Purpose of Marking CV Axles

[sggaz]

When rebooting CV's the manual says to mark the axles prior to disassembly. Does anyone know why the marking is necessary? Is it to ensure the same radial orientation when reassembling them?

When pulling the axles on mine the boots tore and the axle half shafts came apart so I have no idea how they were orientated. If I put them back together however seems best is there going to be potential for a balance issue?

Or is the marking to make sure that the shafts are kept together as a set?

 

[KidVermicious]

It's a wear thing. As the brand new axles get run in, they make a specific wear pattern against the other side. If you change them, they'll have to do that again, and it theoretically could shorten their life by a small amount.

Just slap them together, you've got a 1in3 chance of being right . If one of them vibes badly, replace it and use the original as a trail spare.

 

[sggaz]

It's a wear thing. As the brand new axles get run in, they make a specific wear pattern against the other side. If you change them, they'll have to do that again, and it theoretically could shorten their life by a small amount.

Just slap them together, you've got a 1in3 chance of being right . If one of them vibes badly, replace it and use the original as a trail spare.

Thanks, that doesn't sound too bad, I'll give it a shot.