[az04touareg]

Anyone that could help me diagnose this issue.

Last week I noticed a loud noise coming from below my arm rest as if something was loose underneath and was hiting hard. Took it to my friend's shop and found out the Driveshaft Support Center Bearing needed to be replaced. Luckily, I was able to find one online, however this type of bearing is not easy to get removed from the shaft so I took it to this shop in Phoenix, AZ. (Phoenix Rack and Axle). They were able to remove the old one and pressed in the replacement. Finally, just yesterday we installed the drive shaft again with the new support bearing. Drove it a low speed and seem to work fine after I got on the freeway and hit the 65mph I noticed the rear end was kind of shaking but no loud noise below the armrest. I drove it again this morning and the noise below the armrest is back. However I will hit 50mph and maintain that speed with no acceleration and noise will go away, just the shaking will continue (like if I had a flat tire).

Any suggestions on what else to check for?

I have look underneath and the support bearing and the whole shaft looks fine.

Any suggestion is much appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Ryan]

Sounds like it wasn't balanced properly when they put the new bearing in

 

[az04touareg]

I am sorry, I did not understand that correctly, as I am new in Touaregs. The tires need to be balanced again? Or there is something else that needs to be balanced?

Thanks for the reply, Ryan.

 

[Ryan]

The driveshaft needs to be balanced after replacing the center bearing. At low speeds, therefore low rpms, an out of balance driveshaft won't be as noticeable. But once you hit higher speeds/rpms the unbalanced driveshaft will produce results similar to what you are seeing.

It just sounds like when they took off the bearing they didn't realign the driveshaft sections properly which is surprising if it was a shop that specializes in this kind of work. They should have a dedicated machine that will spin the driveshaft up to speed to check balancing issues before re-installation.

 

[noobytoogy]

The centre bearing is still your problem.

Take it back and get it fixed or get yourself a refurbed shaft from one of the companies recommended by others on here.

Extended running can damage the rest of the drive train so don't drive the car.

 

[Touareg MNE]

there is also one thing you should know..You have a metal plate where the bearing is fixed,it is connected on chassis and it is under the drive shaft... Once when you install the drive shaft and the bearing you must get the bearing on the right position on that plate,it has two screws and there is not just hole it has space to move them forward and backwards.. Before you fix it you need to drive a car a couple of meters at low speed so the bearing gets on its right position,when you do this you can fix the bearing to that plate.. If your mechanic didn't do that,probably you have to buy a new bearing..

 

[az04touareg]

The driveshaft needs to be balanced after replacing the center bearing. At low speeds, therefore low rpms, an out of balance driveshaft won't be as noticeable. But once you hit higher speeds/rpms the unbalanced driveshaft will produce results similar to what you are seeing.

It just sounds like when they took off the bearing they didn't realign the driveshaft sections properly which is surprising if it was a shop that specializes in this kind of work. They should have a dedicated machine that will spin the driveshaft up to speed to check balancing issues before re-installation.

I don't think my mechaninc was aware of that, but will check into that as well. I might just take it to the place that installed the bearing on the shaft, they probably are more familiar with it. Thanks!

 

[az04touareg]

The centre bearing is still your problem.

Take it back and get it fixed or get yourself a refurbed shaft from one of the companies recommended by others on here.

Extended running can damage the rest of the drive train so don't drive the car.

I checked the Center bearing, it looks just fine. The one we took off, was completely worn out and destroyed.

 

[az04touareg]

there is also one thing you should know..You have a metal plate where the bearing is fixed,it is connected on chassis and it is under the drive shaft... Once when you install the drive shaft and the bearing you must get the bearing on the right position on that plate,it has two screws and there is not just hole it has space to move them forward and backwards.. Before you fix it you need to drive a car a couple of meters at low speed so the bearing gets on its right position,when you do this you can fix the bearing to that plate.. If your mechanic didn't do that,probably you have to buy a new bearing..

does this means we must leave the bolts a little loose and drive it and than kind of tighten them up, once in the right position. will definitely look into this. Thanks!

 

[Touareg MNE]

Yes,thats what I did when I changed the bearing.. Just a couple of meters will get the bearing in the right position.. low speeds,like 5 miles per hour.. Just put it in the first gear and drive it without touching the gas pedal..

 

[az04touareg]

Yes,thats what I did when I changed the bearing.. Just a couple of meters will get the bearing in the right position.. low speeds,like 5 miles per hour.. Just put it in the first gear and drive it without touching the gas pedal..

Thanks, I will definitely try it this afternoon. And I will also look into the balancing of the shaft as well.

 

[JCB1]

Similar problem

My '04 Treg started doing a similar noise/shaking that feels like it is under the arm rest, but only occasionaly - usually only when I start out in the morning (and only if I turn left out of the driveway, not if I turn right ....) for a few feet, then nothing more. Other than first thing in the morning, it has only done it 2 other times, once when accelerating quickly up a hill, and once turning left after a stop light.

Is this the beginning of problems as discussed on this thread? Is it safe to drive?

Thanks so much.

 

[noobytoogy]

No. Don't wait. Get it fixed. A number of us would now recommend changing this item as routine maintenance at 5 years or 60,000 miles!

The repair is a few hundred buck but a failed bearing may damage the gearbox which is $8,000.

Moreover, if it lets go, you'll need a tow truck which can be both inconvenient and expensive.

 

[JCB1]

Thanks!

I am at 78K miles, so I will get it taken care of ASAP! You are the greatest!

 

[burz]

My car is back in service a third time for the same central bearing problem. Like a month a go a noticed this rumbling noise under the arm rest. I tow it to this mechanic i know for years, and he told me is the central driveshaft bearing. He changed the bearing and when I pick it up it was working fine. Worked fine for three days.
I load it up for a trip and about 50 miles out of the town, the rumbling was back. I tow it back to the mechanic and he changed the bearing again, and balanced the driveshaft saying the driveshaft was out of balance and damaged the bearing. Again it worked fine for a week after which the rumbling was back again same as the first time. I checked myself and the driveshaft is moving as the bearing may be gone again.
I tow it back to the mechanic and he is telling me that there may be a problem in the differential that damage the bearing.

Is that possible?
Is it possible to have a problem in the differential and still be working fine with no noise, no shaking but only damage the center bearing?


Thank you,
Mike

 

[LocoLobo]

Hmm..i haven't had to change mine yet, but from trolling the forums for a year now, seems like most go for the remanufactured driveshaft with the bearing installed on it...

Not sure how he is getting the bearing on there, but that might be the problem more than it just going bad..

 

[JRiffe108]

May be time to locate a new mechanic.

 

[Touareg MNE]

My car is back in service a third time for the same central bearing problem. Like a month a go a noticed this rumbling noise under the arm rest. I tow it to this mechanic i know for years, and he told me is the central driveshaft bearing. He changed the bearing and when I pick it up it was working fine. Worked fine for three days.
I load it up for a trip and about 50 miles out of the town, the rumbling was back. I tow it back to the mechanic and he changed the bearing again, and balanced the driveshaft saying the driveshaft was out of balance and damaged the bearing. Again it worked fine for a week after which the rumbling was back again same as the first time. I checked myself and the driveshaft is moving as the bearing may be gone again.
I tow it back to the mechanic and he is telling me that there may be a problem in the differential that damage the bearing.

Is that possible?
Is it possible to have a problem in the differential and still be working fine with no noise, no shaking but only damage the center bearing?


Thank you,
Mike

Go to another mechanic..
But still maybe the drive shaft is damaged,so you'll need to buy another one..
But first try another mechanic..

 

[noobytoogy]

It is possible that the damaged shaft has caused collateral damage to the rest of the transmission but I think the first thing to do is to get a remanufactured shaft from one of the suppliers that have been mentioned on here, but use someone else other than your exising mechanic to fit it!

Your old shaft will be sent back to the remanufacturer.

Hopefully, that will sort you out with no further need to do anything else.

 

[burz]

Thank you guys. The thing is that the car is in the shop again. However, I will not pay him anything extra.
Besides, if I'll go to another mechanic i'll loose all the money I paid him so far plus the towing back and forth.