thinking of replacing u-joints & carrier bearing @ 100K

[List]

A fellow worker had the carrier bearing go out on his 2007 F150 only to find out his drive shaft is one piece and Ford wants $1000 for a replacement. I was wondering if the carrier bearing on my 2005 RAM, CTD, 6 Spd is replacable. I have noticed a small shutter in 1 st gear while towing my TT. Wanted to bebuild the drive shaft before towing to the beach next summer.



Mickey

05,2500 CTD,2wd,6Spd, quadcab, 92,250

 

[LNaugle]

how does the carrier bearing go out on a 1 piece shaft? is he talkin diff carrier bearing? anyway you can check it yourself, just shake it up and down and note if the rubber is blown out or torn,there is actually a bearing inside the rubber that you will feel clunk if is bad. sometimes that shudder you feel can be from the grease in the ujoint has hardened. check by removing shaft and feeling or put on jack stands and watch diff and shaft while someone "drives" the truck. you will see the shaft and diff "hop".

 

[jelag]

Mickey, A one piece drive shaft has no carrier bearing. . a carrier bearing goes from the frame to the drive shaft at the middle u-joint. . When you start your search for joints I'd suggest a joint that is greasable... I personally use rockauto.com for a lot of my parts. . On my dually they were so rusted in that we ended up using a press to get them apart. . so if you intend to do this yourself you either need access to a large vice or small press... etc...

Good luck. .

 

[AMink]

If they are like the 2006, the joints have no c-clips but have liquid nylon injected into the joint. It hardens and holds the joint together. You have to heat the joint to get the nylon to melt again and squirt out. If you don't get it all, you'll need at least a 6 ton press to get it apart. I just did mine and it was a real pia. I suggest removing the shaft and having a machine shop remove the old joints. Also, make sure you make index marks so the shaft goes in the same way.

 

[List]

the F150 drive shaft is welded together after the bearing is installed to make it a one-piece drive shaft. I never actually saw the piece, just heard the story. A drive line shop was going to cut it apart and rebuild(joints & bearing) for $600

 

[cerberusiam]

Don't waste your time rebuilding the factory shaft, get a 1 piece if you still can. They are getting tougher to get but it eliminates that hanger bearing and its associated problems.

They always seem to have issues even new because the webbing holding the bearing is simply not up to the TQ the negine can put thru the driveline. Even new the stupid things wiggle on take off. Usually, as long as you have no bad vibrations run it. Mine lasted 180k before the webbing was too weak to hold. Bearing was fine but mount is crap.

 

[NIsaacs]

I would think a one piece shaft on a 2wd long bed would be a foot longer than a well rope... .

Nick

 

[Wayne M.]

I believe the ford deal with the welded one piece and hangar bearing. It looks like the Escape AWD shaft is built like that. My truck does not have a bearing, but I've been through the mill with other trucks. When I got my truck, thats one of the first things I looked at, and was relieved to see a one piece shaft. If it's that much of an issue with the OEM bearing, I would consult with a driveline shop and look at fabbing something custom. Perhaps they have a solid mounted bearing they can adapt to your shaft. Or make something from scratch. Nissacs is correct about his well rope comment, and that's how strong it would be. Look at a typical medium duty truck, like a school bus- most have a 3 piece shaft with 2 bearings. Done for a reason. Regarding U joints themselves, I use precision greasable with good results.

 

[Bob4x4]

A one piece shaft with a solid mount bearing in the center could not work. There would be no way for movement as the suspension cycled

 

[S.Morris]

Is there not a heavier duty version of the rubber mount carrier made by anyone? I replaced my original with a spicer a couple years ago. Never had a new OEM to compare it too?

 

[JSafrit]

Mickey,

I had a similar issue with my 2006 Laramie 6speed manual... I tow a 40 ft 5th wheel; and on launch, I too had shutter in the driveline. However, when I ran unloaded, the shutter was not present. I believed that the center bearing needed to be shimmed in order to alter the angle of the rear shaft. That was not the case. I discovered that the original ujoints had run dry, and destroyed the needle bearings. Dropped the rear section of the 2 piece shaft;removed the old joints(with heat from a torch), and replaced with quality US made, greasable joints. Drives like a new one.

Hope this helps.

 

[BigPapa]

Mickey, A one piece drive shaft has no carrier bearing... .

A one piece shaft with a solid mount bearing in the center could not work. There would be no way for movement as the suspension cycled

What he's saying is that it has a 2-piece shaft, but that the carrier bearing is not replaceable. In other words, the shaft/carrier bearing is "one piece". The way the shaft is made, the carrier bearing cannot be removed.

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

I changed the u joints and carrier bearing at about 160,000 and they were still good; see the next issue of TDR.