Carrier bearing

[SAndreasen]

Why doesn’t someone make a relube type

 

[GAmes]

Because most people don't want to mess around with relube bearings. Besides, sealed bearing last longer, at least U-joints do. But if you want to there is nothing stopping you from drilling and tapping the case and installing a zerk fitting.

 

[SAndreasen]

They would rather change the bearing every two years than grease it.? You can’t just drill the housing the way the steel shell that holds the bearing in is designed

 

[GAmes]

Every two years? I've only replaced mine two, maybe three times in since it was new. In addition, they were preplaced as preventative maintenance, never because they failed.

 

[Cummins12V98]

My 98 has the original along with the U joints at over 450K.

 

[BigPapa]

My ‘95 had the original in it when it was totaled at 350K.

 

[SAndreasen]

two years if that and there out of grease and going squeaky squeaky Let them keep going and the balls fall out

 

[BigPapa]

This on your '98? That would be more than ten of them you've replaced on it since new. How long did the original last?

 

[Diesel Gunner]

2001, 210k, running on originals.

 

[SAndreasen]

This on your '98? That would be more than ten of them you've replaced on it since new. How long did the original last?

I bought it 260 ish thousand on it the first one could’ve been oem ? The aftermarket ones aren’t bad I guess they just run out of grease no real way to relube them . I bought one from quad 4x4 but it ended up on the 99 . The worst Luck I have had is with Napa only got a year out of two different ones . I had the drivelines all balanced because I had a vibration and growl on take off i shimmed then bearing down but the balancing seemed to help more than anything and no more growl or vibration truck is so heavy it sets on the overloads all the time I have thought about going to a one piece driveline but not 100 percent sold don’t know why I guess

 

[BarryG]

On my 01 the oem lasted quite a while like at least 250k miles. I was on a road trip when it went out. Had to have it replaced by a small shop in nowhereville as I did not have the proper tools to do it with me. The shop asked if I could run to the local NAPA to pick one up otherwise it would be another day before they could get it. So I did. That NAPA one lasted less than 5000 miles, replaced it, that replacement lasted again only a few thousand miles. At this point I am getting fairly irritated. I got another one and it has been too long so I don't remember but it was a different brand from the previous ones and it is still running fine. I think the last time I shimmed the entire carrier bearing assembly down about 1/2 an inch.

 

[petersonj]

That NAPA one lasted less than 5000 miles, replaced it, that replacement lasted again only a few thousand miles.

Exactly what part failed on both of those bearings? I would be looking for cause and effect. Sometimes new parts get blamed for failure when there is actually something else wrong.

I replaced my OEM carrier bearing at 290,000 miles just as a maintenance procedure. The replacement bearing is a NAPA ,which now has logged 77,000 miles.

- John

 

[BarryG]

That is why I shimmed the carrier bearing assembly that 1/2 inch or so on the last one. While I don't recall anything being different between the time the oem one went out or should say recently before that, it is possible my memory isn't what it used to be. What was happening on mine was the rubber part of it that allows some play was getting torn up well not torn up but the bearing was coming out of it. So my thinking at the time was that axle wrap, suspension issue of some sort was allowing the driveshaft to move fore and aft too much. Why it would start doing that all of a sudden I had no idea as there were no noticeable suspension issues or any changes that I had made or at least that I could tell any changes in the axle wrap etc that might cause it to move more. At least at first I thought cheap chinese bearing assembly though it wasn't the actual bearing that went out on mine it was the rubber holding it, the bearing would come out of it . However either the different brand and build quality of the last bearing assembly was better (I do recall thinking it looked stronger the way the rubber web was made compared to the previous ones) or that dropping the carrier bearing assembly did the trick. Cant say for sure but that last one is still on there to this day 8 or 9 years later.

 

[fest3er]

There's a chance the slip joint on the drive shaft doesn't any more. As the carrier bearing isn't a thrust bearing, it'll fail pretty quickly if the joint doesn't slip.

 

[SAndreasen]

On my 01 the oem lasted quite a while like at least 250k miles. I was on a road trip when it went out. Had to have it replaced by a small shop in nowhereville as I did not have the proper tools to do it with me. The shop asked if I could run to the local NAPA to pick one up otherwise it would be another day before they could get it. So I did. That NAPA one lasted less than 5000 miles, replaced it, that replacement lasted again only a few thousand miles. At this point I am getting fairly irritated. I got another one and it has been too long so I don't remember but it was a different brand from the previous ones and it is still running fine. I think the last time I shimmed the entire carrier bearing assembly down about 1/2 an inch.

had two Napa carrier bearings fail in about the same amount of time squeaky squeaky squeaky no grease tear it apart throw it away

 

[SAndreasen]

There's a chance the slip joint on the drive shaft doesn't any more. As the carrier bearing isn't a thrust bearing, it'll fail pretty quickly if the joint doesn't slip.

slip yoke is fine and I grease it regularly

 

[petersonj]

There's a chance the slip joint on the drive shaft doesn't any more. As the carrier bearing isn't a thrust bearing, it'll fail pretty quickly if the joint doesn't slip.

@fest3er makes a good point here. I was considering mentioning it myself. Placing a grease fitting on a slip yoke is a poor design. There is no way for the grease to lubricate all of the splines. So, even though the slip yoke may get greased on a regular basis, it does not guarantee that the slip yoke is not binding.

My truck has logged 367,000 miles. Two separate times during its life I experienced a period of time dealing with launch shudder when moving heavy loads (generated by axle wrap). Both times after trying many fixes that did not work (including shimming the carrier bearing), I removed the driveshaft, disassembled the slip yoke and removed the old grease. I thoroughly cleaned the splines on both shafts and packed both shafts with fresh grease by hand. Both times the launch shudder disappeared for long periods of time.

The first period of time I experienced launch shudder occurred at 87,000. After cleaning and re-lubing the slip yoke, the repair lasted until 290,000 - 200,000 miles later. I cleaned and re-lubed the slip yoke again. It has logged 67,000 more miles so far. Also, I have never greased the slip yoke with a grease gun since I started doing this procedure at 87,000 miles.

- John

 

[SAndreasen]

I use a grease needle and grease each spline

 

[GAmes]

I see a common thread......NAPA I use Spicer part # 211848-1X.

 

[SSage]

I replaced my 1995 carrier bearing around 20 years old. It was gritty and sloppy. I think the u-joints were still okay for a while, but I figured it was good preventive care to rebuild the whole two piece drive shaft. Took two tries for the parts house to get the right one. I had been pulling lots of heavy loads and it made me all warm and fuzzy inside before another 1200 mile toy hauler pull. My toy hauler weighed 18K or more. Smoothed the drive line up. I don't like waiting till failure, no fun in that. The greasable Moog joints looked more stout and weighed a bit more than the OEM. I doubt I'll change them again, the truck will be scrap before I wear them out. Couldn't get the spicer version, went all Moog. So far so good, I would guess the Spicer joints are Chinese too. Most things are, even an 18 speed Eaton is Chinese.