Carrier Bearing

[nroden]

Yesterday while comeing home from school the carrier bearing went out. All kinds of vibration and noise started. I pulled over, found it, and looked back and found the rubber pieces on the road. Took it home since it happened at the end of the gravel road I live on. Got in my dad's 99 Dodge Diesel 2500 and went to NAPA and bought the center support bearing (aka for above) for $32.50. (good price)
I have unbolted the old one and I got the clips out of the u joints. Big problem now is getting those apart. I am useing a socket and hammering down on that. Correct method? You have a better one, reply. Any advice?
Hopefully I will get it figured out tonight in the shed and if not I will come back here.

[useRc10]

use a vice and put a nut that is smaller tahn the u joint on one end...when you tighten the vice it will push the u joint through...get what i am saying?
-Nick

[bigjimzlll]

which bearing do you have? mine i just had to unbolt the rear u bolts and pull the rear shaft off..then slide the front shaft threw the xmember hole..didn't have to undo the u joints

[useRc10]

if you have to pull it apart you might as well replace the u joints...they're probably bad too anyways.

[COBALT]

I know what you're talking about. Here's some instructions:

1. Take some chalk or some light colored wax pencil and make a mark on the diff. yoke, the drivelines, the removable yoke in front of the bearing, and the slip yoke on the transmission. You have to put the driveline back EXACTLY as it came apart, or the driveline will be unbalanced when you're finished.

1. Unbolt the driveline from the differential by removing the U-bolts that hold the rear U-joint in place. Use some tape to wrap around the rear U-joint to keep the caps from falling off.

2. Unbolt the support bearing.

3. If you have a slip-yoke on your transmission then just slide the driveline off the tranny, and the driveline will come out in one piece. Put a piece of plastic or a zip-lock bag over the tail of the tranny to keep fluid from leaking out. Use a rubber band.

***Here's where you are***

4. Remove the center U-joint by removing the clips, and using a couple of over-sized sockets, and a machinist's hammer to get it out (if you have a press that will do this then forget using a hammer). If you need to keep the center U-joint then tap it out carefully. Catch the bottom cup as it comes loose from the yoke. You don't want to loose any needle bearings. If you don't care about the U-joint (about $13 at NAPA) then bang the old one out, and plan on getting a new one.

Some Ball Joint presses have fittings that will allow you to press out U-joints, but if you don't have one of those you're stuck using the hammer or a VERY large vice.

Remove the side that is connected to the removable yoke in front of the support bearing (you have to do this to get to the bolt that holds the yoke on. Put the caps back on the exposed U-joint, and use some tape as before.

5. Put that part of the driveline that has the support bearing in a vice, and undo the bolt holding the removable yoke on. Make sure the vice is holding the driveline by the removable yoke, and tap the driveline out using another large socket. The driveline should separate.

6. Cut the rubber housing away from the bearing, and remove the thin metal housing to expose the bearing itself. Use some cheap pullers to yank it off (don't allow the center bolt on the pullers to wreck the threaded hole the removable yoke bolt goes into!).

7. Now, go get a new bearing from NAPA. They're about $30, but they're better than the others you'll get at some of the other parts stores. Also, get a 5" piece of steel pipe coupler that will fit over the splined end of the driveshaft that holds the support bearing. Get a steel cap, because you're going to make a driver tool to tap the new bearing into place. Make sure the coupler sits on the inner bearing race.

8. Put the driveline back into the vice, and tap the new bearing into place with your home-made driver. DON'T PUT THE DUST SHIELDS BACK IN. Leave those flimsy little disks on the workbench, or better yet in the trash. The new bearings don't need them, and all they'll do is destroy the new bearing and make a lot of noise.

9. Tap on the removable yoke (remember your chalk lines), and replace the bolt.

10. Reconnect the U-joint and the other part of the driveshaft (again, remember your chalk lines). Just be careful and you won't have to replace that center U-joint. You probably have to take one caps off, fit the U-joint into the yoke, and replace one of the caps from the outside, and slip the U-joint into it, then tap that cap into place. Spin the driveline around, and tap the other cap into place. Be careful! Those needle bearings can come out, and you'd have to take everything apart, and realign everything, or have to go get another U-joint for about $15 bucks.

11. Put the driveline back into the truck reverse as before. You're done.

[nroden]

Decided to replace U joints too. The were pretty dry. Have to go get them from NAPA tomorrow.

[nroden]

Got it all together Saturday morning.... 5 hours before my starter quit. Fixed some vibration I hadn't even realized were there and it is smoother. I am glad to be back in business.