:-(

 

Just pulled it out. Took a whole 30 minutes. At least this is an easy job right? And..... Colorado Driveshaft shipped me out a replacement today. Rad.

I had a thought. Has anyone tried to run a Treg with no rear driveshaft? I was thinking to try, but didnt want to pull it off the jack stands for nothing. Haha.

 

Sorry to hear of your issues... is this common in these? I am a brand new owner!

 

Pretty common. But do not freak yourself out. It is not a catastrophic type failure. Easily fixed.

 

Yep, they will all fail. Mine was early at 53k miles. The guy at Colorado Driveshaft told me that the V6's typically fail between 65k and 80k.

 

Yes this is the average I've observed. :neutral:

 

Welcome to the drive shaft club.

 

drive shaft death!

:anger:

my v6 drive shaft gave up the ghost at 77k. sounds like i was one of the lucky ones. go us fidelis! don't own this car without some sort of extended service plan is my advice.

 

Mine gave up at 160k km's (so 100k mls). Absolutely agree with earflower - get extended warranty! Must state that the job was costed at AUD$3,000 in total but VW Aus chipped in so managed to reduce to $1,100.

 

Mine hasn't gone yet, 120000kms, it got noisy a couple of times so I packed in some grease. So far so good.

James

 

Two things. Just had mine go at 70,500, but to answer your question on driving without it. It won't work. Because of the traction control, it will feel the back wheels not going and think there is a problem. The only way to get it to go is to lock in the low differential, but then you can only go about 10 MPH.

Secondly, can anyone tell me why this hasn't become a class action law suit?

 

Two things. Just had mine go at 70,500, but to answer your question on driving without it. It won't work. Because of the traction control, it will feel the back wheels not going and think there is a problem. The only way to get it to go is to lock in the low differential, but then you can only go about 10 MPH.

Secondly, can anyone tell me why this hasn't become a class action law suit?

Traction control sensors work off exciter rings on the hub. So the traction control wont know whats going on because the rear wheels will be turning.

so if you lock your center diff, you COULD drive a short distance. But i imagine you would leak diff fluid, and expose your tranfer case to dirt and grime from the road.

And the reason it isnt a class action lawsuite is because that would be freaking rediculous for what is a $1,100 (dealer) part. Whats with everyone wanting to Lawyer Up these days?

P.S. Mine went at 54K miles and i was happy to replace it. They could have easiy gone with a strait driveshaft that doesnt involve a wear part (the carrier), but im glad they didnt so that i can go climb mountains without having to worry about things getting caught in my driveshaft.

 

Well, yeah, the cost isn't so bad, but I would just as soon not be deep in the Navajo Res or high in the Sierra and have things fail that require me to be towed out.

 

before you go out on a trail ride inspect the carrier, you will see signs of tearing and it may even be loose if you grab it and move it before you start to feel it going bad on the road.

 

How can I find out when mine is close to death? How much is the new one? R5 t-reg

 

I don't know about how to tell other than to look at that rubber bearing and inspect for tears/cracks, but to have the dealer fix it is about $1,400. However, if you have some mechanical ability you can order one from Colorado Drive Shaft for $575 including the core charge and get $100 back when you send them back your old one. Shipping to you and back to them is included. Total cost $475.

If you or a friend have any reasonable amount of mechanical ability you can do this from start to finish in a couple hours, at least on a V6.

 

just a rubber bearing costs that much?

 

You have to replace the whole rear drive shaft, you can just replace that rubber bearing unfortunately. Poor design.

 

The bearing is pressed into the carrier. You get the whole drive shaft...

 

The bearing alone is about €115, but then you still need to get someone to put it in for you. They split mine at the center bearing. No need to replace the CV joint.

For the guys in Europe, you can get the bearing from here:
Propshaft supplier, propshaft manufacturer & reconditioning | Firow Propshafts

Or else, just ask around. The original parts were made by a German company called GKN. They have distributors all over the world. Anyone of them should be able to get you the bearing, or even supply you with a complete new drive shaft.

 

Just curious on this Driveshaft Nightmare...today is day 2 of my Touareg ownership and while going through the maint. records before purchasing, it sayss they replaced the drive shaft (Part 7LO-521-101-H). Does that look to be the same part that is failing?

Sorry for the noobiness

 

I would be happy if they already took care of it.

 

And having made a replacement is the new product any better wearing than the original or are you just re-setting the clock?

 

how much to replace? driveshaft? any prevent-maintenance? how do you know when it "falls out"?

 

I just rec'vd my replacement from Colorado drive shaft and now my baby runs perfect!

 

Mine died at 90,000 miles. I just got mine back. If you are on the east coast, you may want to check out Drive Line Service Of Atlanta | Repair Rebuild and Custom Build Drivshafts
They stock the bearing and can repair the driveshaft. It is $350 to get it done. Putting it in tonight. Ill let you know how it goes.

 

Update! I got the shaft put in and it works perfect.

 

Another One Bites the Dust

My drive shaft died today at the age of 74,000 miles. Getting estimates between $1600-$1900. Ugh!

 

I just thought I would share pictures of my Drive Shaft explosion. Thankfully it didn't happen until 93K.

BTW - if you are in the Boston area and looking for a great mechanic who works for very reasonable rate check out Vanderveer Motors vanderveermotors.com - Maintenance and Repair Service for Mercedes-Benz Automobiles

 

I blew $1400 today to replace the propeller shaft on my 2004 V6 with 172,000 miles. I am so pissed because I had this thing replaced some 80K miles ago. I am not good at replacing these things like some of you and the dealer got me. I couldn't even wait to order the part as the thumping was scary bad. Didn't want to risk limb, life. They charged me $1095 for the shaft and some 294 for labor. I could have gotten the shaft cheaper and taken it to them to install. I am hoping drive this till about 250,000 miles. At this rate I will need to replace it for a 3rd time.

 

Did you take it to the D[st]ealer? Just had mine replaced, parts and labor $650. Bought the shaft from Colorado Drive Shaft and local high-end German car mechanic put it on for 100.00. total $550 for Part, $100 for labor.

 

172k miles! Holy hell. Very nice.