Driveshaft spline keeps snapping! What would cause this???

[flex]

Man.... I thought VWs were supposed to be reliable (even though its done 180k) Yet another problem. Bit of a strange one this hope you dub wise people can maybe shed some light on it! Anyway here goes...

I have attached some pics so its clear what im talking about:





As you can see the spline that goes through the wheel hub has snapped straight off, this happened the first time a few weeks back as i initially had some knocking noises coming from the front passenger wheel. After investigating i realised the nut holding the spline was loose so i tightened it up and this lasted fine for about a week and all the noises stopped, when all of a sudden this happened and it snapped.

I then replaced the whole outer CV joint and fitted a new nut etc which was ok for about 2 weeks even though i could still hear the odd noise (i thought this was engine mount related). After the 2 weeks and approx 250miles exactly the same thing has happened again!!

Im off to a breakers today to get a whole new driveshaft incase its slightly bent or something, although i can see nothing wrong with it. Everything else appears to be tight and in order, any ideas what the hell whould cause this?? I would imagine it would take some force to snap the thing but i have managed it twice now!!

[remapped]

maybe the barring is seizing up ? how freely dose the well turn when you have the car jacked up ?

[kells]

those wheels.....are they genuine VAG?
could be coz they are way too heavy, is the car lowered, does it have spacers??

[Rmachines]

If thats the case the bearings would be damaged anyway so before you do anything... replace the bearings,  its a DIY Job if your confident, doesnt take too long.   Can't see why it could snap the drive shaft splines though, something must be very wrong somewhere along the line.

[VW BUSH]

Missing Washer?

[Rmachines]

Dont think it has a thrust washer on the front... if it does im missing two 

[flex]

Right ive changed the complete driveshaft and everything looks tight and correct and the car is driving nicely with no knocks or anything, i will have to wait and see if anything happens, the slightest knock or noise of something not being right i guess i will have to replace the bearings.

maybe the barring is seizing up ? how freely dose the well turn when you have the car jacked up ?

The wheel / bearing spins freely when jacked up, it has no play in it and there are no whirring noises when driving . So im relluctant to think the bearing would cause this.

those wheels.....are they genuine VAG?
could be coz they are way too heavy, is the car lowered, does it have spacers??

Im not sure if the wheels are genuine VAG or not but they are popular on audi TT's and VW Beetles etc. Ive seen a lot of them around, when i bought the car they were already on it and have been on there since may 2006 (i know this because a friend of mine owned the car before me). There are no spacers the wheels dont rub etc and have been fine up until now. The car is lowered by 35mm and has Gmax shocks and springs all around.

If thats the case the bearings would be damaged anyway so before you do anything... replace the bearings,  its a DIY Job if your confident, doesnt take too long.   Can't see why it could snap the drive shaft splines though, something must be very wrong somewhere along the line.

Ok as i mentioned above there doesnt appear to be anything wrong with the bearing but would I notice it if there was? I had a look at the haynes manual last night and it says the bearings are meant to last the lifetime of the vehicle and are a complete sealed unit which needs to be professionally fitted using a special press (a bit beyond my skills). My mechancic friend also confirmed this.

Not like my old Ford Escort where you could change the metal bearings and the casing with a hammer and screwdriver lol

Missing Washer?

There was no washer originally but then again would it make any difference because the bolt hasnt moved at all so is odviously doing its job and holding tight.

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Do you think this is definatley bearing related, has anyone come accross this problem before? I dont want to replace yet another CV joint!

[Rmachines]

there is no washer but belive me the front bearings dont always last the life of the vehical,  i have just had to do mine.  easy enough to do. 

but if you say its smooth then im not sure what it could be.  mabey just very cheep replacement cv joint ?

[flex]

there is no washer but belive me the front bearings dont always last the life of the vehical,  i have just had to do mine.  easy enough to do. 

but if you say its smooth then im not sure what it could be.  mabey just very cheep replacement cv joint ?

Yeah i dont expect them to last forever and i think mine has probably done enough miles for 2 cars alone

The CV joint and boot kit i bought was a very cheap £30 ebay job so it may not have been the best quality.

The ride is most definatley smooth and im sure the bearing is ok it has none of the signs that it is worn in any way. I must admit since changing the whole driveshaft the car feels a lot more solid this time (but maybe thats just in my head).

I will see how it goes.

Can you tell me what tools you need to change the front hub bearing? You say its quite easy to do but can i do it with my basic tools or am i going to need one of these press's?

[boneybradley]

to do the bearings i used a vice and a block of wood to press the new bearing in (and a hammer and socket to remove the old one).....mine wern't that tight to do as my hubs are little

oh yeah my car in 124000 miles has had 3 front bearings and 3 rears!! so much for whole of life!