I went with the Vertex bearing support about 12k ago and couldn't be happier. No vibration, no problems. Takes less than an hour to install and could probably do it now in 30 mins. Cleaning the rubber off the bearing is a bit tedious. It is a seriously well-engineered solution and I have every confidence that it will last a long time.

Cheers,
TomF

 

That makes sense. But, if it were me and I were replacing a worn center support bearing I'd just get rid of it all together and replace it with a one piece shaft. Higher performance, durability, maintenance free, and easier installation.

 

I can't think of anyone that's actually put in one of these, so I'd say that jury is out on durability (although it's safe to assume it's better than 100k, which is the lifetime of the cardan shaft).

But that is a seriously expensive solution at over $800. For that much you can buy two reconditioned cardan shafts. (Or a metric crapton of 3/8" transmission line and zip-ties!)

The other weird thing is that it's only for V8 955s. When the product owner posted about it in this forum, I directly asked at least twice why this product was only listed for the V8, when the V6 uses the exact same shaft. I never got an answer.

 

I actually think it's a cheaper option if you're replacing the shaft and support bearing. What's a support bearing run..a couple hundred by itself? The vertex is what..400? Plus another 500-1200 for an OEM or aftermarket 2-piece driveshaft?


I think that's because the only reason they were originally created was for the owner of thedriveshaftshop.com who himself has a Cayenne V8 and was getting tired of tearing through center supports. So he said screw it, made one, but had no interest in fitting it to other models or verifying that it fits them. But, if all the other 955 Cayennes use the same 2 piece shaft, then undoubtedly the replacement 1 shaft would have to fit them as well.

 

For the $350 to $450 you get it all: the support bearing and the drive shaft are a single assembly.

If you look at this pic, you can see the bearing support at the U-joint end of the shorter section of the drive shaft.



You can get the support bearing alone for under $100 all day. If you do that, then you can get your own shaft rebuilt. I'm not sure what the cost would be, but it wouldn't be much. Someone on the forum did it themselves in their driveway.

I'm not trying to start a fight, I'm just trying to point out that for cheap bastards and DIYers, there are options that won't crush your wallet. Not everyone who drives Porsches has deep pockets!

 

Yep. In another thread, I had to spell out, with math, for Villian that the average life expectancy is 90K miles on a factory shaft. That's from 27 data points on this forum from people that posted their mileage when theirs failed. That's about 10K miles less than the average life expectancy of lower control arms. Control arms are 3 times as expensive to replace when you factor in the required alignment.

It's amazing to me that people complain about this part. It's 350 for a rebuilt unit. It has a fairly predictable failure mileage. It's easy to do.

 

92k and mine feels like road joints everytime I accelerate away! I am thinking it is the center support???

 

+1

 

I didn't realize that, or at least I figured that everyone was replacing the two separately. Either way I still like the idea of spending twice as much, and removing the part that fails altogether. Simplifying maintenance and make it a DIY project for even the most novice of wrench-turners.

 

Climb underneath the truck with a flashlight and check. There are plenty of pics here on what they look like when they start to go. Basically, the rubber doughnut starts to look crumbly and torn. Put your hand on the shaft near the support and jerk it around and if it moves more than a twitch, it's time for a new one.

 

I'm surprised we're still talking about this. As you said: It's a cheap part and an easy fix. There are several well-documented solutions, including super-cheap DIYs and a couple fix-and-forget options (Vertex & Driveshaft Shop).

 

So I will need a couple of feet (enough for 8 pieces) of 3/8 fuel injection hose and zip ties to perform the mod?

 

Basically, yes. But, it's not a mod, it's a repair. Much more respectable.

I think someone said that transmission cooler line was stiffer and therefore a better choice.

 

I checked mine and while there is some movement it is not by any means gone or all wallered out. Also there is no way to do the Jimi repair as the rubber is solid. So my choices seem to be:
1. Vertex split unit for $400
2. Vertex (and /or other) rebuilt shafts for ~$350 or so plus exchange...call it $500 less the net on the exchange.
3. one piece shafts ~$800
4. center support bearing replacement...seems like good ones and bad ones and difficult to replace.

Not sure what to do here. $400 for the vertex unit is real expensive for what you get but it seems to do the job. The rubber center support replacement seems like a crap shoot. The rebuilt shaft or the one piece seem to make the most sense!

any additional experience share?

 

I have the $400 vertex unit, and mine still bangs around under high torque. Maybe I have some other problem going on, but I would go for a rebuilt shaft over the EPS split-support thing.