aftermarket CV axle wobble

Hey All -

My 2012 TDI/DSG Sportwagen blew a CV boot late last year, which led to lost grease and a dry joint then eventually a knocking joint. I didn't know about this until my wife told me of a clicking sounds when turnign in 'her car'.
Took it to a shop and they replaced with aftermarket (TrakMotive). Knocking gone, but there was a pronounced wobble. Put the OEM axle back in, wobble gone. Tried another axle from same aftermarket (TrakMotive), wobble again, worse than before. So, OEM axle went back in, and new boot kit installed for the meantime. The car was seeing very limited Km's so I wasn't too worried about driving it like this periodically. It never knocked when going straight, only low speed parking lot turns (so to speak).

Now I am trying my 3rd aftermarket axle (ProTech this time) and it still wobbles. It's the best of the 3, but the wobble remains, which turns into a light vibration at highway speeds. I know this is not ideal, so the car is still remaining parked for the most part until I get this sorted.

Couple questions:

1) Has anyone had much luck with MK6 aftermarket axles in hopes of saving dollars on parts?

2) The wobble at low speeds (20-30km/h) is FAR more pronounced when in Drive. While it is wobbling in Drive, and I bump up to Neutral, the wobble seems to go away or be less pronounced - is this still indicitive of a bad axle, or something else? Also, the wobble seems worse when calling for power in Drive vs coasting (ie. worse on light acceleration speeding up - vs - coasting while slowing down)

Any and all help is appreciated!

-Jason

update after another little test drive:

- wobble comes on at 15 Km/h, tapers off at 20 Km/h
- confirmed enhanced wobble while in Drive (hard to detect in Neutral coasting at same speeds)
- coasting in gear is still present, but not nearly as noticeable as when accelerating slowly in Drive

Wheel and tire swap netted no changes, so wheel/tire balance issues can be ruled out.

bump . . .

help??

unorganizedplan said:

bump . . .

help??

Click to expand...

How many miles on the car?

I would suspect a bad wheel bearing if the issue wasn't eliminated with the o.e. C.V. back on as stated. Sometimes all that jimmying around can finish off a worn wheel bearing. Maybe the axle nut hasn't been properly tightened (but happened to be on the o.e.'s turn)? Its hard to imagine 3 crappy remans in a row. Other loose suspension hardware?

Time to use another (quality/+price) remanufacture if all else is tight.

JELLOWSUBMARINE said:

How many miles on the car?

I would suspect a bad wheel bearing if the issue wasn't eliminated with the o.e. C.V. back on as stated. Sometimes all that jimmying around can finish off a worn wheel bearing. Maybe the axle nut hasn't been properly tightened (but happened to be on the o.e.'s turn)? Its hard to imagine 3 crappy remans in a row. Other loose suspension hardware?

Time to use another (quality/+price) remanufacture if all else is tight.

Click to expand...

thank you for the reply. i will get under and check for some loose and or other worn hardware.

I had a half shaft go bad on my 02 Golf. I replaced it with an aftermarket shaft, 6 months later that shaft had issues. Replaced it with another aftermarket shaft, from a different vendor, 9 months later that shaft had issues. Replaced it with an OEM shaft, 5+ years later, no issues. Based on my experiences, the cost difference between OEM and aftermarket is not worth the hassle/cost of changing out multiple shafts and I won't be using aftermarket half shafts again.

I understand that "remanufactured" axles are simply remachined raceways with bigger balls put in. Are individual joint still available or boot kits?