Grrr driveshaft didn't turn up so going to be delayed.

Garage will be providing me with a car of equivalent standard though, so hopefully not too bad a thing to deal with.

Guess it will save a good few miles on mine.

Got my car back, and it appears they have replaced most of everything connected in any way shape or form to the drive shaft.

Pretty good service, and I'll be chasing the garage to find the outcome of any investigation into what allowed such a failing to happen.

Some good news at last.

Glad to hear it !

Just a note on this old thread.

 

I replaced both half shafts on my 2008 1.9Tdi Octy.  The bolts were supplied, but were hex rather than spline.  I torqued them up, but around 3,000m later my wife broke down with one shaft completely detaching itself from the gearbox.  On the other side, two were missing and the rest were loose.

 

It would seem that having grease on the threads was the primary reason for them working loose so, on fitting genuine Skoda bolts (£28.00!!!!), I followed the following procedure.

 

After giving a decent clean up around the holes and the threads on the gearbox side, connect the shaft to the gearbox using a couple of old bolts (to keep everything in place) - tighten the bolts a little.  Next, in the remaining four holes, spray degreaser spray or brake cleaner all the way through to ensure no grease is present.  Once dry (a few minutes) apply a dab of red threadlocker and insert the four bolts.  Once done, remove the original 'hold in place' bolts and repeat the procedure.  Finally, use a permanent marker to across the bolts and plates so you can check later for movement.

 

SInce doing this, I've had to have the clutch replaced then, separately, the two inner CV boots, requiring the removal of the half shafts again.  I'm sure the garage wasn't as meticulous as myself, so I'm going to be monitoring the bolts over a couple of thousand miles to ensure they don't move.

 

Just one other tip from a mechanic when replacing the outer CV joint.  Place a cable tie over the shaft spring to compress it.  Push the CV on which pushes the cable tie back as the clip enters the joint.  Remove the cable tie and push the joint on the rest of the way.  

 

I say this as I've had one occasion when the shaft clip either failed or didn't engage correctly.  On driving, they separated and shredded the splines on both the shaft and CV joint - new complete shaft was required.

Did you fit the hardened circular spreader plates under the heads of each pair of driveshaft bolts?

 

The splined bolts and speader plates I bought from TPS when my neighbours car did the same thing did not cost anywhere near what yours did, I wasn't paying so was not concerned but would have challenged them if they wanted that much.

Yes, the spreader plates were fitted as they should be.

 

I needed the job done very quickly and, although I knew I could buy the same bolts for half the price, I had to get them the same day.  I also needed a new set of spreader plates as several had become damaged when the shaft came loose - they were £14 for the set!!

 

I did question the price of the bolts, and was told by the chap at Wakefield Skoda that he'd given a discount on them!  No wonder they're referred to as 'stealers'!!!

They might have cost more than I recall, it was not my money I was spending and we were just relieved that they had them in stock and delivered within the hour.

 

I really miss TPS now I no longer visit the UK.

9 minutes ago, J.R. said:

They might have cost more than I recall, it was not my money I was spending and we were just relieved that they had them in stock and delivered within the hour.

 

I really miss TPS now I no longer visit the UK.

I just didn't want the same issue occurring again, and I didn't trust the bolts I'd been sent which were £12 for the set.  Some places were offering the splined bolts identical to the Skoda OEM for about £16, but non were local.

 

I'll have to have a look for TPS, I don't think I've come across them before.  Mainly use Euro Car Parts or GSF for a lot of my stuff, the rest comes from Ebay or online.

TPS is the VAG parts distribution chain to all the independant garages and mechanics, it's likely that the bolts you bought from the dealer will have been supplied by TPS, dealers carry zero stock these days aside from regular service items for their workshops, oils, filters, brake pads etc.

35 minutes ago, beezera10 said:

I just didn't want the same issue occurring again, and I didn't trust the bolts I'd been sent which were £12 for the set.  Some places were offering the splined bolts identical to the Skoda OEM for about £16, but non were local.

 

I'll have to have a look for TPS, I don't think I've come across them before.  Mainly use Euro Car Parts or GSF for a lot of my stuff, the rest comes from Ebay or online.

 

My sister broke down in the middle of Doncaster shortly after my Dad had replaced a driveshaft on her Golf, all of them had come loose and backed out until drive had been lost, rather miraculously none had been bent or damaged.

 

From what I remember we took the originals and rattled them back in at the roadside and all was good. I reckon the cheapo ones he got with the driveshaft must have stretched possibly due to them being made out of cheese, either that or they were under torqued.

 

It really is difficult getting quality parts these days, its either try your luck with the crap you can buy aftermarket and get it delivered conveniently, or have guaranteed success with genuine parts but have to mess about going to the dealer and then have to make a second trip when they sell you the wrong part😡 (btw That was JCT600 Wakefield)

Aye, it was JCT600 Wakefield that I went to too!

 

I think the ones I put in from the shaft supplier were just ordinary bolts, which would probably have been ok if they'd been grease free with a dab of threadlocker.  I wasn't taking any chances when I got the new bolts, so cleaned everything thoroughly and threadlocked them too (possibly unnecessarily).

 

You're so right about getting quality parts.  When i replaced the half shafts, I went with J&R Driveshafts that sell on Ebay.  The shafts seemed ok, but the inner boots split wide open after 18,000m and 20 months (the originals were still solid after 14 years and 140,000m).  I was in two minds as to whether I buy another set of shafts, or get the boots replaced.  As it was already in the garage for something else, I opted to spend £130 getting them replaced as I didn't fancy scraping around under the car, in freezing, wet weather, and dealing with those bloody bolts again!!!

 

I was lucky not to have too much damage when the half shaft fell off (n/s).  One of the bolts was bent L shaped, as was one of the backer plates.  I'd lost two on the road and the thread on a fourth was badly damaged - oh, and I'd lost two of the backer plates as well.

 

As I said, I'll monitor to make sure the bolts stay put.  It's due for an oil change soon so I'll test to see if they've loosened off.  If so, I'll do what I outlined above and clean them out and refit with a bit of threadlocker.

 

Cars - bloody hell!

On 11/12/2024 at 22:11, beezera10 said:

Aye, it was JCT600 Wakefield that I went to too!

 

I think the ones I put in from the shaft supplier were just ordinary bolts, which would probably have been ok if they'd been grease free with a dab of threadlocker.  I wasn't taking any chances when I got the new bolts, so cleaned everything thoroughly and threadlocked them too (possibly unnecessarily).

 

You're so right about getting quality parts.  When i replaced the half shafts, I went with J&R Driveshafts that sell on Ebay.  The shafts seemed ok, but the inner boots split wide open after 18,000m and 20 months (the originals were still solid after 14 years and 140,000m).  I was in two minds as to whether I buy another set of shafts, or get the boots replaced.  As it was already in the garage for something else, I opted to spend £130 getting them replaced as I didn't fancy scraping around under the car, in freezing, wet weather, and dealing with those bloody bolts again!!!

 

I was lucky not to have too much damage when the half shaft fell off (n/s).  One of the bolts was bent L shaped, as was one of the backer plates.  I'd lost two on the road and the thread on a fourth was badly damaged - oh, and I'd lost two of the backer plates as well.

 

As I said, I'll monitor to make sure the bolts stay put.  It's due for an oil change soon so I'll test to see if they've loosened off.  If so, I'll do what I outlined above and clean them out and refit with a bit of threadlocker.

 

Cars - bloody hell!

My car failed MOT due to the driverside inner boot split....not sure whether the car still have the original driveshafts (second hand) so I am wondering whether I should replace the inner boot or just fit a new set of driveshafts. Would you recommend buying both driverside and passenger side and fit them both or just the faulty one?

 

I was thinking on buying the J&R Driveshafts but based on your comments quality is not great.

 

Cheers

I noticed the inner boots on the J&R starting to crack after 18 months or so, and were wide open after the clutch fit.  I pulled lightly on the split and they tore open easily, almost as if they'd perished.  I do know that cheaper, rubber-based boots can deteriorate because of exposure to grease, whereas the plastic based ones are more durable (GKN seem good).  The outer boots seem fine, and the performance of the shafts is no different to the originals - so decent in my opinion (so far).

 

I reckon you have two options if you want to keep costs down.  You could get the J&R shafts and put decent inner boots on before you fit, or you could go for a slightly more expensive item in Febi.  If I'd known what I know now, I'd have gone for Febi as they carry an excellent reputation for aftermarket parts.

 

You could put a boot on the old shafts, but if the car has done a decent mileage then new shafts aren't that expensive to buy and fit.  I reckon you should only need to pay ca. £160 for both shafts.  I would replace both at the same time (as I did).  If the shafts don't come with the torx/splined bolts, I would buy those separately - I believe Febi do those also.  Always good to have new bolts (they may even be one-time stretch bolts).   

 

I never had a problem using the old bolts with a drop of threadlocker - just make sure you blast through the threads with degreaser first.

 

As for fitting, o/s is done under the car and n/s with the wheel removed and a few socket extensions.  Not too bad a job if you can get the car high enough off the ground to scrape under.  It's easier with both wheels off so you can rotate the shafts then jam them with a screwdriver via the top of the brake caliper and into the vented disc as you tighten the bolts in turn.  I tend to tighten opposing bolts lightly, then tightly, then torque up in sequence.

 

 

1 hour ago, beezera10 said:

I noticed the inner boots on the J&R starting to crack after 18 months or so, and were wide open after the clutch fit.  I pulled lightly on the split and they tore open easily, almost as if they'd perished.  I do know that cheaper, rubber-based boots can deteriorate because of exposure to grease, whereas the plastic based ones are more durable (GKN seem good).  The outer boots seem fine, and the performance of the shafts is no different to the originals - so decent in my opinion (so far).

 

I reckon you have two options if you want to keep costs down.  You could get the J&R shafts and put decent inner boots on before you fit, or you could go for a slightly more expensive item in Febi.  If I'd known what I know now, I'd have gone for Febi as they carry an excellent reputation for aftermarket parts.

 

You could put a boot on the old shafts, but if the car has done a decent mileage then new shafts aren't that expensive to buy and fit.  I reckon you should only need to pay ca. £160 for both shafts.  I would replace both at the same time (as I did).  If the shafts don't come with the torx/splined bolts, I would buy those separately - I believe Febi do those also.  Always good to have new bolts (they may even be one-time stretch bolts).   

 

I never had a problem using the old bolts with a drop of threadlocker - just make sure you blast through the threads with degreaser first.

 

As for fitting, o/s is done under the car and n/s with the wheel removed and a few socket extensions.  Not too bad a job if you can get the car high enough off the ground to scrape under.  It's easier with both wheels off so you can rotate the shafts then jam them with a screwdriver via the top of the brake caliper and into the vented disc as you tighten the bolts in turn.  I tend to tighten opposing bolts lightly, then tightly, then torque up in sequence.

 

 

Thanks so much for your detailed answers and for taking the time to explain it all.

 

I need to get this fixed as soon as possible (MOT) and I think I will go for the J&R this time. I don't drive more than 4000 miles a year so i expect then to last a few years even though quality is not as good as the original. Also, I can get the parts in a day, so will help massively.

 

The only thing I noticed is that the sell the pair of driveshaft for my car (Skoda Octavia 2010, Diesel Hatch 1.6 TDIF, WD II 1Z3 1598cc 77KW 105HP CAYC) for £82 which seems cheap to me compared to the £160 you mentioned.....hope I am getting the right ones....I will get new bolts as well and make sure I put threadlocker on them.

 

Silly question, the driveshaft seems to have different lengths (website), I didn't notice it while looking under the car. Are the length of the shafts standard? I don't want to end up having to return anything or rushing getting other parts.

 

thanks for your help,

regards 

You're welcome mate.  

 

I think I may have overestimated the cost having looked again at the Febi items - they seem to have come down in price a bit.  Also, for your model of car, they may be a bit cheaper anyway.

 

Depending on the engine/gearbox layout of the car, one shaft will typically be shorter than the other.  On my Octy 1Z5, the N/S is a lot shorter than the O/S.  When you are ordering from J&R, be sure to give them the reg no. of your motor so they can double check.

 

Another little trick I use is to go to online marketplaces like Autodoc, Car Parts in Motion, etc, and put in the reg no. to get an idea of what the parts look like, then compare to, say, J&R.

 

J&R did actually send me the wrong items initially, as there's so many different configurations to VAG models.  However, there was no issue in returning them FOC and they did send the correct ones the following day.

 

Hope all goes well with the fit!