Sudden loss of drive
►This 2009 VW T30 van belonged to a carpenter and although he worked on building sites, he did his best to keep it clean. While driving off the site one evening, the van felt as though its wheels had lost grip and it lurched forward as it regained drive. As he was on bumpy ground, the owner didn’t give too much thought to the matter until he felt the same lurch the next morning on the way back to work.
As he was now on tarmac, he was a little more concerned. Then, when pulling out at the next junction, the van lost all drive. As he accelerated, the engine revs rose but the van stayed still. The failure was due to the splines on the inner connection of the offside driveshaft. This is quite a common occurrence and has been attributed to the shaft being assembled without any lubricant. When replacing it, the short connecting shaft from the gearbox also needs to be fitted and the splines greased before sliding into place.