Classic Alfa Forums

Has anybody found a source of cv joints?
There are lots on ebay but the picture is all wrong. I have also checked the number given against the shaftec catalog and its not recognised!
Has anybody bought one just to see?

Regards, Chris.

Hi Chris, I had a look recently and these seem very difficult to find now. I have messaged a few of the sellers on eBay but they all say they are not suitable. I think the advertised gearbox end joints may be suitable with a bit more investigation but I don’t think the wheel end ones come even close.

I also tried to make contact with a company called General Ricambi but received no reply. This is there catalogue with some detailed dimensions, https://www.generalricambi.it/wp-conten ... 16_Web.pdf

I would also like to hear if anyone has done any research on this, if nothing is available then all we can do is take them to a driveshaft specialist to refurbish them.

Hi Chris/Suds2Ti

I did some research on this subject last year as I have an iffy outer CV on my Sprint resurrection project. These are my findings, errors & omissions excepted! As far as I know, CV joints cannot be refurbished. What follows is for outer CVs only, as the inners seem to last for ever.

The drive shafts for inboard brake cars, as you know, are secured at the outer end by a bolt. It secures the shaft only & plays no part in pre-loading the bearing. This is an obsolete design, I think the Audi 80 used similar shafts. I believe (please correct if wrong) that the Sprint used these shafts until about late 1986. Sprint CVs are always 90 mm dia with an M12 bolt, Sud saloons come in 90mm or 81mm dia with an M12 or M10 bolt. I don't know if you can fit a 90mm CV to a car having an 81mm CV; both have the same size splined part & number of splines. Although there are many general online vendors claiming to sell either the CV or the whole shaft, when you go to their website they show nil stock. As for Alfa specialists, I tried Alfa-Service, My Alfa, Alfisti, Brinkmann, Fermeli and Alfa Restoration -all no go. I looked again today at Alfa Restoration & behold they are listing these 90mm joints:-

https://alfa-restoration.co.uk/shop/alf ... cv%20joint

I don't know how many Thannis has in stock, it appears to be NOS from 1983. Lobro is a GKN company, their online catalogue only lists the boot kits, not the joints. Thannis also lists the equivalent General Ricambi joint but is nil stock and also the 81mm joint, again nil stock.

As for used shafts, this place claims to have them & I think we can safely assume that Justsuds will too :-

https://parts.automotohistory.com/model/alfasud/page/2/

For post 1986 Sprints that have a driveshaft with a large nut (which preloads the bearing?) Alfasud parts have this CV joint but despite the description you can clearly see this is for later Sprints with a nut on the end of the shaft:-
http://www.alfasud-parts.co.uk/catalog/ ... -2736.html

If you have deep pockets you can buy a complete late shaft with joints here:-

https://www.alfa-onlineshop.de/antriebs ... rint-12453

Perhaps some of the Sud racers can enlighten us. I'm aware AHM sell uprated driveshafts/CV joints but I don't know if they're for outboard brake cars only and they will be very expensive. Bottom line is that outer CVs are going to be difficult to source, so regular inspection of the boots is necessary with immediate replacement if holed.

Thanks for taking the time to share this information, it is all very helpful.

Hopefully someone may comment on the use of a 90mm CV on a car fitted with an 81mm CV. It would appear from the General Ricambi catalogue that the 90mm CV may have more splines (24) rather than (22) on the shaft entry side which would require the shaft changing too. The number of shaft splines on the gearbox end appear to be the same (22).

I can only really comment on S3 Sud driveshafts but this is what I think.
In about 1981 all 1.5 models and the twin carb 1350 models were fitted with the bigger outer C V joints.
There were several versions of the driveshaft with the smaller outer joint, some early types had a slot cut into the end where they fix into the hub and also at the gearbox end there was a type that had a spacer inside the inner joint instead of being a separate part that goes between the driveshaft and the brake disc.
Ideally both driveshafts should be the same as I guess they will be different weights etc