Greetings.

After taking my 2005 Cayenne in for some safety recall work today - the techs there noticed my drive shaft was a bit a loose - and thought it was something I should get get looked at in the near future. Currently not noticing any knocking when accelerating or driving - as was told this would be a sign that this particular problem is getting worse.

The vehicle has 168,00 km (104,390 miles) on it - mostly put on by me

The vehicle has not been driven hard and has been well maintained. It runs really well...

Because of the age of this vehicle - does anyone think that this is a sign of more expensive repairs to come? I get that the vehicle is older and I would like to think that this is just a normal wear expense.

Just trying to understand if the end is near - or this is just one of those things that wears out and needs to be done...

Thanks,

SparkyCanada

 

It's a known defect in the Cardan shaft bearing support. Search on here for things like: Jimi, dwarf, and hammer for info on the problem and repair options. I would not say it is indicative at all that your car is about to wear out front to back.

BTW, I have a 2004 S with about the same mileage of yours. Ready, but holding off on this repair (which I'll do myself). Just the other day, at the very beginning of a drive, I heard the telltale noise, but it went away after a few seconds and I could not replicate it. So I think my wait is over and I'll be doing the fix sooner rather than later.

 

Well, first off, as noted above, the Cardan shaft bearing support is a known failure issue. Driven gently, getting to just over 100k miles is not unusual.

Fixing it runs the gamut from spending $2k (USD) at the dealer for an entire new shaft to be installed all the way down to about $10 worth of heater hose and zip ties to do the Jimi fix. (Search "Jimi fix' spelled that way).





To answer the rest of your question...

Sort of. The car is 15 years old and has traveled the equivalent of 4 times around the globe. Stuff is wearing out and will fail. Motor mounts & alternator are the 'big ones'. LCA bushings, hatch struts, and a few others are the 'not big ones'.

All part of the adventure of keeping one of these long term.
They aren't all going to happen at once, but most will happen eventually.

Much of it is DIY-able by a reasonably competent 'home mechanic'

None of it is as expensive as getting a new car.





The "School Me" thread has a good list of what to expect as it ages.

 

Truth!

Minus the older infotainment (radio) in the 05, there is no benefit to a new car as the Cayenne is still a very solid vehicle to drive and should be optioned well.

 

Typical, nice that yours lasted so long. The new shaft is not that expensive and easy to install. Get the whole shaft as the center bearing may be only a temporary solution

 

Here's an update...

Thanks for the information oldskewel - I haven't experienced any of the sounds you or the mechanic suggested I would hear as this problem progresses. That being said - the fact that there is a problem in the works kinda bothers me - I'm the kind of owner that as soon as I'm aware of something that needs attention - I'm all over it...



Thanks Wisconsin Joe - I've come to discover that this Cardan shaft is something that's just going to fail - as your post supports... so maybe it's just time...

Funny that you mention the alternator... 2 days ago I got the "Four Wheel DR. System Faulty" error. Stopped at my local mechanic - they did a quick scan and noticed that the alternator may not be charging properly - which from what I understand - when the voltage drops - this can cause this type of error - so it looks like that's on the list as well. Battery was replaced in January of this year...

Also, when I had it in for a safety recall (which is when they discovered the the cardan shaft issue) - they also noted that my front brake lines were starting to fray a bit - so probably get that looked after soon as well...

Agreed - still not "as expensive as getting a new car".



Thanks for the reality check Pillow - I have completely upgraded my infotainment system in my vehicle, Replaced the head unit, installed a back-up camera, replaced all the speakers with Focal speakers, installed a Stealth sub and upgraded the amp - I did most of this the first year of owning this vehicle...



Thanks dr914 - I have been told that the the entire shaft would be replaced as it comes as a kit and can't be done separately...


Thanks everyone for your input and wisdom

 

Who told you that?

What fails is the bearing support. Not the bearing.
The factory shaft has a fairly thin rubber membrane holding the center bearing in place. When that fails ('when', not 'if') the center bearing is unsupported. The shaft, which is a two piece unit, is then free to whip around. The bearing whipping around inside the ring is what produces the 'midget with a hammer' effect.

While it's true that the factory doesn't offer anything but the complete shaft, the reality is that, unless you've driven it too long while letting it 'hammer', the only problem is the torn bearing support.

So all you need to do is 're-support' the bearing.

There are a couple aftermarket bearing support kits. Some need the shaft removed, some don't.

Then there's the 'Jimi Fix'. All it is is short sections of heater hose, zip tied together to form a ring, then zip tied to the ring that that held the bearing support.
$10 in materials, less than an hour of labor.

I've had my Jimi Fix in for 3 1/2 years and 16k miles. I took a look at it when I had the car up in the air for trans fluid & filter and a couple zip ties had broken. But nothing had moved. Replaced the zip ties and all has been well (it had been fine as far as I could tell, even with the broken zip ties).

 

Both the dealership and an independent shop...

SparkyCanada

 

Not surprised about the dealer.

Not totally surprised about the indy.
Some folks have had issues getting the aftermarket bearing supports to center properly. If so, there is still a fair amount of vibration.

Somehow I doubt that your indy would go for the Jimi Fix. When I did mine, one of the guys at the shop a friend owns & operates disparaged it as a "MacGuyver Fix" (he's right). The comment went something along the lines of "fix it correctly, not with hose pieces & zip ties".

Fast forward a couple months. There's a Pacifica AWD in that shop. It has a 2 piece driveshaft. The bearing support for the mid-shaft bearing has failed. The 'factory fix' is a new shaft. Not cheap. (can you see where this is going?)
Owner can't afford the new shaft. Nothing wrong with it other than the bearing support. Both the tech & the owner of the shop remembered me telling them about the Jimi Fix. I got a phone call and directed them to this forum and then to the thread.

It was fixed fairly quickly for a price that gave the owner a very pleasant surprise.

 

do the jimi fix as it lasts according to many on the forums.
maintaining one of these at high miles IMO is waste of time. from the sunroof and cowl drains to the poor wiring to the valve body failures and the sheer weight of the vehicle I say move on as I did with my 08 VR6 Touareg. Replaced with a Q5 which is smaller but a far superior vehicle. it drives way better, less gas, and modern and sporty

 

lol...no love for the old pigs. Not familiar with Q5, I'll have to google. Do you miss the 993TT? I remember drooling over it on a fun run when it was back in DC.

a quick google :

Q5 is Audi' Best Seller; and for good reasons... Smooth, incredibly smooth, and tight, and superior to its competitors in so many ways.