheels (one short, the other long). If any shaft is spinning, it means that the CV joint has broken on this side.

I recommend not just visually looking at the shaft, but touching it with some long, hard object, such as a stick. The main thing is that there is nothing on it that can wrap around the shaft!!! When you touch the shaft with a stick, if it is spinning, you will feel a slight vibration. This is usually done in the dark, because it is difficult to understand whether a cylindrical object is spinning, especially in the dark.

Disassembling the drive and replacing the boot

The car is driven into a pit, chocks are placed under the wheels, and the car itself is left in first gear.

Before completely removing the wheel, loosen all the wheel nuts.

The protective cap of the nut securing the drive to the hub is also removed.

To prevent the nut from unscrewing from the shaft, it is centered around the circumference, which is why it has bends that fit into a groove made in the shaft.

These bends need to be aligned, this is done with a thin screwdriver or a drift and a hammer.

After aligning the bends, using a socket and a powerful wrench, the nut is unscrewed, and the washer located under it is also removed.

Next, the car is jacked up and wooden stands are placed under its sills.

The wheel nuts are unscrewed and the wheel is removed.

Next, work is done under the car.

If there is a crankcase protection, it can be unscrewed. Then the oil from the gearbox is drained through the drain plug into the prepared container.

Next, you need to unscrew the two bolts securing the lower ball joint to the hub.

This will make it possible for the latter to move sideways. At the same time, you can check the condition of the support itself.

The steering wheel must be turned all the way to the left so that the drive is completely shifted in the inner CV joint, ensuring its minimum length.

After this, the hub is removed from the splines of the drive shaft.

The outside of the drive will be removed.

Then you can go in two ways.

Knock down the outer “grenade” without removing the inner CV joint.

To do this, you need to remove the boot clamps, and then cut the boot, and then wipe off the existing grease on the hinge.

Then you need to prevent the drive from moving on the internal hinge.

To do this, take a small vice or a butt wrench, clamp the shaft in them and hold it firmly in your hands.

An assistant, using a soft metal spacer and a hammer, knocks down the CV joint, striking the inner race of the hinge.

With this method, there is no need to drain the oil from the box. But there is a possibility that when striking, the inner race will jump out of the outer inner CV joint.

Also, shooting down a “grenade” in this way is not very convenient, since this work will be done in a limited space.

Complete removal of the drive from the vehicle. To do this, a pry bar is driven between the gearbox housing and the internal joint and the shaft entering the gearbox is pulled back and forth.

After this, the drive is completely removed.

The advantage of this method is also the ability to assess the condition and replace the gearbox seal, through which oil often leaks.

In the future we will consider work with the drive completely removed.

How to remove a vaz shruz

Having determined that it is the external grenade that is broken, we begin to remove it.

How to unscrew the hub nut on a VAZ?

First of all, unscrew the hub nut. To do this, take a 30mm head and a lever, the larger the better. We put bricks under the wheels to prevent the car from rolling (simply putting it in gear is not an option, the wheel will spin) and begin to unscrew the hub nut.

In this matter, the more you weigh, the better, since I very often lacked my weight and leverage of about one and a half meters. I got out of the situation in the following way: I stood completely on the lever, as close to the edge as possible, thereby giving maximum tension to the nut, and hit the lever with a hammer. Usually this method helped me unscrew even the most soured wheel nuts.

One more nuance: if the outer walls of the head come into contact with the walls of the hub, it is better to lubricate the head with mining or lithol, or, in extreme cases, with silicone grease. Thanks to this trick, the head will not bite in the hub.

How to remove a grenade?

The hub nut is unscrewed, now we remove the wheel, unscrew the two bolts that hold the ball joint, disconnect the suspension arm and the hub, move it to the side of the car while lightly tapping the grenade, remove it from the hub. At this point there are two options:

The grenade is already broken.
Replacing the grenade due to its crunching sound.

In the first case, you simply remove the outer part of the CV joint from the shaft, then the retaining ring from the drive shaft and knock off the cage with a hammer.

In the second case, removing the CV joint becomes more difficult. You need to deflect the grenade relative to the shaft at the maximum angle so that the bearing balls and their cage are visible.

Now use a hammer to break the jumpers of the cage between the bearing balls and take out the balls one by one. When you take out the last ball, you can remove the body of the grenade, and then its inner part sitting on the shaft, after first removing the locking ring from the shaft.

Of course, you can simply try to knock the grenade off the shaft, but due to the locking ring this will be problematic.

That's it, the CV joint is completely removed. Now let's start installing the new part.

Diagnostics

Before we start replacing the CV joint with our own hands, we usually carry out simple diagnostics by first checking for play in the shaft of our drive, and all we need are our hands, as well as an understanding of what play is. There are several ways to check:

Method one - grab your drive shaft with your hand and swing it, when you feel a lot of free play or play - this means you need to replace the CV joint
Method two - we go to the inspection hole and turn the steering wheel to the right as much as possible or to the left (as necessary), then we carefully look at the condition of the “grenade”, if there are cracks or visible breaks on its boot, traces of grease protruding, this means that the boot needs to be replaced, otherwise the entire CV joint will soon need to be replaced
We buy a new “grenade”, the price is affordable