Reply to "CV conversion"

I performed a very similar CV conversion about 4 1/2 years ago and am happy to report no durability issues. I do have some comments for people who are considering such a conversion.

When I began the process of figuring out what parts to use, I spoke with Kartech Offroad in Southern California. I described my proposed set-up and asked them: "where's the weak link in this setup?". They said the only regular failures they see in 930 CV joints are in the stamped steel CV ball retaining cages. They recommended using aftermarket 4130 cages. They went on to say that the other failures they see in racing situations are twisting of the axles and shearing the splines off of the axles. Both of these problems can be dealt with by using axles made from 300M rather than the cheaper 4130.

For people looking for the ultimate in weight savings, lightened CVs are available as well as gun-drilled axles.

One final comment: after having my CV axles installed for a few months, I started to notice little "globs" of CV joint grease in my engine compartment. Sure enough, centrifical force was causing grease to "ooze" out on both sides of the CV joints, spraying grease around my engine compartment. Kartech informed me that Porsche uses paper gaskets on both sides of their 930 CV joints to keep the grease in, but some people prefer to use RTV sealer instead.

My adapter design is slightly different than Edge's. My adapters have super high strength ARP studs Locktited in place. The CV joints are bolted to the adapter then the adapter is held to the OE companion flange with ARP nuts. My adapters have no hole in the middle so I won't be faced with a big, greasy mess when I need to pull the half-shafts for maintenence. This makes installation less messy too. With Edge's design, you could use a Porsche/Lobro grease cap between the adapter and the CV joint to contain the grease when removing or installing the half-shafts.

I bought the Porsche 930 CV joint gaskets from pelicanparts.com and Lobro CV joint grease caps are available from GKN Driveline (part # 215 315 25 00 001).