Bulletproof Your MIP CVDs
The instructions below will illustrate how to completely rebuild
your MIP CVD's to make them "bulletproof". The term bulletproofing
is commonly used to describe a way to build (or rebuild) a car or
set of parts to make them very strong and durable. Although it may
seem that the parts will be indestructable, you must understand
that NO part or car will be absolutely indestructable under all
conditions. First, start with taking the MIP CVD's out of your car
or truck. It is beyond the scope of these instructions to show you
how to remove the CVD's - see the Instructions Page for your kit
for details. The next step is gathering the required tools to
rebuild the CVD's - you will need (beyond removing the CVD's
themselves) a 0.050" Allen wrench, preferably a quality wrench that
is machined from drill blank steel. This type of steel is extremely
strong and resists twist torque very well. You will also need a
pair of vice grip pliers (or needle nose pliers and a firm grip)
and a rotary tool with cut-off wheel. Other materials you will need
to do this properly include quality threadlocking material, plus
Shoe Goo or a similar tube glue that dries to a very hard clear
rubbery material. Brand names that are similar include Goop
(available in Household, Marine, etc., compounds). This is what
your MIP CVD set will look like after it's removed from your car or
truck (These are from a Nitro MT Racer). Note that the exact length
and type of CVD you have will depend on your specific kit.
Completely disassemble each CVD into its component parts.
Clean the parts of each CVD carefully, with a shop rag, old
toothbrush and our Nitro Car Cleaner (#9062) or light degreaser. If using a
degreaser, spray the parts with our Nitro Car Cleaner to make sure
there is no degreaser residue left on the parts. Use rubber gloves
if you are worried about the solvents or greases absorbing into
your skin.
Make sure any grease from previous rebuilds is completely removed.
It may contain dust or dirt that will gradually eat away at the
metal joints and couplings, increasing wear and tear on your parts
and decreasing the amount of time you can go before doing another
rebuild of your CVD set.
Use the grinding wheel on the rotary tool to cut a shallow groove.
You want to make sure the groove is deep enough so the set screw
will catch the sides of the groove in case it loosens.
This is what you want the pin to look like when you are finished.
It should be at a consistent depth with sharply defined edges (not
angled edges). Make sure it is in the center of the pin, also!
Here is another view of the properly cut pin. Note that the groove
is not very deep, not even halfway through the pin. The pin must
remain strong, it is a vital part of the CVD!
Apply a small amount of the MIP lube included with your CVD set or
a thick joint grease to the edge of the large hole in the axle.
Using thick grease instead of a thin oil makes sure that the grease
won't get spun off the axle joint when your car or truck is at full
speed. A thin grease or oil will not stay on the axle joint for
very long, which won't protect and lubricate the CVD.
Insert the center coupling, make sure the hole in the coupling is
visible. It helps if you have it positioned as shown in the
picture, this aids in inserting the pin through the holes in the
CVD bone.
Place the CVD bone over the axle as shown, and line up the holes in
the bone and the hole in the axle coupling.
Insert the pin. Make sure to align the groove you cut with the
threaded side of the axle coupling.
Apply a very small amount of threadlocking compound to the axle set
screw. If you apply too much, remove some with a rag. Remember that
you should use a quality 0.050" Allen wrench (or "hex driver" as
some people call it). The Thorp brand from MIP is a very good
example of a proper Allen wrench.
Using your good Allen wrench driver (not the "L" wrench provided
with the CVD set), tighten the set screw onto the pin. You don't
need to make it super-tight, but make sure it won't back out while
the threadlocking compound is drying.
You're not finished yet! Wipe the rounded part of the CVD bone with
a rag doused in Nitro Car Cleaner to make sure it's cleaned of any
grease or fingerprints. Then apply a very small dab of Shoe Goo or
similar material to cover each end of the pin. When the Goo dries
it will hold the pin in place and be clear, so you don't have to
worry about boots, tape or heatshrink tubing.
This is what the CVD should look like before you lay it aside for
the night. Although you can cut or sand away any excess Shoe Goo so
it does not rub the hub carriers of your car or truck, it's easier
to make sure that you just don't apply too much while the Shoe Goo
is still wet. Cutting away too much Shoe Goo is pretty easy to do!
Now is the tough part - waiting overnight for the Shoe Goo to dry!
Make sure to wait until it is totally dry before you install the
CVD's in your car or truck.
Building the CVD
Just like building shock absorbers or assembling tires and wheels, building your CVD's will go much faster if you do one step on every CVD at the same time, rather than building a single CVD from start to finish, then starting on another CVD. We call this assembly-line building and it makes assembly go very quickly. In the examples below we show assembling only one CVD, but remember, if you do all the steps on all four CVD's at the same time it will go pretty fast. Read this complete set of instructions before you start building the CVD set. You should do this with any set of instructions! Use a pair of vice grip pliers or a very firm grip on your needle nose pliers to hold the pin.