...
Coincidently?, both failures were while towing about 4,000 pounds. Obviously way under the capacity but now I'm afraid to tow anymore. Any suggestions or words of encouragement would be appreciated.

Suggestions:
Don't be afraid to tow elvic_thrust:

Words of encouragement:
Third time lucky [-o<

 

I have been following this particular problem for about 4 years after my shaft failed [when not towing!] and this is the first time I have seen anyone mention they were towing let alone on both occasions when the failure occurred.

At 55K your first shaft was "in the zone" [60K miles/100K kms/ 5 years or thereabouts] but a second shaft - presumably a new VW part if under warranty? - at 10K is an exception.

One or two people have had second failures when using refurbished third party shafts rather than buying new ones from VW.

As for the future - keep your warranty going!

 

Was this a OEM shaft or refurbished unit from the aftermarket sector?

 

Maybe they didn't properly balance the shaft after the first refitting? Looks like a botched refitting to me to be honest.

 

If the actual shaft assembly was correctly ( dynamically) balanced in the first place, then I can be fitted in any position with no effect on balance. Sounds more like a hardware issue rather than a fitting problem.

Stuart..

 

Hi Guys, I am new to the site and not sure if I am allowed to do this but contact me if you need any spares for your vehicles. We have an office in Fort Lauderdale and the Uk as well as Poland and South Africa. The complete shaft sells for 320 pounds and we have the bearings etc.

You should be able to change the bearing without re balancing the shaft but you must mark it before stripping so that it goes back together in the original position.

 

I think you ought to be a commercial member.

Send a PM to the Administrator.

 

Just pop one of these in your glove compartment for good measure Drive Shaft Driveshaft Clamping Bearing Support Mount - NEW Cardan Shaft FIX! | eBay

 

Driveshaft

My driveshaft bearing went out at 73k. Being somewhat mechanically minded I inspected the bearing at the shop that was repairing it. It typically is not the bearing that fails but the rubber seal holding the bearing in place. A poor design/inferior rubber materials. To replace the bearing requires separating the two piece driveshaft. It's made as a sealed unit. My shop was able to get the $100 aftermarket seal, which appears to have a thicker rubber seal than the factory part, carefully undo the 2 piece seal, replace the bearing, reseal the unit, and reinstall. Took just over 3 hours labor.

I have to say my shop does a lot of car restoration and fabrication so they used my Touareg as a test bed as to the best way to fix this problem. They do a lot of Porsche and Audi work and see the same problems on both. After getting mine done they are confident it will work and are now ready to help other Touareg owners. The best part is they guarantee their work for 12k or 12 months.

My Touareg is out of warranty now but I have filed a claim at VW North America Customer Service for a reimbursment based on poor materials and design. Will let the forum know their response. It's obviously a problem from the beginning since so many comments are on this thread.

Good news is parts were only $100 instead of $1200. You can get a rebuilt driveshaft from your local driveshaft repair shop as an option but thats still around $400-500.

 

My OEM replacement under warranty went out within a month/300 miles.

 

VW Customer Service replied to my request for assistance in paying for defective design/materials on my driveshaft failure. Their response: out of warranty your problem.

Lesson learned: If you buy a Volkswagon get all the warranty you can. The warranty will be more reliable than the vehicle.

 

x2 on warranty.