Banging noise begins at 20mph+

It sounds like the centre bearing on the drive shaft.

Type Touareg Centre Bearing into Google pictures or videos to see how you can easily inspect it for yourself by getting out and getting under..

If it is the bearing rubber that has let go, do not drive the car - you may damage the transmission.

There are LOTS of threads on here about it: use the Search facility to get yourself up to speed and which course of action you want to take ranging from US$80 DIY to US$2,000 at the dealer.

Here's one to get you going:

http://www.clubtouareg.com/forums/f67/drive-shaft-bearing-failure-49135.html

Colorado Drive Shaft

Decided to go with a refurbished drive shaft from Coloradodriveshaft
They're WEB page says;
'Experience with knowledge is what sets us apart from others that try to remanufacture these VW Touareg drive shafts. These shafts are what we call the "next generation drive shaft" being different in design and function from other drive shafts makes them difficult to remanufacture. Our secret is easy: we treat every drive shaft as though it is going on our own personal vehicle, using care and know how only obtained with over time! Using original equipment parts and our high speed balancer insures you of a shaft that operates great right out of the box! Of course we give you the same warranty as VW offers: full 1 year warranty at near half the price VW charges!'

My hesitation was removing & replacing the bearings and balancing. Would have loved to save the extra dollars doing just the piece parts but just don't have the tool to remove the bearing as described in the thread nooby pointed me to in his reply above.
I'll followup with the end result in a few days.
Thanks again to Nooby and the rest of you guys. Great forum!

Oh yeah, the drive shaft was $375 USD after core return. Though I did pay $65 for expedited shipping. Figure I saved ~$1600 not going to the dealer.

Another selling point for me posted on their site:
*It has come to our attention of a "heavy duty" Touareg carrier support from Germany that can eliminate your carrier problems for good. We have researched this and found this HD carrier not to be manufactured in Germany but from China. Our experience is this will not work out. The carrier supports we supply with our shafts do come directly from Germany and are used on all replacement shafts for the dealers, as well as current Touareg new models. This original carrier support has been upgraded by the factory for improved function, and in our opinion can not be beat. We always supply you with the best parts available for your Touareg.

Well the bolts are out at both ends and the center bearing support plate but I can't get the drive shaft off.
At the differential the sleeve is backed out all the way revealing a large plastic washer and I can see a lot of grease. I'm pulling straight forward away from the differential but it just won't give. I can shove it to the rear and then yank it forward several times and hear a metal stop but it won't come all the way loose. At the front near the gear box there just doesn't seem enough play to clear the center of the shaft away from the flange.
I'm having difficulty describing what's happening but the bottom line is I'm unable to remove the shaft at either end. I'm trying to careful not to damage anything and maybe I'm just not strong enough or can't get enough leverage.
Any tips? Anyone?

VW Touareg Drive Shaft Installation Instructions : replacements volkswagen bearing suv problems cardan propeller propshaft

Volkswagen Touareg

http://www.clubtouareg.com/forums/f43/driveshaft-removal-68050.html

http://www.clubtouareg.com/forums/f43/prop-shaft-centre-bearing-24651-5.html


See post #62:

centre prop shaft mounting - myTreg forums - Page 4

Ok. Got the front off by also removing the that thick rubber flex plate (3 additional bolts).
The rear at the differential is still giving me a hard time. It is loose and can pull or push at least an inch in and out of the differential. It just won't come all the way. Feels and sounds like it's hitting a metal stop and I'm trying not to be too rough with it for fear of damaging something. I am being careful to pull/jerk on it while keeping the drive shaft straight in line, no angle. There's alot of play and maybe it is working it's way out and I just need to keep yanking on it.
I'm only trying to confirm that it's ok to keep yanking on it. I push it in a little then yank on it several times. Is it OK to do that? There seems to be plenty of clearance with the exhaust too (V6), at least for now until I get the shaft completely free.

Thank you for your guidance Nooby! This 55yr old is having fun but I readily admit it's been rough under there.

Done! Whew, and it was hard work for this old guy. My 6'2" frame has a hard time getting on/off the hard floor. Concrete hurts- get a padded mat - no room for anything else when all you have is two jack stands and a floor jack.
The time it took me was much longer than what I've seen posted throughout many posts here. Perhaps because I'm working alone and just not a mechanic by trade or hobby. I only do my own repairs when possible to save money and to learn.
My 2 tips are these. (There are many excellent posts with more info...read them all)
1.) It's ok to yank away at the drive shaft to separate it from the differential. You won't hurt anything. I pushed it in and yanked - over and over again. Then got mad and did it some more until it came free. Shout out to Vlad at coloradodriveshaft who said to apply penetrating oil around the seam of the drive shaft & differential disc at the time of my order and to to repeat each day until the replacement shaft arrived. I'm sure that helped.
2.)Be prepared to push the vehicle forward (while in neutral) to rotate the shaft to get at all the bolts. This means you jack the vehicle up, remove as many bolts as you can access, chalk or otherwise mark the shaft, lower and push the vehicle fwd a foot or so, and remove the remaining bolts.
That's really all I got other than to repeat it was hard work but doable. Thanks to this forum and nooby's help.
I will endeavor to post a followup after a few hundred miles to let you know how the replacement shaft is doing.
BTW, the new center support bearing had a red ring/stripe on the rubber bushing.