I was discussing aftermarket CV joints with my friend, Colin, who is GKN's aftermarket manager for the UK and Ireland. I asked him whether CVs from a well respected, world renouned, very high profile manufacturer, were actually made by GKN/Lobro/Spidan. He said no, they do not make parts for 3rd parties. When I asked him where they were manufactured he would not tell me, but he asked me if I could guess. I did guess but he refused to tell me if I was correct. So. Think twice before you purchase aftermarket CV joints. CGTIs main associates, in the aftermarket, are good customers of GKN and should offer you both GKN/Lobro/Spidan units as well as others. If they do not, PM me and I'll sort it. Well, Colin will sort it for us.
This makes me feel bad about recently fitting to my MK5 an outer CV of obscure brand from the local car parts shop. But at least it was better than the first one I was supplied from a different place. Attempted to fit it, but when driven on, there was about 5mm of play/float of the CV along the shaft, I.e. the inner part of the CV didn't position snugly between the inside retaining clip and concave washer but rather you could slide it back and forth about 5mm. Piece of crap!
I must admit I was beginning to think they maybe no longer in production for the Mk2 by GKN. When I looked for them up to last year there were two qualities offered, but the premium was not GKN. Looking now they seem reinstated as premium on at least one supplier. It would be nice to see Ernst back as well.
SPIDAN = LOBRO = GKN I'll post images of the VAG pages from both Lobro and Spidan if anyone would find that useful. But, there are so many pages that I can't face doing more than a few every now and again. So, only by request. BOSSES - It would be nice if there was someway I could put the info where it will be easily found. How shall I do it?
Always use GKN CV's. Mine take an absolute hammering and I have never been let down. Daved, I tried to contact GKN Motorsport a few months back as they do uprated motorsport drive-shafts and CV's. Would you be able to put me in touch or ask your friend if there's any applications for Mk2/Corrado?
Sorry, I don't know your given name or I would use it. I did that very thing yesterday. I actually mentioned this here. http://www.clubgti.com/showthread.p...-Will-I-stay&p=2392329&viewfull=1#post2392329 I emailed both the manager of GKN Motorsport and the design Engineer, who is actually away 'til the 14th. I asked all of the questions that you want answering. Plus about the Mk3 & Mk4 Kit car stuff. I sent images, part lists, etc., etc., etc.,. I even asked about a price and minimum quantity for a CGTI group buy. FYI - MS3K031 appears to be an exact fit for 100mm inner CVs. I have asked for confirmation on this. I also asked if they could open out the standard 6 x M8 holes to 3 x M10 and 3 x 12mm reamered as per Mk2 VWMS. VWMS outer CVs are fully covered in this thread. http://www.clubgti.com/showthread.php?277983-Easy-late-Mk2-Upgrade-to-Audi-80-CV-Joints&highlight= Regards, Dave.
Can the club arrange a Dropbox system ... whereby files can be uploaded, then downloaded for a small fee ?
Afternoon Colin. I eventually found a CV Joint and ordered it. But, as I said, although they list them at, to my mind, a very reasonable price, neither GSF nor Euro Car Parts show it as stock. They show it as 5-7 days delivery. I checked a lot of other car parts factors in Eire, the UK and Europe. Perhaps 40% listed GKN, but none held stock. Now, it just so happens that Phil, the manager of Euro, Castlereagh, Belfast, is a drinking buddy of mine. So I phoned him to ask if he would order one for me. A quick check on his internal system shows one in Norwich. He did say that he would phone me back to confirm as sometimes stock levels are incorrect. I have not heard from him so I think I am OK. This CV Joint is used on a lot of Audis including many models much more modern than my 100. On ClubGTI I have started a thread basically extolling the virtues of GKN/Lobro/Spidan products. I also said that if people did have any problems getting hold of Lobro CVs to let me know and I'd pass it on to you. I also said that GKN did not make products for third party aftermarket suppliers. I have had a couple of people say that they always fit GKN and are, like myself willing to wait the 5-7 days for delivery. Other people have said they would have bought GKN but were usually desperate to repair the car and took whatever was offered from over counter stock. These people all said that they wished they had not fitted the rubbish as they had lots of problems. So it might be to your advantage to get GSF and Euro to hold small stocks at their main depot as most people would be quite willing to wait just a day or so for courier delivery. There are still a lot of the 1980s and 1990s VAG cars out there, and most of them use the same CV Joints. Most are owned by enthusiasts who do their own maintenance. I bet GSF and Euro could quickly scan the systems and find out which model's owner buy the most products. As you suggested I have emailed GKN Motorsport. Regards, Dave
Feck Brian, thank you. Very early tomorrow I shall phone Colin and ask him about this. I am a completely disillusioned human being right now. I do not mislead people and never have Why the feck would anyone do this to me?
I would think Colin, no disrespect to him in any way has any clue where most of the stuff comes from. This is common in many companies now. The sales folk are very far removed from the coal face nowadays. http://www.gkn.com/media/News/Pages/GKN-Driveline-in-China-growth-on-track.aspx http://www.gkn.com/gknchina/Pages/default.aspx Why would you be upset? Nearly everything is linked to China now - the Chinese are very good at what they do. Brian,
Brian, I am going to bed now as I am uber upset. Almost in tears. Colin knows of my mental and physical health issues. I honestly cannot believe that. in his position, he does not know what is happening.
Ta so Brian. It's 04.52 and I am out of bed. I have been awake for 2 hours. I can't get back to sleep for thinking about this, and other threads, where I had thought I was helping to inform people only to find out that all of the hours of hard work that I had put in were a waste of time. In some cases it was due to my own lack of knowledge which made me jump to false conclusions. i.e. The Wishbone Rubbish thread, which I shall clear up later today as I believe that I now understand where I went wrong, thanks to Justin. (I was going to post a link here but the search function is out-of-kilter) Being deliberately misled though is a different matter as I have very little chance of gaining data to enable me to reach a logical premise. But I now believe that Colin may not have misled me. I jumped to a stupid conclusion, possibly because I was on beer #5 by then, thinking straight away of: Everything is made in rip-off China. From the image that you have posted I can see possible answers to my dilemma that has now arisen regarding CV joints. I did not realise that GKN had a Chinese subsidiary and had jumped to the wrong conclusion. I have been onto the GKN China website and realise how little I know about GKN as it is now. I still think its the 1970s. Perhaps GKN China produces parts for those vehicle manufacturers only for use in their vehicles which are built in their Chinese factories? But, when all's said and done the quality standard at any GKN factory, wherever it is, should be the same so I would not necessarily condemn them out of hand. More research is needed. I really don't mind receiving Bosch parts which say 'Made in Czechoslovakia'. My two Bosch Motorsport fuel pumps were manufactured in different countries. The 8 bar B 261 205 413-01 was made in Czech, whilst the 5 bar 0 580 254 044 was made in Germany. Could be LOBRO still supply European manufacturers, especially where they are already tooled up to produce these items? I shall endeavor to find out. p.s. I have been trying to get in touch via: phone, email and CGTI pm.
Dave, I dont think you mis-lead anyone. I never understood why where something is made could effect its quality given that the same QC checks are carried out regardless of Geography. I have walked the length and breath of many factories world wide - there are good ones and bad ones everywhere. The bad ones producing poor products in China are usually run by an extra greedy Westerner - however, it is the same story worldwide. On an off topic, China have some of the best mould tool builders I have ever seen anywhere - solely down to the fact they have so much experience of what works and what wont. Will be in touch soon, here there and everywhere atm. Good to see you back! Brian,
The Chinese make some very good stuff. Its all in the quality control and the spec whatever company wants the stuff made in. If you spec **** you will get it but if you spec a high quality you will get it also. I have a friend that spent the last 3yrs going around to factorys etc in China and has now setup a company in Ireland that can organise getting parts made for you to your spec over there.
