It's been a looooong time since I've posted here; been lurking for the pass few months though. My have things changed on this site.

Anyways, I'm trying to replace the support bearing on the coupling shaft (front half of drive shaft assembly) and I'm having a difficult time removing it. Is it supposed to be a slip fit, or does it have to be pressed off/on?

I'm replacing all three u-joints along with the bearing due to driveline vibrations; not to mention the truck has over 211K miles on the original u-joints and bearing. Front u-joints were shot, the other two were still serviceable. The support bearing has some play in it when I push up on the coupling shaft. The play is between the rubber insulator and the metal bracket, but the bearing itself seems smooth.

Any input is appreciated.

Thanks, Ed

 

If you are talking about the carrier bearing, the whole assembly unbolts from the cross member. Just unbolt the old one and bolt in the new one.

 

pnp522 thanks for your response. Yes that's exactly the one I'm removing. I did unbolt it from the cross member, which I had to do to remove the front shaft. The problem is that it won't slide off the output shaft. I'm assuming that it shouldn't need any special tools and perhaps the bearing is probably just seized up. I sprayed some PB Blaster on it yesterday, hopefully it will free it up.

Can anyone confirm my assumption?

 

You will need a press yourself or take to a machine shop. R&R about $40 labor. Don't try to pound it off with a hammer.

 

rainbowATF, thanks for the reply. I was affraid that that was what I had to do. Is it safe to assume that the new bearing will need to be pressed in too? The replacement bearing I got from Autozone doesn't seem as beefy as the OEM part, with regards to the steel outer support. Hopefully it's the correct size.

 

The R&R was labor remove and replace with a new bearing. If I take it to my local machine shop; I get the parts from him for political reasons, he sells fed mogul and he makes money on part. I also feel less humiliated if I don't let him know I bought the part and couldn't get it on by myself or worse that I screwed it up.

 

I like the way you think. I'll just return the part to Autozone and have the shop replace it with their supplied part. Beats being laughed at as I walk out the door of the shop. I'll have to look for a machine shop now.

BTW, I have the input shaft and u-joint off right now, should I leave it that way when I take into the shop?

Thanks again.

 

For anyone following this thread, this is just a quick update. Took the coupling shaft to a local driveline shop to have the bearing replaced. Labor cost was $36, part cost was $44; total of $83.67.

Now it's on to installing the last u-joint and reinstalling the shafts back on the truck.

One question though. Where is the optimum location for the zerk fitting? Supposedly the fitting should be placed on the compression side of the shaft rotation. I'm embarrased to admit that I'm not sure what direction the shaft turns when the vehicle is in forward motion. When looking from the rear of the vehicle, wouldn't the shaft be turning counter-clockwise for forward motion?

Ed

 

no if u are looking from the rear of the truck towards the front it spins clock wise... a easy way to check and be 100% sure is jack the rear wheels off the ground and spin both wheels in a forward direction

but im pritty sure its clock wise

 

Looking at the back of the transmission, the shaft turns counter clock wise (or clock-wise when viewed from the front)

 

So it is press fit...I guess I'm going to be laughed at when I bring the shaft in to get fixed as I spent most of last night hacking at it. I have everything ripped off but the actual bearing assembly, and had dreams of using my Dremel to cut it off today.

Anyway, Ed Bamba, did the u-joint and bearing replacement solve your vibration? I am doing the same replacement to fix a vibration I get from 30-45, but only when there is pressure on the gas pedal...does not vibrate at those speeds while coasting.

 

funny I just had mine done on my 90 F250. all three u-joints and the carrier bearing installed here in SoCal was $149 parts and labor. Solved a pronounced clunk when shifting into gear and a shudder when pulling away from a dead stop. I couldn't even get the u-joints to budge.. so I figured it was about time to quit messin with it and let the pros handle it.

 

I did this same thing last summer, but i only spent 30$ on the carrier bearing (which was much stronger looking than the OEM part), and i am fortunate enough to have a friend at the local transmission shop who pressed the old bearing off and the new one on for free!

I am pretty sure the driveshaft turns counterclockwise if you are looking at the truck from the rear.

 

The carrier bearing was loose inside the bracket, which was probably attributed to the rubber insulator being worn. The front u joint was completely shot; dried out, rusted, and seized up. Both of these two components likely contributed to the noise and vibration. So, yes the parts did fix the vibration at speeds. I didn't have that familiar "clunk" that signals a bad u joint though. I still have a vibration when applying the brakes, so it's on to the next issue, a full brake job. Among other things!

 

Center support pulled off with puller that was purchased and returned due to " wrong size" bearing pressed back on with the but and washer and 1/2 " impact wrench. Easy peezy new U joints too only 325,000 miles and 3 mud drag trophies before I bought it. Love these incredible machines.