Driveshaft support bearing fix using 3M Windo Weld

[durfA4]

This is a quick and dirty way to reinforce the flimsy center bushing that holds the rear drive shaft in place. over time this rubber bushing deteriorates and cracks causing a solid vibration in the center of the car. There are a couple ways to fix it.

1st-Audi Way. replace driveshaft for $1500 + labor
2. replace just the center bearing by pulling apart the driveshaft $130 plus lots of labor to remove driveshaft and disassemble the the center joint to replace bearing.
3. My way. it is cheap, and easy, and should work but if you have to buy a new driveshaft thats your call. I did this on my allroad but the concept applies to most other types of soft rubber mounts where a little added stiffness is required. It may work on your car but do not hold me accountable for any damages to you, your car, garage floor...

First off the driveshaft is a two piece design

and the bearing is in the center hence the name, but the bearing doesnot go bad the rubber support for the bearing deteriorates and looks like this

so I used an old trick from my days with DSMs and it was to fill the old mount with 3M Windo Weld

this is a single part urethane that is used to hold windshields in place and dries to make a firm durable rubber bushing yet will still flex.
so you will need this

1 tube windo weld
1 good chaulk gun
acetone
disposable gloves, vinyl or nitrile preferable
10mm wrench or socket
paper towels
head mounted flashlight

then jack up car using a safe method, I used a ramp under the rear tire.
get a look at your bearing

now you know where it is you have to remove the heat shield, 4 10mm nuts hold on the heat shield, once off slide it out from above the exhaust and set aside.
no you can get a good look at it.

now for the messy part, get your gloves and keep them handy, I used about 8 sets
open thew windo weld and cut the tip to flow nice
apply the windo weld directly into the void in the bearing

you will need to smooth out the the windo weld with your finger and make sure that the upper part of the mount is evenly covered. work both sides until you have even coverage.
The thicker you put it on, the stiffer the bushing will be. I just made sure at it was even all the way around,
and then moved the driveshaft around to ensure that the windoweld had a good bond.


the acetone is for clean up, make sure you get any off the exhaust. it would smell real bad when it burns off.

replace heat shield and let cure 4+ hours preferably overnight.


thats it

[FrankA6]

I ordered the 034 center bearing, but did this window weld help? did it smooth out the ride?

[redneck truck]

This is an excellent idea!! I wonder - with the right gun, you could theoretically shoot the same stuff into the fluid-filled or hollow voids in bushings and stiffen them up as well. Any idea of the approximate durometer of this stuff? In other words, supposing one tried to pour a new bushing with this stuff, would it be harder or softer than the original rubber, and more or less able to twist and articulate without cracking?

[durfA4]

For the $20 and and an hour of labor if it doesnt help your vibration your not out much. I had a bad cv shaft so most of my vibration was solved when I replaced that but, this should be the final cure. I will update torromow after it fully cures.

[audifirst]

it will be a temporary solution , I have done similar repair to my Ex-A4 driveshaft, had vibration coming from center bearing, at the end I replaced with new bearing , the weld is not strong enough it will crack again it might not crack in the same spot but will crack in another place the rubber support is brittle at this point over years it dried out and it will get worse

[redneck truck]

Sounds like the permanent solution is to set the loop and the bearing up in a jig, gouge all the rubber out, and pour a new bushing in.

[durfA4]

the 034 bearing says not for allroad, so in lieu of removing everything this seems to a simple fix. The fix on a sounds like a great idea, but also a lot of work

[boosted_A6]

The only problem with the 034 bearing is, finding someone thats willing to seperate your driveshaft(PITA) and in the prosess not bend or damage the shaft. Then you have to have it rebalanced unless you wanna take the chance that it will still be balanced when reinstalled.

[audifirst]

How is it holding up ?

[toledogt]

Hi

It's the first time in this forum so hello everybody. I'm from Barcelona, Spain.

I would ask you about the result of this fix. Is it work correctly?

Thanks to all.

[durfA4]

I haven't had an issue since I did this a year ago. It also got rid of a driveline thump under acceleration.

I also had a bad front CV shaft, that caused most of the vibrations, but I believe this helped prolong the life of the center bearing and solidify the driveline.

[toledogt]

I haven't had an issue since I did this a year ago. It also got rid of a driveline thump under acceleration.

I also had a bad front CV shaft, that caused most of the vibrations, but I believe this helped prolong the life of the center bearing and solidify the driveline.

Ok! Thanks for your answer. So, Did you have vibration because a damage in center support bearing only or in front CV shaft too... or both?...

I have vibrations in my allroad 2.7t tiptronic 2001 at 80 km/h onwards because the center support bearing has rubber too smooth and isn't strong enough to work correctly, and I want to fix it by the same way that you.

Did you finally replace full drivesfaht or CV shaft only? In Spain yo have to buy the full driveshaft because there are no exploded of the driveshaft and it's very very expenxsive (about 1200 or 1500 euros!) so, I want to try to fix it fisrt!

Thanks for your answers...

P.D: My english isn't still very good (I'm actually learning it!), but I hope you can understand me as best as you can!!..jajaja...

Regards from Barcelona!

[19jdog]

I haven't had an issue since I did this a year ago. It also got rid of a driveline thump under acceleration.

I also had a bad front CV shaft, that caused most of the vibrations, but I believe this helped prolong the life of the center bearing and solidify the driveline.

Is it still holding up??? been a couple of years...

[durfA4]

I haven't had an issue since I fixed it in 2011. Inspected it last fall and it was in better condition than a stock bushing. The longevity is not an issue.

I would reccommend doing it as a preemptive maintence task.

[Aamaro1971]

I haven't had an issue since I fixed it in 2011. Inspected it last fall and it was in better condition than a stock bushing. The longevity is not an issue.

I would reccommend doing it as a preemptive maintence task.

I have done this fix and i must say it works. I couldn't find Windo Weld from 3M so i used the one from Berner®. I guess we can use any brand just as long as the carachteristics are the same. It took me like half an hour in the evening and i started using the car the next morning at 7. I drove for 900km that day with no problems whatsoever since then. I strongly recommend this fix. It is cheap and effective. TYVM Durf!!

[GTA]

I want to do this because I've had some vibration at highway speeds for a while and lately hearing some muffled like noises from under my car. But if the stuff is hard, then that may introduce additional vibrations.

Can anyone tell me what the consistency of Windo Weld is? I heard from auto glass guys that the urethane is hard as a rock when dried and cured and therefore shouldn't flex. But in this application, wouldn't you want the stuff to be semi flexible and rubber like, because the stock bearing surround is made of rubber.

[Audi_Tech]

I did the same fix for my driveshaft and since it cures hard I have a vibration that manifests @ 45 MPH that's constant at that speed. Pretty annoying for city driving!

[GTA]

The hardness is a characteristic of urethane. Maybe silicon may be a better fill material as it closely mimics rubber. My friend's shop uses automotive grade silicon. I may try a thin layer of that to see if there's any improvement in my center bearing vibrations and noise.

[Brian's A6]

I just did this to my center bearing today. Now mine gave out completely yesterday, so today I needed to center the driveshaft then, I proceeded to fill the void all the way around, and with today's temps in Charlotte it was firm within 4hrs, so I took it for a spin. Now my issue was thumping on acceleration or from takeoff and there was none.

I drove normal, but I will perform a harder launch this weekend to make sure it fully cured.

Im from the DSM world as well and was glad to see someone do this to an Audi. I always associate the 1Gs and 2G as the import version of an old school chevy, but with FI:)

I'm a 4.2L...

[JTown77]

I just did this to my center bearing today. Now mine gave out completely yesterday, so today I needed to center the driveshaft then, I proceeded to fill the void all the way around, and with today's temps in Charlotte it was firm within 4hrs, so I took it for a spin. Now my issue was thumping on acceleration or from takeoff and there was none.

I drove normal, but I will perform a harder launch this weekend to make sure it fully cured.

Im from the DSM world as well and was glad to see someone do this to an Audi. I always associate the 1Gs and 2G as the import version of an old school chevy, but with FI:)

I'm a 4.2L...

Mine is not vibrating but clicking, almost a grinding like a card in spokes of a kids bike. I ordered a new center bearing support and will be replacing mine in three weeks if you want to check out the process for future reference.

[A6Rick]

I just did this to my center bearing today. Now mine gave out completely yesterday, so today I needed to center the driveshaft then, I proceeded to fill the void all the way around, and with today's temps in Charlotte it was firm within 4hrs, so I took it for a spin. Now my issue was thumping on acceleration or from takeoff and there was none.

I drove normal, but I will perform a harder launch this weekend to make sure it fully cured.

Im from the DSM world as well and was glad to see someone do this to an Audi. I always associate the 1Gs and 2G as the import version of an old school chevy, but with FI:)

I'm a 4.2L...

I'm looking to do the same. Hopefully it works and I don't have to replace the bearing itself. Did you prop up the driveshaft as you were filling the voids?

Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk

[PorscheAG]

By thump, do you mean right when the clutch is out?
I am wondering where this thump is coming from no matter how smooth I or my wife try to shift... Vibration is minimal to non-existent at highway speed. (Allroad 6MT '04 120k)

[vtraudt]

Mine is not vibrating but clicking, almost a grinding like a card in spokes of a kids bike. I ordered a new center bearing support and will be replacing mine in three weeks if you want to check out the process for future reference.

Where did you order your Allroad center bearing from?
Is there a DIY for changing the bearing? Still may need to find someone to balance the darn thing (can't even imagine how its being done).

- - - Updated - - -

Can someone check if the C5 A6 prop shafts (Tiptronic) fits the C5 Allroad (Tiptronic)?

[wagongang]

WEAR LONG SLEEVES. That stuff stuck all over my arms when I did this. Not fun to pick off.

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[JTown77]

Where did you order your Allroad center bearing from?
Is there a DIY for changing the bearing? Still may need to find someone to balance the darn thing (can't even imagine how its being done).

- - - Updated - - -

Can someone check if the C5 A6 prop shafts (Tiptronic) fits the C5 Allroad (Tiptronic)?

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...80%94-B5-A4-S4

you can purchase them from 034mototsports and Colorado Drive train.

[Zachariah]

Did this to my 2002 allroad, before it got scrapped. A one foot length of 5/8" thick coolant hose sliced-up, and a bunch of 1/2" Zip Ties and 30 minutes. The photo is from my 2006 Porsche Cayenne Turbo S. It now has 60,000 miles on the fix:
cardan2.jpg

[vtraudt]

Did this to my 2002 allroad, before it got scrapped. A one foot length of 5/8" thick coolant hose sliced-up, and a bunch of 1/2" Zip Ties and 30 minutes. The photo is from my 2006 Porsche Cayenne Turbo S. It now has 60,000 miles on the fix:
cardan2.jpg

Did you punch through the existing rubber to get the outer zip ties through?

[scot_w]

Did this to my 2002 allroad, before it got scrapped. A one foot length of 5/8" thick coolant hose sliced-up, and a bunch of 1/2" Zip Ties and 30 minutes. The photo is from my 2006 Porsche Cayenne Turbo S. It now has 60,000 miles on the fix:

Drat. I wish you would have posted this months ago. NGP put a new to me (used) driveshaft and the 034 mount in mine and it vibrates all the time. I say it is the driveshaft or the mount, NGP blames it on the tires. Now no one can figure out who to blame but I am the one stuck with a giant vibrator.

[Scotty@Advanced]

Drat. I wish you would have posted this months ago. NGP put a new to me (used) driveshaft and the 034 mount in mine and it vibrates all the time. I say it is the driveshaft or the mount, NGP blames it on the tires. Now no one can figure out who to blame but I am the one stuck with a giant vibrator.

They probably didn't assemble it correctly.

[alien_brain]

tires can be the source. it was for me. try getting your wheels balanced or at least inspected. better yet put your other set on for shits and giggles.

[scot_w]

They probably didn't assemble it correctly.

Any hints on what they can do to get it right?

- - - Updated - - -

tires can be the source. it was for me. try getting your wheels balanced or at least inspected. better yet put your other set on for shits and giggles.

Balanced the first set and put on my other set. Same issue at 35+ MPH.

[swamper8]

FYI for anyone interested in replacing the CSB, you don't have to have your driveshaft balanced after. All you need to do is make sure you mark the front driveshaft section in relationship to the front portion of the u-joint yoke. Replacing the CSB doesn't change the balance characteristics of the driveshaft, but changing the relationship between the front shaft and the yoke sure will. I replaced my CSB without issue and without vibration, until the u-joint gave out not long after. Since the driveshaft is installed (relatively) straight, my advise is to not let the u-joint articulate through its full range of motion when the driveshaft is removed. This will cause the u-joint to work in ways it never has while on the car and lead to pre-mature failure. As was the case with mine.
The first one I did took a couple hours but I imagine now I could do it in about 1/2 hour. 034 is not the only source for the CSB, you can also get it from Power Train Industries 2580-75

https://www.powertrainindustries.com...7fe6d7itpotuv1

[kleinewunder]

Don't assume driveshaft noise is the center bearing or its carrier. I just went through this and, in my case, what sounded like the center bearing turned out to be the forward CV joint. Diagnosis can be tricky because the driveshaft is hollow and noise from the front resonates to the rear. Replacing the CV joint was not too bad. Worst part was removing and reinstalling the exhaust system from cats back. Thankfully, it was not necessary to remove the cats. At 195K miles, center bearing and carrier still looked to be in good shape.

[G0to60]

Did this to my 2002 allroad, before it got scrapped. A one foot length of 5/8" thick coolant hose sliced-up, and a bunch of 1/2" Zip Ties and 30 minutes. The photo is from my 2006 Porsche Cayenne Turbo S. It now has 60,000 miles on the fix:
cardan2.jpg

Recently I did the window weld "fix" and it did fix the my acceleration vibration but now, like Audi_Tech mentioned, I have a vibration that comes on at about 45mph and tapers off after 50mph. Pretty annoying.

One thought that I came up with is there anything that will soften, but not dissolve the urethane? I know that acetone is used for clean up. Can that also be used to soften the urethane enough to act more like rubber or silicone? If not I may just go with the cut up hose and zip ties or pony up and have a driveshaft shop replace the bearing.

[Jay@JXB]

For those who don’t want to deal with windo weld, there’s a more elegant solution now. Same process minus the windo weld. No driveshaft removal necessary.

https://www.jxbperformance.com/produ...haft%20Carrier

[Mad Cow]

For those who don’t want to deal with windo weld, there’s a more elegant solution now. Same process minus the windo weld. No driveshaft removal necessary.

https://www.jxbperformance.com/produ...haft%20Carrier

Interesting, this is less than half the price of a rebuilt driveshaft and way less effort. I'm a lil worried that it might not let everything flex enough though, might introduce some weird angles to the CV joints under acceleration since the pivot point between the 2 driveshaft halves would be totally fixed. The stock carrier bearing floats a bit to help distribute movement across the entire shaft. But I also have no idea what I'm talking about so maybe it's a non-issue. Is it safe to run solid carrier bearings in general, if that's even a thing?