Cole, I looked at my response and I made an error. Both individuals, friend and uncle, have had there support bearing out at 30k and 70k. They replaced the center bearing at that mileage and now have 70k and 125k. Again, I'm just giving you my facts, you can take it or not I won't benefit from it.

All I'm trying to say is that that there are to many center bearing being thrown out. Mine actually lasted pretty long (98k miles) but then again I drive the V6 so there is much less torque being driven through the driveshaft.

 

The only negative feedback I've read about the Vertex product is that some have noticed an increase in vibration being transmitted to the chassis over the OEM bushing.

 

I see repeated mention of this being a Vertex product--Vertex is a seller-- the part is made by EPS European Parts Solution--see page 127 of June 2013 Excellence Magazine.

 

i tried the replacement support and found a lot of vibration being transmitted to the center counsel and removed it and went with a replacement shaft from vertex. I had one of the original versions and it appears to have changed since then. Maybe it is more compliant so that less vibration is being transmitted. That being said, the unit was very solid and easy to install. I would expect it to last quite a while and be superior to the OEM bushing. If my bushing fails again (just a matter of time) I will give the new product strong consideration.

FYI - i have had great experiences with Vertex and would not hesitate to buy from them.

 

I had bushing go out at 61k miles, after reading up here on the forums I call Vertex and Sid got one sent out to me ASAP so I could get the car back on the road before 4th of July. Great friendly service on his part.

Simple for my buddy (mechanic) to install, no noticeable increase in vibration and drive just like it did before it broke.

 

Great - thanks for chiming in! Mine is still going strong with no hint of any issues.

 

Mine,s too without any issues for me works fine!!

 

Hey guys,

Sorry to bring up an old thread, but this issue came up on my CTT. I've owned it since 28k miles and am now experiencing some knocking when accelerating out of corners (69k miles). Looking at the service history, it looks like the previous owner also replaced the drive shaft at approximately 25k miles. So this is the vehicle's 2nd drive shaft....

It looks likes Vertex's website include instructions for repacking the bearings. Is this now a necessary step? I didn't see it mentioned on this post.

Also, how is the support holding up Renaissance?

[Edit] Lastly, what is this flex disk that is now included and where is it installed??

Thanks!

 

Sublime - I should have done this sooner. Over a year in and well into the 700 ft lbs range. No issues whatsoever.

Also, my complete driveshaft only had about 25K miles on it (second replacement), so I doubt my bearings would have needed to be repacked.

 

And this is how they do it. Just as nobody expects a silver bullet in a tire that can do it all, it's the same for motor mounts and bushings like this. The center support bushing's job is to support the driveshaft (it's long) and to absorb vibration. You could hard clamp it and get zero failure on the bushing..... well because there wouldn't be one, but you'd end up with a lot more vibration in the car. Same thing happens with motor mounts. It's hard to gain longevity without increasing vibration or cost. It appears that the vertex did it with increased vibration as it would take a lot of engineering to increase longevity of the OE setup without increasing vibration. At that point, nobody would buy it if it was more expensive than the OE setup.

So - I'm pretty sure this will last longer than the OE setup if it's stiffer. It means less movement in the bushing, more more movement at the ends (t-case and rear diff). This brings in it's own set of complications when you transfer vibrations to areas not intended to have it. But, my guess is nothing catastrophic will happen, and nothing will wear out substantially faster as a result.

But, nobody should be under the illusion that you can both increase longevity and maintain a low level of vibration unless you have some pretty trick engineering involved. Looking at that vertex thing, it doesn't appear to be very trick, but it does look to be effective.

 

wrinkledp,
Normally I would agree with your assessment but you left out material differences. Higher quality materials can last longer. When i t comes time, i am still up in the air on the vertex or a new aluminum shaft...

 

For sure - but they're also more expensive. Seems some report more vibrations, and others don't. So - maybe vertex has struck a nice balance between all three things.

 

I suspect that there is an alignment issue for those that report vibration issues. You have to remove the driveshaft to replace the accompanying flex disk, which introduces the possibility of misalignment. The dealer has a special alignment tool that they use to make sure it is in spec after removal/installation. However, anyone at home has to use their best judgement.

 

Ok, I am entering into this one.

So I had my first driveshaft go out @ 65k. I had an OEM replacement put on and I am at 159k miles for this 2nd failure. Due to the excessive mileage I am replacing the entire shaft again with the flex disc too.

I am transitioning this P!G into my hunting only vehicle fairly soon. If it breaks again, I will try the EPS on this or the next Cayenne I get.

I beat with these minor consumables, i can get 250k before needing a full engine rebuild.

 

My original DS on my 04 went out at 95K. It's about the same cost and same total mileage for the control arms that are now making noise. Was the same situation on my 06 Touareg V8. If I can get 10 years/100K miles out of both of those parts, I won't be batting an eye. I mean, I will have spent 25 grand on gas, 14K on insurance, and probably a few grand in tires and brakes. What's 500 bucks on a drive shaft when I've spent $40 grand on gas and insurance? We're literally talking about a single part that costs 1.25% of the total operating cost in that time frame. That's hardly a problem in my book. Even if you replaced it at 50K miles, that's still only 2.5% of the operating budget. Probably even less when you factor in other parts.

Maybe it's just me - but I've never understood what all the fuss was about over the DS. It has a pretty consistent failure schedule, is fairly cheap to rebuild, and its a straight forward DIY. I honestly am quite amazed that this 450 HP 5500 lb car doesn't need more on-going work other than oil and gas.