So I have a severely busted CV joint on my Golf, the drivers side. It's a 5 speed too. I have everything I need to replace it, like the 12 point driver for the screws, new allen head screws and the socket for the retainer nut. The question I have is, will I need to pull the ball joint out to swing the suspension out of the way? I heard that one of the CV axels can be removed from the transmission flange, then carefully dropped and pulled out of the hub assembly, but I forgot which one. I'm hoping you can do this with both or at least the driver's side...I don't know how tight the ball joint is going to be, so I'm trying to get a better idea of what to expect. Thanks for any replies in advance...

- Schmitty

 

If I were you I wouldn't bother with the driveshaft, just leave it in the transmission flange and change theCV joint only. Of course this involves separating theCV joint from the driveshaft, but that's a piece of cake. Trust me, I've done this job singlehandedly at least three times. I'm not a pro, though.

As you can tell my object of despair... eh, repair... is a Jetta 1984. It's a type 2, with a manual 5-speed transmission like yours. It is mechanically identical with the Golf 1985.