'silver i used 3/8s ID coolant hose the first time and there was too much play that the shaft rattled around as if the hoses weren't even there. Your O.D. looks larger than the 3.8s ID hose I used. Do you get any noticeable noise at various speeds at all and where did you get your tranny hose? I might try those ones, thanks.

I really love this thread! It's a wonderful bodge. You just know someone will be selling a kit on Ebay before long.. :)

Major KUDOS...to all of you brave enough to try this Jimi'd-up fix. There is NO WAY those fixes are gonna fail anytime soon.....unless you pass a Sawzall and/or torch it! Jimi got a BIG sh!t-eating grin, right about now. Great photos, guys!

+++ve's for the 'JIMI' fix!

At this point, my '08 has a mere 95KKm's (~57K miles), and the cardan shaft rubber mount is like new .... to keep it that way, i would like to repack the steady bearing .... as this bearing going dry is likely one contributor to failure of the rubber mount.

Is it possible with a pick tool to pop off the two seal rings and repack in situ??

I've read a procedure for doing this when replacing the mount, but thought that it was an off the vehicle deal. I've marked the base plate to conserve the alignment, but would appreciate your input before diving in.

Hi

I've just got me a 2004 3,2L
What is the problem with cardan shaft on these?

Rubber support failing -» broken bearing -» broken shaft -» replace shaft?
Replacing rubber support will fix issue so shaft will work for a longer time?

There's nothing wrong with the shaft or the bearings. The rubber bearing support deteriorates and the shaft bangs against the underside of the vehicle. I suppose over time the excess movement would damage the transmission and differentials, but you can't drive it like that long enough to do that damage.

The bearing is a wear-out item on these vehicles. I've heard of them going as early as low 60s and as high as twice that. Figure 80 to 100 on average. You often get some warning in the form of a funny vibration during acceleration (a 'whummering-whummering' sound). When that happens, throw a razor knife, some 3/8 transmission fluid line, and some zip-ties into your truck and you'll be good to go. There's actually enough room under the truck to make the repair without a lift (unless you're a larger fellow, I suppose).

I got mine at Autozone. I just asked for some 3/8" coolant line -- the counterguy let me go back and feel the difference in stiffness between the normal coolant line (designed for hot coolant) and the tranny coolant line (designed for hot tranny fluid). If you zoom on the pictures you see an "SAE J1532" and as I recall, it was Goodyear hose.

I have had zero problem with rattle or mechanical vibration -- or even vibration conduction from driveshaft to frame. No noise whatsoever...

Dave

Given the low mileage on mine, and condition of the rubber support when it failed, this would appear to me to be a age-related deterioration -- perhaps exacerbated by the Magnesium Chloride they use on the roads in winter here in Colorado. Next time you are under the car changing the oil, just give it a visual to see if there is any cracking...

Helllooooo Cayenne owners - new owner here (2006 V-8).

I followed this thread when my new-to-me Cayenne had the rubber around the driveshaft bearing fall apart (and not covered under the 1-year powertrain warranty). I was just about to order a new shaft when I thought I'd give the jimmy-fix a try. (NOTE - any mechanical skills I have have been passed down from Garth S (as seen above in this thread), as we have been 928 owners and now Cayenne owners at the same time).

First off - let me describe the symptoms I had, for future readers of this thread.

1st symptom was a feeling that both rear tires had gone flat upon heavy acceleration - there is "boggy"/tires being dragged down feeling. The feeling will go away once regular acceleration is used.

If you keep driving this way, eventually there will be the famous knock on your right elbow through the centre console (this is the driveshaft hitting the bottom of the car). At this point - try and park the car as soon as possible.



So....here was my procedure....

1. Went to the local parts place and bought two kinds of hose - one was quite soft, while the other was harder. I went with the harder one. For comparison - the 1st hose was so soft I could squeeze it and close the hole. The 2nd hose was so hard that squeezing the hose only slightly moved it. It is PS return hose apparently.

I also went with 100lb outdoor zip ties. These suckers are THICK and wide. It did make the job harder as even fishing the zip ties through the hose was a chore - it was extremely hard to slide an additional zip tie (to attach finished support to the carrier) through the tube. While the 100lb ties appear super-strong, they are harder to work with....

http://i58.tinypic.com/2ylo9xs.jpg



2. Cut the hose into 13 individual pieces - each piece being 1.5 inches in length.

http://i57.tinypic.com/2e49p4k.jpg



3. Zip tie em' together....(NOTE how tight my 13 pieces are together - they should be slightly loose in comparison to mine)

http://i59.tinypic.com/2n8v2j4.jpg
http://i57.tinypic.com/f04vut.jpg
http://i57.tinypic.com/2jscbo.jpg
http://i60.tinypic.com/2wq8jtl.jpg
http://i57.tinypic.com/2s7ytk5.jpg


I pre-installed the last zip tie and the other zip ties that would attach the support to the carrier. Note - these zip ties should be pulled all the way through first, as it become more difficult to slide them once they are in circle form - at least it was for me using the thicker zip ties.......

http://i62.tinypic.com/dncxuo.jpg
http://i62.tinypic.com/30voj0l.jpg



NOTE - when I joined the 13 pieces together, I tightened the zip ties as tight as I could get them - this was a bad move as 13 of these pieces zipped tightly together, when joined over the driveshaft will not slide over the bearing (as my fellow Canuck mentioned earlier in the thread). If you zip tie them as tight as I did - 14 pieces is probably better - if you leave them slightly loose like Silver Kugel did, the 13 pieces shouldn't be a problem. I needed to leave the support open and zip tied it to the carrier first - then slid (still a very tight fit) it over the bearing and closed the final zip tie as tight as I could. My 13 pieces are VERY tight around the bearing.

Also, if you don't attach the support to the carrier first, then once you slide it over the bearing, the carrier cannot spin anymore and you cannot reach the top of it to tighten the zip ties - this was all learned through trial and error and took some time.



4. I jacked the car in the front (in retrospect, maybe the rear is a better place??) using a 2.5 ton locking jack (which pings and moans a lot more when raising the 955 vs the 928) and a block of wood. I then placed 3-ton jackstands at the jackpoints - they fit perfectly.

http://i61.tinypic.com/azjvjk.jpg
http://i57.tinypic.com/2n9yvf8.jpg


**At this point it should be noted that you cannot complete this job without raising the car. While you *can* wiggle under the car as is, it leaves no room to work - the bottom of the car is too in your face.**



4. Now, time to get under the car.....

http://i62.tinypic.com/33upsmx.jpg

Had a heck of a time getting the bigger 18mm (in my case) bolts to break - smashed a few knuckles. The 14mm bolts were easy. It didn't help I was using some weird Japanese tool kit I bought at Winners - lol.



5. Finally I can see the damage...

http://i59.tinypic.com/dvmu54.jpg
http://i60.tinypic.com/16l077m.jpg
http://i60.tinypic.com/b7yirm.jpg



6. Started scrapping off the old rubber around the bearing/carrier (used a carpet knife/razor blades)...

http://i60.tinypic.com/2nrirnk.jpg
http://i60.tinypic.com/102tvv4.jpg
http://i58.tinypic.com/2n8di12.jpg



Some carnage....

http://i62.tinypic.com/dystau.jpg
http://i60.tinypic.com/1zm03n5.jpg



New vs old - doesn't seem like a fair amount of rubber from the old support, eh?

http://i59.tinypic.com/70csyg.jpg


It is important - very important to get rid of all of the old rubber. Simply because, when using 3/8 hose, there is very little room for the carrier to slide over the hoses if they are raised due to old rubber under them or because there is old rubber on the carrier. The more old rubber you leave on there = more work trying to get it all to fit.



7. Now, I ended up getting it all tied to the carrier and slid over the bearing and was done....the 1st two pics show me trying to put it over the bearing first - but I couldn't get the carrier to slide over, plus I couldn't reach the top of the carrier once I did slide it over.

http://i58.tinypic.com/zyfcx.jpg
http://i58.tinypic.com/favryx.jpg
http://i62.tinypic.com/125gcoy.jpg



From the back (shooting from the front of the car back).....note how much room those zip ties take up!....and "poland" - WTF??? lol

http://i59.tinypic.com/35hp6p2.jpg




So, the verdict is....it worked. I didn't bother greasing the bearing because I really didn't think it would work on the 1st try and I'd be back under the car again. I ended up paying the local shop $40 to grease it.

I do not have ANY vibration - BUT, I do find there is a slight "hummm" from the driveshaft when in gear (goes away in Neutral). Now, that may just be because I drove the 928 for the week the 955 was down and it is a much noisier vehicle, so maybe I'm just hearing normal driveline sound.

A question......

Is there a chance my work is TOO tight? I mean, in looking at the old support, it seemed to be a waffle/baffle type-deal that would have quite a bit of give in all directions - not enough to let the driveshaft hit the underside of the vehicle - but enough it has some movement. I fear my fix is so tight around the bearing that it has no room to move left or right - I think it will still allow for the 8mm front-to-back movement. I ask because with the large zip ties and the tightness of the rubber pieces, there is not much flex in them.

I noticed the original jimmy fix only used 8 tubes and doesn't appear to be hugging the bearing like mine - is the 13 very tight hoses overkill????

I mean, it works - I just doesn't feel like re-doing it all over again with softer hoses/smaller zip ties/less tight if I'll still end up with the slight "hummmm". And keep in mind, it is VERY slight but if you pop the car in Neutral while driving, you can notice it goes away.

Anyways - hope my post helps future jimmy'ers and I will update down the road as to how it has held up.


P.S. - Garth, I'll be up to give some pointers when it comes time to do your support. :D

Jimi looked at your procedure, and it appears very robust. He said you could even remove 3-4 hoses just to "loosen-up" the precision, and add some floppiness....which is why the OEM rubber felt smoother. Great job!

Thanks so much for the reply!

I think it may be too tight. A few days after the fix, I developed a small "bump" noise.

This noise is similar to the "BOOM BOOM" under the armrest, but just about 400% less boom - it is almost unnoticeable. The only time I get this noise is at very low speeds and only just after I hit the throttle or let off the throttle.

I had it in to the Porsche dealership the other day to check out a CEL (turned out to be an oxygen sensor - check out fine - they re-set the light), and I asked them to check out the noise - I thought it might be a CV or something - it sounded like it was coming front the right front at times.

One tech got in the front - the other in the back - they went for a drive and the dude in the back held his hand to the floor and confirmed it was the "cardon shaft". The work order simply said, "Noise from underside of vehicle - confirmed to be cardon shaft - "aftermarket" support was installed by owner". ...and they left it at that. lol

I am assuming that when initial pressure/release is applied to the shaft, it somehow bends/flops/moves; and the tightness of my jimmyfix is causing it to stay in place and perhaps the noise is another part around the bearing hitting something stationary that should be moving.

Will get back under the car first chance I get and replace those huge zip ties with regular sized ones and either remove a few tubes or slacken up how tight the existing tubes are.

....will report back to see if that fixes the noise. :)

That sounds like the throttle body issue.

That crossed my mind (along with CV, brakes, axles, etc.).

The Porsche guys took it for a spin and isolated the sound to the cardon shaft. I will be getting under it today and see if giving the shaft some wiggle takes away the sound.

The car came with the one-year powertrain warranty. Although it hasn't covered the cardon shaft so far, I think it may cover the entire transmission; so, if the valve body is going, it may be covered - fingers crossed it isn't though. :)

Yes: valve body. The brain wasn't working too good that morning!

I am not having any problems with my cardan shaft (yet?), but was thinking about picking up one of these just to have on-hand (eBay link shows they are now $260). I have to agree with ciscorp that this seems to be the most logical and (questionably) easiest way to go. I like the Jimmy-fix for emergencies, but still have a hard time considering this as a "permanent" fix (but very impressed by the people who have been using it for many thousands of miles).


My question about the complete replacement shown in the link above: has anyone ever replaced the entire shaft, and what is involved? Difficulty rating on a scale of 1 (oil change) to 10 (engine replacement)?


I found some really old posts that mention it being easier if you remove the exhaust system (don't want to attempt that if I don't absolutely have to), and a few issues with the rear connection point not wanting to break free from the shaft, even after all the bolts were removed.


On the surface, it should be as easy as removing all the bolts, dropping the old shaft, and installing the new. Is there something I am missing here?


Any parts other than the shaft itself needed? New bolts?


As always, thanks for any help/insight you can provide.