2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Driveshaft carrier bearing question

[ikoch]

I have had a vibration that starts a about 60mph and gets worse as I go faster. It has lasted through the rear tires being replaced and as of late has got much worse to the point that it needs to be fixed. I checked for play in my u-joints and have none, but the center bearing I can move quite a bit. Is it supposed to move around in the rubber or is it supposed to be held firmly in place? I haven't put much effort into figuring this out yet but after doing a search it seems there has been a lot of problems with this bearing, and I would like to have some sort of standard to compare mine to before I spend hours and money on something that isn't bad.

 

[y-knot]

mine does not move around at all.

 

[rrausch]

When I got my transmission bomb-proofed I also got the driveshaft balanced. Made a BIG difference over 45 MPH! I put a lot of miles on my truck at highway speed, and I heartily recommend anybody who does the same consider getting it done.

 

[TomGolden]

Like Y-knot said, the carrier should be solid, no play. Sounds like that is definitely contributing to the problem, if it isn't the sole cause.

 

[OTRPU]

That's gonna be the next thing fall out, splines on inside of shaft are starting to sing abit. Guess they cut the end off the shaft and weld? on another one, have to rebalance the shaft. After doing this all that's left is the rear end, then it will be an all new truck. . . cept it don't smell like one.



Cheers,

Steve J.

 

[ikoch]

Thanks for the replys, I am going to look into it tomorrow and I will post back with the results.

 

[drrhoades]

The bearing should only spin in itself. It should not spin in the rubber.



Doug

 

[Tardog]

But should someone be able to move the rubber around? mine has a bit of what looks like honey comb on the top side and if I push up on the shaft I can compress this some, but the bearing is fine, Any thoughts?

 

[rrausch]

I just had my carrier bearing changed out, cause I neglected to inject grease into it. It was making a lot of squealing noises, but I was unable to move it by pushing/pulling on it. A little grease is better than a lot of trouble.

 

[Hammer]

" I checked for play in my u-joints and have none"... .



I would ask on this deal how you did this??. In my experiences if you did not drop the driveshaft and try them seperately(moving them that is to see if they are free or bind)then you wasted your time. I have seen many joints give a false report or sense or being good like this(checking without dropping the driveshaft). Many times one or more will bind due to no fittings for grease and have prematurely gone bad. My advice,is a pay me now or pay me later deal. Its already known you have a vibration,why not drop the shaft(carrier bearing included)intact and take it to a good shop who can replace the u-joints,carrier bearing and check it for balance. I have seen numerous driveshafts loose a balance weight and cause problems and its always better to have them checked for piece of mind.



BTW,I am not sure what year truck you have BUT,if you still have the steel directionals it is widely known for this to happen also as they will easily bend for no apparent reason. many a owner has gone to great lengths trying to find the mysterious shake and later have found out with a purchase of aftermarket wheels that it disappears. Hope you find it... ... ... . Andy

 

[BigPapa]

ikoch & Tardog, you CAN compress the rubber that the bearing is in. I can move mine @ 1/4". I had the same vibration problem that you're describing and replaced my u-joints and had the carrier checked. I had one u-joint that was bad but my carrier was fine with 150k miles on it. My vibration ended up being a bent wheel as Hammer mentioned. I'm looking for some 16" Alcoas.

 

[ikoch]

Just to update this like I promised:

I pulled out the driveshaft and checked out all the u-joints - they all were good. My center carrier has some play because all the rubber is so old it is cracking. But the bearing itself was spinning very freely. I put the Shaft back in, jacked up the rear of the truck and spun it up to about 80MPH. Starting at about 40MPH I have a slight vibration that slowly builds, but nothing like the paint can shaker feeling I was experiencing. I checked the front tires, and they were looking a little cupped and were getting pretty worn down, so I opted to replace them and get an alignment. That solved my problem. That should teach me to jump to conclusions.