Hey Tom,

Thanks for the concern and follow-up. I thought about the hardening of the shaft as well. When I look in the coupler in the case, it doesn't appear to be as worn as the shaft itself so it appears to be related to the shaft material.

When it was assembled the technician and I discussed liberally greasing the splines. Given the close tolerances, I'm not sure how much grease can actually still be in place once assembled. I suspect most of it get's pushed with the end of the shaft and really has little impact.

I'd be happy to send you parts if you want to look them over.

I think the longer shaft is the right idea but I'm not sure what caused premature failure. I just hope the Cobra transmission shafts don't have the same issues since I just ordered from them when I got all the other parts.

This time I did all the work myself so I know exactly what went into the repair. It wasn't all that difficult for a moderate to heavy DYI-type person. I changed the seals and the chain while I was there. Not exactly what I planned to do on Easter Sunday but I'm not as afraid to work on the X5 as I was before.