HELP!! need driveshaft hanger bearings part 701521351

[pjstock]

And it was all going so well....

We have one month, 30 days, to get things sorted before we are supposed to head to Newfoundland in our 1995 T4Transporter (Eurovan-style) 2.4L D Syncro.

There is some noise in the transmission but there is a HUGE rumble coming off the driveshaft.
My mechanic tells me before he can even look at the transmission/differential, we have to clean up the driveshaft. and that requires replacing the hanger bearings original part 701521351. Which is seems are nearly impossible to find.
No one in Canada has or can get them. None of the Go To parts suppliers in Europe (Heritage, Serial-Kombi, Classic) have them or can get them. Nothing that I can find on Ebay.

There are a very few obscure sources in Poland and Russia but so for they aren't even answering emails.

One mechanic told me I might have better luck in the US.

It has also been suggested that VW would not have speced a special bearing for this application, but rather would likely have used a standard bearing they were using elsewhere in the vehicle (like a wheel bearing) and so if the steel casing is OK Maybe we can remove the bad bearings, keep the casing and just swap in another new bearing. We would just have to figure out what the alternate bearing is.

does anyone have any suggestions?

[Joshwa]

That replacement looks to be spot welded at the ears. Likely the original is the same. I would also try pulling it apart to see what the bearing measurements are. I’m surprised there aren’t replacemenents easily foun in the the Ukraine at least. Lots of syncro a over there. None brought in to the US directly in their their manufacture year.

You could try Frans at [email protected] to see if he can get one as well.
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93 Weekender TDI conversion (AHU)
93 MV TDI conversion (1Z)
Weekender rear cot
Late model cabin air filter on 93
Euro spec bumper install on 93

[Zeitgeist 13]

I wonder if a Quattro center support bearing might be modified to fit in there.
_________________
Casey--

'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik?

[TDCTDI]

[Abscate]

[CdnVWJunkie]

[pjstock]

[pjstock]

"My advice. Remove the shaft. Drive the Camper."

maybe I am missing something (or more likely I am supremely ignorant of things auto-mechancial). but if I remove the shaft, can I still drive the camper?

Oh and Mechanic #1 (generalist) said that they checked the wheel bearings, and they were fine. thats how we got to "transmission".

[Joshwa]

I would do it the same and drive without the driveshaft for the time being. You shouldn’t have any issues driving it that way.
_________________
93 Weekender TDI conversion (AHU)
93 MV TDI conversion (1Z)
Weekender rear cot
Late model cabin air filter on 93
Euro spec bumper install on 93

[TDCTDI]

The Gebo coupler is the rubber coupler at either end of the driveshaft #3 & #10 in the picture that you supplied. These are made of fabric reinforced rubber that will deteriorate. Once they fail, the driveshaft will slip off center causing lots of noise & vibration.

The CV joints are part number 8 in the picture that you supplied, when the grease in them dries up, they can start binding & causing noise & vibration.

If the driveshaft was out, the mechanic should have spun the driveshaft or the support bearings to see if there was any noise coming from these, if they were making lots of noise then they should be replaced, if not then they should be left alone, especially since they're hard to find/expensive parts. There's no reason to throw parts at it "just because".

If the van can be driven without the center drive shaft then leave it out & see if the noise goes away, the Passat 4-motion & Audi A4/6 Quattro CANNOT be driven like this as it will quickly grenade the viscous coupler/center differential in the transmission, IDK if the Eurovan can, I've never gotten to play with one of these.
_________________
Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.


GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!


An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.


Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.

[Zeitgeist 13]

The VC appears to be in the rear diff, and if it's like the T3 Syncros, then removing the driveshaft poses no issues.

Over in the MB world, we've always called those rubber coupler joints a guibo, but apparently that's incorrect.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giubo
_________________
Casey--

'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik?

[TDCTDI]

[Abscate]

Its actually a giubo, but you should search both spellings as it is misspelled more often than not.

You say guibo, I say giubo
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.ssS!

[gakali]

As mentioned, a bad hanger bearing should be pretty easy to accurately diagnose by any capable person.

If you do need a bearing maybe try to find a driveshaft specialty shop. They are around. I'd be very surprised if they couldn't fix you up, it's just a hanger bearing. They fix/make/repair/balance shafts for everything all day long. You should be able to find one in the GTA.
_________________
Why do it? Because you can.

1999 Eurovan
2003 A4 Avant 1.8T Quattro
1992 W201 190e 2.3 Mercedes
2006 W220 S600 V12 Twin Turbo 5.5 Mercedes

[gakali]

As mentioned, a bad hanger bearing should be pretty easy to accurately diagnose by any capable person.

If you do need a bearing maybe try to find a driveshaft specialty shop. They are around. I'd be very surprised if they couldn't fix you up, it's just a hanger bearing. They fix/make/repair/balance shafts for everything all day long. You should be able to find one in the GTA.
_________________
Why do it? Because you can.

1999 Eurovan
2003 A4 Avant 1.8T Quattro
1992 W201 190e 2.3 Mercedes
2006 W220 S600 V12 Twin Turbo 5.5 Mercedes

[CdnVWJunkie]

[pjstock]

I found the bearings (miraculously) and am having them shipped from Poland of all places.
My mechanic is going to pull the driveshaft and inspect it and try driving it 2WD while removed. see if the noise is still there.

(why the transmission specialist didn't just remove the driveshaft and focus on anything related just to the transmission or differential, why he told me I "had" to cleanup the driveshaft before he could even look at the transmission, I don't know. I suspect he just doesn't like to think that hard. Which is a bad sign for a mechanic. may be he didn't realize it was 4WD. which is another bad sign.)

I'll report back.
what a saga though.

[pjstock]

so, this is a Long Weekend in Canada and I needed transportation. So on your advice, I pressed my mechanic to just remove the driveshaft and to his near amazement (he's more used to dealing with Audis and probably more modern cars) it ran fine as a 2WD. AND it runs almost silently. (well not silently but much much quieter. I had a nice 4 hour run out to the country here.)

but that seems to focus the problem on ... the drive shaft. excellent (so what was it doing at a transmission shop?)

But that driveshaft is HUGE. the whole assembly is about 6 feet long.
So, the plan now is to wait til the bearings arrive from Poland (fingers crossed) and have the driveshaft checked and rebuilt if necessary.

news to follow as it unfolds

[pjstock]

FAILED.
apparently that bearing from Poland only measures 40mm wide, which means it is far far too small (mine measures something like 150mm 8 to 10" wide.

So, my hunt is back on.

[TDCTDI]

Have you checked the bearings?

More than likely, the noise is coming from the CVs.
_________________
Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.


GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!


An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.


Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.