Where did you get the screw-on type boot? I couldn't find it when I needed it. The only one I found was the one that's glued. It looked so weak that I didn't even bother trying it out.

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2004 VW Jetta TDI (manual)

Past MB's: '96 E300D, '83 240D, '82 300D, '87 300D, '87 420SEL

you can drive non stop as though nothing is wrong....your cv shaft is stronger then you think....and if you want to pin point it pay attention to the road and when it makes noise straighten the wheel as bast you can and try not to hit any dips or bumps and if it goes away its the cv shaft...if when you make sharp turns the clunk gets louder or or changes noise then you know what it is....ALSO IMPORTANT...im sure you have good shocks, but a common thing that people do is they will have a bad cv joint and replace it with out replacing the thing that caused the joint to fail in the first place TIRED SHOCKS!....beware or you will be buying cv shaft after cv shaft.

Also the rebuilt ones are just a guessing game...its kinda like buying a cheap dvd player they are all made the same just some died before others.

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Wie lange wird Ihr Auto leben?

Here we are at day 4 and the noise is still gone. I haven't driven the car much, just around town. It probably has 300 miles on it since the cv joint stopped making noise.

On Monday I had a long talk by phone with Steve at CVJ and he tried to explain to me how the cv joint works and what might go wrong inside. I would have understood much better with a diagram in front of me but I guess one of the little steel balls or one of the plastic clips in the cv joint must have gotten pushed out of place and was getting hit by something else in the joint to make the noise. It then must have popped back into place or fell out completely, so the noise stopped.

I suspect that I'll put the replacement axle (should arrive UPS today) in the trunk and drive back to California with the "bad" one in the car. Steve says that the axle will last for many miles even after it starts making noise. If I make it home noiselessly I'll probably return the axle to CVJ and find some other noise to worry about.

Also, thanks for the comment on shocks, kraut, it is indeed a common failure mode. Mine were replaced with stock Bilsteins a little over a year ago.


Jeremy

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"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

We are home, axle-clicking still gone after over 1000 miles, around town in Salt Lake and 750 miles on the freeway coming home today. Car ran just great. Pushing 70 MPH uphill into the Sierra from Reno with the A/C on full and the outside temps at 100+, the EGT got up to 850F but the water stayed right at 100C or a little below.

With the hot sun on the front of the car, the A/C got a little weak but we survived. As the eBay sellers say, it probably needs the freon topped off. In the case of my '85, it's been 18 months since it was touched so it could indeed need a bit. As soon as we got higher into the Sierra and it cooled down below 95F, the refreshing cold A/C came back. Now we're home, the fog is in, and it's 62F outside. Feels wonderful.

Monday I have to call Steve at CVJ and talk about why the clicking went away on its own, whether it will come back anytime soon, and what to do with the new axle, still in the box in my trunk where it spent the entire trip.

Steve will probably want the old axle back to tear apart; Jeremy really doesn't want to R&R again for the third time in a month or so.

Jeremy

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"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

I got the boot from CV Restoration (1-800-338-2326). They sell on EBAY, but I could not find the part for MBZ 1985 300D. I contacted them, they sent me a list of all the boots with diagrams for dimensions. I was not able to find anything exact size for the 300D. Anyway, I ordered part # 86-2863 and cut off one section (1/4 in) from the larger end, so it will fit the can on the shaft (about 2.75 inch diameter?).
After I put on the screws, I put on glue around the seam so I have double insurance to prevent any leaks. So far so good.

David
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1985 300D Turbo