• Registered: 2010-11-20
  • Posts: 2

Topic: 74 Bug CV joint bolts

Last Friday my 74 Bug stopped driving.  The engine runs fine, but little to no power gets to the drive wheels.  My first thought was the clutch (after panicking that it was the transmission, necessitating a new one).  So I drop the engine and the clutch looks good.  I put it in third and turn the driver side rear wheel, the transmission spins but the passenger side wheel does not. I checked this with first and reverse as well.  I walk around and turn the passenger wheel with no transmission action.  Reaching under and turning the drive axle does turn the transmission.  Now I'm at the CV joints.  As I often drive to and from work with this car, the Missus is on me to get it fixed.  By the looks of things, the CV joints might be original and the bolts are rusted in place.  I've tried heat (MAPP, since I lack an oxy-acetylene setup), penetrating oil (WD40, candle wax, motor oil on the hot part), striking hot and cold, working the bolt both ways, but nothing seems to work.  I'm 99% certain the bolts are torx head and not hex.  The result is stripping out the head.  So I'm working my way around the joint bolt by bolt trying to find what works before I go onto the other three joints.  (It wasn't that much more expensive to replace the axles, so that's what I'm doing.)

I fear I'm going to have to drill out the bolts, but I thought I might try some sort of extractor.  Does anyone have any advice regarding which set has been successful for you in the past?

Thanks.

  • From: Washington, Indiana
  • Registered: 2004-03-27
  • Posts: 1,425

Re: 74 Bug CV joint bolts

Get a good quality 12 MM 12 point socket.... Drive it over the CV bolt head....Remove the bolt with a ratchet.....Then either find some new bolts or get a inside cv boot kit that has new bolts in it...There are extracters available to tap on over the bolt head and grip it on the outside as you loosen it....Good luck

                                                                 Yancey

Yancey's Website

  • From: somewhere over the rainbow USA
  • Registered: 2006-07-26
  • Posts: 1,889

Re: 74 Bug CV joint bolts

Or use vice grips to loosen. If you get lucky, often they are finger loose in the flange once they break or try a reverse drill bit.  Good Luck

burrhead

A wise man makes his own decisions, an ignorant man follows public opinion.
  • TomB
  • Moderator
  • Offline
  • From: Austin, TX
  • Registered: 2004-03-27
  • Posts: 1,095

Re: 74 Bug CV joint bolts

Good advice so far. Also, I've never seen Torx heads on the CV bolts, but most are not Hex either. VW originally used a "triple-square"  12-point socket head bolts, so a hex or torx bit will strip them out. I don't recall if the Beetle bolts are 6 or 8mm socket size. These bits are easily available, and are not expensive:
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1260 … ockType=G5

  • Registered: 2010-11-20
  • Posts: 2

Re: 74 Bug CV joint bolts

Yancey's suggestion worked like a charm.  I just need to get the socket off the bolt now.  But I have some ideas.  With respect to the 12 point spline, TomB, you are correct.  The one I was able to remove has a 12 point interior head (visible through the back of the socket).  Perhaps I can get the right tool and work from this angle here on out.  The vise grips did not work so well because I am unable to get a solid grip with enough room to rotate the tool.  The joint/boot flange gets in the way.

Thanks for the ideas.

  • Registered: 2006-07-20
  • Posts: 332

Re: 74 Bug CV joint bolts

It helps if you use both the 12 pt socket AND vise grips to break these bolts free.  Some say to give the head of these bolts a good rap with a hammer also - shock 'em - then maybe they'll break free easier.