Axle Rebuild #3

One of my CV boots tore open, and threw grease everywhere. Again.

The stock axle flanges are thin, stamped metal. They’re so thin, they require “lock plates” under the bolts, probably so the flange doesn’t twist and tear apart. The flange was damaged by a previous owner, and no longer functional. Every time I put a CV boot on it, it would slide out of position. I previously tried using multiple clamps to keep it in place, but the clamps end up cutting into the boot.

NOS flanges are not available. I tried to repair my flange with a tailpipe expander:

And, while now rounded out perfectly, CV boots still slid right off. It needs to be replaced. I set out to buy a new flange and boot. The axles are Porsche parts, so this shouldn’t be hard, right? I was warned not to buy the wrong size. I researched, and bought a Porsche 911 axle flange with boot, and another spare boot.

Compared to the stock flange, those were the wrong size. Too small. I didn’t need the Porsche 911, I needed the Porsche 930. Oops. I sent those back.

Next, I ordered some Porsche 930 parts, from different vendors.

Nothing fit the stock flange, and nothing fit together correctly since all the parts were from different vendors. I returned everything again. I finally settled on one vendor, kartek.com, for a matching flange and boot. I also picked up their stainless clamps. While their boot is a tough fit over the axle shaft, the boot works well.

It was finally time to rebuild the axle. First, I used a wire brush to clean off all the late ’83 undercoating:

I primed the axles parts:

…and used Rustoleum Gloss Black on everything:

I painted the stock flanges separately, before abandoning the damaged flange.

I purchased many zip ties and clamp sets, and settled on a combination of everything:

I purchased allen head bolts through DeloreanGo with another order. Later, I decided to remove, paint, and reinstall the other axle. This time I purchased bolts from McMaster-Carr to replace the stock hex bolts. They were only sold in packs of 10, and I needed 12 per axle, which meant I would still need a few stock bolts. And since the new flange is thicker steel, I would not need lock plates. To my horror, the new flange still interfered with the socket bolts! I ended up grinding down the bolts, then painting the heads:

Installed:

I probably could have spent about $15 on a CV Boot kit from a Delorean Vendor, but not being able to repair or replace my stock axle flange sent me down this rabbit hole.

Costs: