Another failed thrust bearing victim :(

[Hoon]

So what's the simple solution to fix that 180° thrust bearing, is what I believe people are looking for.

I've mentioned that you would have to get a machine shop to either modify the stock one or have one made but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

Tear the motor down to a bare block and have the main cap machined to accept a second 180 degree bearing. Quick, simple and easy. No big deal lol.

 

[GTI Jake]

Mega millions odds: 1 in 302,575,350 or .00000033%

Crank walk: 9 in 100 (approximately) or 9%

Crank walk a second time to the same person: 81 in 10000 or .81%

Just sayin... those lotto odds are way worse than people realize. You have a better chance of being hit by lightning -twice- than winning the lottery.

2,000 of 20,000 voted on an enthusiast FB page is the source of that data, so I think its very safe to assume how bias towards modified cars that is and how small the sample size is with millions of MQB cars sold

 

[GTI Jake]

Tear the motor down to a bare block and have the main cap machined to accept a second 180 degree bearing. Quick, simple and easy. No big deal lol.

Like when my neighbor sold his powerstroke with the selling point “runs great, just needs 2nd gear replaced” lol

No big deal, just pop that puppy in there and she’ll be right as rain. PS he lost his a$$ on that deal

 

[JerseyDrew77]

Tear the motor down to a bare block and have the main cap machined to accept a second 180 degree bearing. Quick, simple and easy. No big deal lol.

Lol... Right. So do you weld the two together to make a solid 360 degree bearing?

 

[777-300ER]

Lol... Right. So do you weld the two together to make a solid 360 degree bearing?

No... You leave it as a two piece bearing and it works just fine. All thrust bearings are of a two piece design, and mk4's already had this exact same setup. You are just replicating it.

 

[Ital]

holy crap... I had no idea that the crank walk issues were that high in percentage, so wide spread
I plan to get my car re-flashed soon with the apr stage II updated file. I think it lowers torque by like 50lbs same HP

I've been debating getting the IS38 but I do worry to introduce new issues.... I think I will hold off and just get a new car in a couple of years

 

[euroadb]

holy crap... I had no idea that the crank walk issues were that high in percentage, so wide spread
I plan to get my car re-flashed soon with the apr stage II updated file. I think it lowers torque by like 50lbs same HP

I've been debating getting the IS38 but I do worry to introduce new issues.... I think I will hold off and just get a new car in a couple of years

Well the clutch kit seems to be the most influential factor since it correlates with increased chance of crankwalk. You already have the clutch; I wouldn't worry about the IS38 or tune helping or hurting the situation at all.

 

[Ital]

anything you can do to prevent this while getting the clutch done? How would the dealer cover this with a tune and after market clutch?
My car is a 2016, just had to replace the clutch again due to the South Bend part attached to the disk braking

 

[vulticGTI]

I would like to put in a few words on crank walk and thrust bearings from the my experience working as a product engineer for heavy duty diesel engines. We see all the warranty claims and although it's not the same engine the general concept behind it is the same. We didn't do the actual design but worked with the engineers who did.

Failure rate was low but it happens and is mainly a factor of a few things when it comes to thrust bearings/washers in these cases: Material, machining and finishes of contact surfaces, loading, and design dimensions. There is not one sole thing that is causing these from the data that is available. It's a combination of a few of them that push the bearings closer to the design limits which are probably quite slim. I don't know about these gen3 engines but most manufacturers are trying to move away from leaded bearings or internal components. I wouldn't be surprised if VW has done the same recently as well which leads to a lower design limit in terms of axial loading.
Assembly issues are unlikely as the processes at the plants are pretty consistent meaning if there was an issue you would see batches of high failure rates based on engine build or model year. Does not mean that sometimes these washers won't seize on journal causing it to go askew and not function properly. But these can also be manufacturing errors due to relatively low tolerances on width, crush heights etc.

Point is there is usually a lot of engineering AND other factors going into the design of all components. Many things play a role in failures but based on the trends in the population here it seems like a design related issue where the loading is riding close to the design limits. You'd be surprised how many components are riding near their design limits with little to no factor of safety for the sake of either sales, cost reductions, etc. That's just the industry nowadays.

 

[GTIfan99]

It's built in obsolescence. A manufacture doesn't make money if you keep your VW for 20 years. They want that thing to be used up and ready for the heap in less than 10 so you buy another and another and another.

 

[elwood1]

I'm the owner of an old sports car with a poor thrust washer design. The engines are known for having the thrust washers wear and fall into the oil pan. There are a couple of things that those of us with these cars do to relieve some of the potential stress and wear to the thrust washers. One of the best things that you can do is get off of the clutch when you are stopped for any length of time. I got into that habit while driving my old car, and I do it with my MK7. It really paid off on the old car, and I am hoping for the same with my DD. Fingers crossed for all of us with these engines.

 

[vulticGTI]

It's built in obsolescence. A manufacture doesn't make money if you keep your VW for 20 years. They want that thing to be used up and ready for the heap in less than 10 so you buy another and another and another.

Yes and no. Most designs are made to last maybe 100k or right about end of warranty (maximum profits). Parts are usually one of the largest sources of income for manufacturers rather than vehicle sales. And it's a fine balance between designing for obsolescence and keeping customers loyal it's a fine balancing game they are playing and we are the toys.

 

[Hoon]

I don't think it's any of that, I think it's one of the many little things they're doing to get closer to government MPG requirements, even if it comes at the expense of reliability.

 

[Reggie Enchilada]

I don't think it's any of that, I think it's one of the many little things they're doing to get closer to government MPG requirements, even if it comes at the expense of reliability.

Seems like that, plus cost cutting. VW uses plastic (polymer) extensively for both of those reasons and even switched to using 0w-20 oil on the new GTI's. Owners manual on a 2019 lists 0w-20 for the Golf and GTI, but 5w-40 for the R. Even has a note that says if you use a different weight oil that your MPG could be reduced. Wouldn't surprise me at all if they skimped out on the thrust bearing to save a few cents.

 

[vulticGTI]

I don't think it's any of that, I think it's one of the many little things they're doing to get closer to government MPG requirements, even if it comes at the expense of reliability.

Maybe consumer auto is different but EPA, CARB and many other administrations apply HEAVY constraints on the design on heavy duty diesels. I'm sure there are administrations that are affecting passenger automobile design changes. My main thought is material changes away from leaded bearings. That's just from experience but every manufacturer is different. We can speculate but if we aren't vw engineers we won't know all the details for sure. Regardless the thing was at it's design limits leading to a noticeable failure rate. Which still in the grand scheme of things is a low likelihood.