VW Passat CV axles

I’m going to replace 2000 Passat CV front axles as a favor for a friend. I picked up the axles today, and they’re funny looking, compared to the ones on my Civic. Appears they bolt to the transaxle, and are splined to the wheel hub, but there’s no nut to fasten them to the hub. How do they stay in the hub? Is there something peculiar about VW CV axles that I need to know?

Before you volunteer to repair a friends car, you should have some understanding of what you are doing…Time to invest $20 in a repair manual…The Germans do things differently than the Japanese…

Look like this?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1998-2001-VW-Passat-2-8-V6-New-LEFT-Drive-Axle-Shaft_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem5ad302312eQQitemZ390087192878QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

It will just plug into place and it won’t go anywhere.

You might inspect the bolts that hold the inner joint in place. The style has varied a it over the years but most of them were spline headed bolts
This might mean a trip to the parts store for a special socket; sometimes referred to as a “Triple Square” socket. Knock on wood they will have this socket.

ok4450,

Thanks for that reply, which was contained information that is actually helpful (unlike the first). I’ll check out the bolts. I still don’t understand how the outboard spline won’t slip out with bound and rebound, but I suppose I’ll understand when I see it.

Peter