Drive Shaft worn

[VW Guru]

Hi all I’m sorry I’ve missed out on part of this thread I’ve just become a dad and my priorities have been elsewhere as you can imagine. The inner Cv joints wear on all the 5 and 6 speed boxes due to the grease used between the male and female splines. The inner cv joint can be replaced separate of a complete drive shaft and a new gearbox output stub shaft will also be required as the two wear out together never just replace the cv joint. When the joint is replaced make sure whoever dose it does not use the recommended grease that vw say should be put between the cv joint and splines make sure the inner part of the cv joint splines and gearbox output stubshaft are thickly covered In graphite high temperature grease (also known as cv joint grease) they will never ever wear out. Back in 2005 I was replacing a huge amount of these parts due to failure then 20k later replacing them again. Be modified the stub and inner cv joint but it made no difference as the grease we were told to use dried out so I told all my guys to start covering the parts in cv joint grease ( note this is not a vw policy) and we have never had one fail since. Sorry if any of that’s already been said I’m just catching up. If you want to check for play then jack up the right front wheel and rock it you should instantly feel resistance against the gearbox (note all of this applies to manual DSG is different) if you can rock the wheel by 10mm back and forth with no resistance then the stub and cv joint are starting to wear by the time you have 25-30mm movement then get it replaced before you loose drive. Sometimes this play can also lead to a slightly harsh gear change as it messes up the load on the synchronization rings and hubs. No damage is caused to the box but it’s just something to note. Also there could be a knock when changing directions. Hope all that makes sense

 

[Borris]

What a comprehensive answer. Superb.

Congratulations to you both on the arrival of baby Guru. I hope he/she isn't being too high maintenance. My experience of these things are that they never come with a warranty or hand book but they give a life time of joy.

 

[westfalia]

What a comprehensive answer. Superb.

Congratulations to you both on the arrival of baby Guru. I hope he/she isn't being too high maintenance. My experience of these things is that they never come with a warranty or hand book but they give a life time of joy.

Hear, hear Borris.

Yes, congratulations Guru and thanks again for shedding some light.
Vw grease is mustard.

 

[B J G]

Sounds like it would be a good policy for manual gearbox owners to get the drive shaft stripped and regreased with CV joint spec grease asap in the life of a Cali.

 

[jts46]

Drive shaft splines worn on my Cali no drive, in France. Garage was amazed it was factory fitted dry ie splines not greased.
Cost was about £800

 

[Loz]

New service item for the keepers in that case, as driveshafts are not covered under warranty, they are considered wear and tear.

 

[pingpal6]

Hi all I’m sorry I’ve missed out on part of this thread I’ve just become a dad and my priorities have been elsewhere as you can imagine. The inner Cv joints wear on all the 5 and 6 speed boxes due to the grease used between the male and female splines. The inner cv joint can be replaced separate of a complete drive shaft and a new gearbox output stub shaft will also be required as the two wear out together never just replace the cv joint. When the joint is replaced make sure whoever dose it does not use the recommended grease that vw say should be put between the cv joint and splines make sure the inner part of the cv joint splines and gearbox output stubshaft are thickly covered In graphite high temperature grease (also known as cv joint grease) they will never ever wear out. Back in 2005 I was replacing a huge amount of these parts due to failure then 20k later replacing them again. Be modified the stub and inner cv joint but it made no difference as the grease we were told to use dried out so I told all my guys to start covering the parts in cv joint grease ( note this is not a vw policy) and we have never had one fail since. Sorry if any of that’s already been said I’m just catching up. If you want to check for play then jack up the right front wheel and rock it you should instantly feel resistance against the gearbox (note all of this applies to manual DSG is different) if you can rock the wheel by 10mm back and forth with no resistance then the stub and cv joint are starting to wear by the time you have 25-30mm movement then get it replaced before you loose drive. Sometimes this play can also lead to a slightly harsh gear change as it messes up the load on the synchronization rings and hubs. No damage is caused to the box but it’s just something to note. Also there could be a knock when changing directions. Hope all that makes sense

Fantastic easy to understand comprehensive reply to my thread. I will be very interested in the VW garages thoughts on this, If I ask them to use CV joint grease instead of the recommended grease. Thanks again

 

[Tom Rae]

VW garage Bilston Edinburgh are quoting


VW garage Bilston Edinburgh are quoting £924.82p. The person in reception informed me it would take 2.5 hours labour, now, I have no idea what the price of a drive shaft is, but even if half the cost was the par,t how much does the garage charge per hour for labour? Maybe I am just being naïve, it just seems excessive

I strongly suggest you get a second opinion from Witherspoon Motor Services in Edinburgh, I use them for my Cali having given up on Bilston a long time ago.

Tom

 

[pingpal6]

I strongly suggest you get a second opinion from Witherspoon Motor Services in Edinburgh, I use them for my Cali having given up on Bilston a long time ago.

Tom

Thanks Tom will do

 

[DominicR]

Driveshafts needed replacement on my van on both sides. One was within warranty period, the other just outside - VWCV paid for the parts in the latter case. The second time there was a distinct knocking sound when applying lock, but fortunately neither failed completely before replacement.

 

[pingpal6]

Driveshafts needed replacement on my van on both sides. One was within warranty period, the other just outside - VWCV paid for the parts in the latter case. The second time there was a distinct knocking sound when applying lock, but fortunately neither failed completely before replacement.

Luckily, that was fortunate for you but VW really need to look into this issue seriously

 

[Paul_W]

Our 2012 180 BiTDi had had both drive shafts replaced when we brought it with less than 40k on the clock. Both were replaced by a specialist garage not VW who wanted nearly £900 per side. Think they paid about £400 each side so a massive difference. Find it quite shocking that a T5 a heavy duty commercial vehicle workhorse should have drive shafts failing at such low mileage, really can’t understand it?

 

[TripleBee]

You mean this?

Doesn't do any harm. Just leaves you stranded wherever it tends to loose all the grip on the teeth. And then I just mean there where it happens. You can't drive any further.
So if it happens uphill with a truck in your back, you just end up on the front bumper of the truck.
It happened to me on a crossing at the red lights (green). Wanted to pull off, heard a very loud grinding noise, and that was it. No movement whatsoever from the van.

 

[TripleBee]

Find it quite shocking that a T5 a heavy duty commercial vehicle workhorse should have drive shafts failing at such low mileage, really can’t understand it?

The drive shafts would not fail so soon, if they were lubricated from the factory. What they didn't do on mine as it seems.
So after 7 years of letting the rust do it's work, and the driving helping doing the tear, it was the first time the van really putted me down.

 

[pingpal6]

Thanks Tom will do

Thanks Tom for the Witherspoon recommendation. They have inspected it, found slight wear, rebuilt and applied CV grease at my request.Great service they are a treat to deal with