How to change the carrier bearing?

CoastyAV8R · February 5, 2006

I was crawling under my 99' extended cab long bed pickup today and noticed the rubber material around the carrier bearing is cracked and dry roughted and in need of replacement. I obviously have the 2 piece driveshaft that is about 2 blocks long. Anybody have any tips on doing this? Is it pressed on?

Thanks, Pat

fossil · February 5, 2006

You'll need a puller to get the centre bearing off the driveshaft or if you got a torch you can cut it off. To re-install you'll need a sleeve that will fit over the shaft to drive back on. The rubber insulator shouldnt be an issue and I wouldn't replace uness the bearing is rough. The whole thing comes as an assembly.

CoastyAV8R · February 6, 2006

I was crawling under my 99' extended cab long bed pickup today and noticed the rubber material around the carrier bearing is cracked and dry roughted and in need of replacement. I obviously have the 2 piece driveshaft that is about 2 blocks long. Anybody have any tips on doing this? Is it pressed on?

Thanks, Pat

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Thanks Fossil,

So the fact the rubber is deteriorating isn't grounds to replace the carrier bearing? I've never replaced one so I wasn't sure. That's good news, one less thing to worry about.

Pat

pm26 · February 7, 2006

That is not true. Deteriorated rubber cushion around the bearing is the primary reason to replace the driveshaft support bearing. When the cushion is damaged, the driveshaft moves up and down, causing unpleasant vibration. I had this happen to my 95 Nissan 4X4 king cab pickup. The bearing was good, but the cushion was torn, causing vibration in the shaft.

To replace the bearing, you need a 10 or 20 ton hydrulic shop press. Do not use a torch to cut the bearing, or you will damage the driveshaft in the process!

You will also need one of those split bearing removal tools that reach behind the bearing to pull it off the shaft. Yes, the bearing is an interference fit on the shaft and considerable force is required to press it off and press a new one on.

This is a difficult job without proper equipment, as it easy to damage the new bearing if not pressed on correctly. If you do not have proper equipment, take it to NAPA or some other automotive machine shop and have them press it on for you.

I bought one of those 20 ton hydraulic presses from Harborfreight.com for about $ 120 and it works great. I did this bearing job without a glitch. However, it was somewhat tricky because the piece of driveshaft with the bearing had a U-joint on it and has to be supported in such a way during pressing that no force was exerted on a U-joint. And there was also a dust seal behind the bearing, which had to be pressed on first until it bottomod out. If your Chevy driveshaft has such a dust seal, do not press the bearingon pushing the seal on at the same time! First the dust seal, then bearing. Otherwise, you will jam the bearing into the seal and it will not sping freely. No not ask me how I know.

CoastyAV8R · February 7, 2006

A vibration is what started me on this witch hunt in the first place. I have a 5 speed manual and when the rpms' are below 2000 rpm and you get on it, you can feel a seat of your pants vibration that isn't huge but to me it's noticeable. The u-joints are good as far as I can tell so I thought the condition of the carrier bearings rubber may be a cause as I don't think it's able to dampen the vibrations as well because it's in pretty rough condition. Thanks for the heads up on the removal tricks. I'm tempted to replace the u-joints as well since they have 93000 miles on them.

citydriver · February 7, 2006

93K miles, you would probably be better off replacing the joints also. I'm with the other guys,pressing the carrier bearing on and off is deffinately a challenge without the right equipment. I would suggest taking the whole shaft(both halves) to a driveline shop if you have one in your area. At least then they can check the balance of the whole shaft with the new joints and bearing. Besides it's cheaper that way than to buy the press yourself, unless of course you plan on doing more than one....just a thought

az'03Silverado · February 7, 2006

Just a question. Is it possible to replace the shaft with a one-piece unit? Mine is getting rusted to crap and I was thinking about looking at a one-piece shaft. Any info?

fossil · February 7, 2006

The driveshaft is supposed to move up and down, at least all the ones I've ever seen in the shop.. It's not a tight fit in the assembly. Take off the rear drive shaft and undo the 2 bolts holding the centre bearing assembly to the cross member. Take off the bracket and then spin the bearing. If it sounds or feels rough then it should be replaced. Don't go by the cosmetic appearance of the rubber insulator. But if you want to replace it, it's your nickel.

CoastyAV8R · February 8, 2006

I'm getting ready for a cross country sight seeing trip this summer before I move to Hawaii and I want to rid myself of any possible breakdowns before hand. Fossil is correct, the bearing is in great shape and doesn't need replacing as it spins freely. However I do have a seat of the pants vibration that is most noticeable when in the lower rpms of the engine and there is a load on the engine. This tells me either a worn u-joint or maybe the carrier bearing rubber material is beat up enough to cause or a combination of everything. Mark says that if the rubber is shot, it should be replaced which just by looking at it, I would tend to agree. I may just do it and be done with it since I don't want to be sitting in the middle of CattleBalls Wyoming with a blown out driveshaft.

CoastyAV8R · February 15, 2006

I wound up taking it to a driveline shop when I found that we didn't have all the tools necessary to do it in our shop. They installed a center bearing and all 3 U-joints. All I can say is what a difference it made. I had 93,000 miles on the original u-joints and carrier bearing which the guy said is pretty good mileage for both items to last. All my drivetrain vibration is gone, I think I have one tire that needs to be re-balanced but it really has made the truck more enjoyable to drive.

pm26 · February 15, 2006

I wound up taking it to a driveline shop when I found that we didn't have all the tools necessary to do it in our shop. They installed a center bearing and all 3 U-joints. All I can say is what a difference it made. I had 93,000 miles on the original u-joints and carrier bearing which the guy said is pretty good mileage for both items to last. All my drivetrain vibration is gone, I think I have one tire that needs to be re-balanced but it really has made the truck more enjoyable to drive.

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I am glad you got the problem fixed. As I said before, this job is not worth doing without proper tools.