Driveshaft carrier bearing hell...

[Spedy7]

Hey y'all, got a problem that I just can't seem to find a good answer to. Some PO decided to tack on a s***y mount for the HD 2 piece carrier bearing to the back of the crossmember and I'm trying to find a "new" one. My dad found one, mounts on the bottom of the crossmember though (from a 70 c10 longbed with coils and maybe a manual) and the driveshaft is different/front shaft is shorter. Mine was originally a "hanging doughnut" and PO hacked it out.

First image is mine, carrier bearing mounted behind crossmember. 2nd is what my dad picked. And 3rd was another he found. Could we just grab the driveshaft, change the slip yoke and be good or is there more to this madness?

[LockDoc]

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If it was me and the one that is in it is working good I would just paint it up and go with it. If you buy one of the reproductions and change it over you will be lucky to get 6-8 months out of it. They tend to fall apart. If you buy one of the Billet carrier bearings for 90 bucks I guess they last pretty good....

LockDoc

[Spedy7]

Originally Posted by LockDoc

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If it was me and the one that is in it is working good I would just paint it up and go with it. If you buy one of the reproductions and change it over you will be lucky to get 6-8 months out of it. They tend to fall apart. If you buy one of the Billet carrier bearings for 90 bucks I guess they last pretty good....

LockDoc

I wish that was the case, I need to replace it and would rather do it all the right way.

[brad_man_72]

Take it to a driveshaft shop. It should be rebalanced anyways. Plus they might see an issue you may not notice.
Take them measurements as well, your hacked together shaft may not even be the correct length.

[James the III]

Originally Posted by LockDoc

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If it was me and the one that is in it is working good I would just paint it up and go with it. If you buy one of the reproductions and change it over you will be lucky to get 6-8 months out of it. They tend to fall apart. If you buy one of the Billet carrier bearings for 90 bucks I guess they last pretty good....

LockDoc

I thought I read somewhere, Either here or on the Impala forum, that if you fill the carrier bearing rubber surround with household outside use caulk , they last a good long time..

[LockDoc]

Originally Posted by James the III

I thought I read somewhere, Either here or on the Impala forum, that if you fill the carrier bearing rubber surround with household outside use caulk , they last a good long time..

If you used the silicone stuff it may help. It would firm it up and still be flexible. You would have to jack the shaft up to center it before you filled the cavities with the silicone, and it would probably have to set a week without driving it for it to set up good. I have one that is getting weak, maybe I'll try it.

LockDoc

[James the III]

Originally Posted by LockDoc

If you used the silicone stuff it may help. It would firm it up and still be flexible. You would have to jack the shaft up to center it before you filled the cavities with the silicone, and it would probably have to set a week without driving it for it to set up good. I have one that is getting weak, maybe I'll try it.

LockDoc

I was thinking fill it before install.. laying it flat on a table/bench it should equal out..

[LockDoc]

Originally Posted by James the III

I was thinking fill it before install.. laying it flat on a table/bench it should equal out..

That would be better. If you do it let us know how it works out.....

LockDoc

[brad_man_72]

Leon just send me the shaft ill fix it....

Any time you replace a carrier bearing the shaft should be rebalanced. Vibration is what beats the rubber up. If you make the rubber stiffer it will transfer the vibration to the frame.

[lutronjim]

My installer got a one piece and out in my 70 C10. I have had replaced a bunch of the midship crap. Ran fine with 0 vibrations. He told me that some of the trucks came with one piece which is what he had.

[LockDoc]

Originally Posted by brad_man_72

Leon just send me the shaft ill fix it....

Any time you replace a carrier bearing the shaft should be rebalanced. Vibration is what beats the rubber up. If you make the rubber stiffer it will transfer the vibration to the frame.

Maybe I will do that Brad. It's the one out of the '67 Panel Truck. I will let you know, I'm still driving it right now.

LockDoc

[James the III]

Originally Posted by brad_man_72

Leon just send me the shaft ill fix it....

Any time you replace a carrier bearing the shaft should be rebalanced. Vibration is what beats the rubber up. If you make the rubber stiffer it will transfer the vibration to the frame.

Mine was re balanced..
I think it is wear on the shaft where they connect/slide.. allowing it to whip under load.. after 40+ years I doubt the fit is as tight as the specs call for..
Stiffing up the rubber helps support the shaft.. I'm sure the slip fit is designed to do this, but once they wear it is gone, how do you fix that to tightin it back up..?
If a slip yoke with worn splines can cause a shaft to whip, I'd be shocked if a worn 2 piece shaft joint/connection doesn't cause the same action, adding loading to the carrier bearing rubber that was not designed to control that once the shaft connection is worn/loose

[davepl]

I had a bad shudder on acceleration that I was at my wit's end over. Already had had it balanced, but I took it back and they replaced the slip yoke's splined section, and it cured it. I didn't believe it was going to help, but it sure did. Moral of the story is that they're apparently very sensitive to slop in the slip yoke splines.

For whatever reason, with the "sloppy" splines (which I couldn't feel by hand) it was bad - the rear of the transmission would jump up and down under moderate acceleration.

They also had to replace the carrier bearing as they couldn't save it, but it was brand new so I don't think it was part of the problem in my case.

[Aus69c20]

I'm not sure I'm understanding the question.
But I have the same centre bearing carrier in mine. It's a two piece clamshell arrangement which you unbolt and pull apart to replace the bearing and rubber. It's not what they sell commonly for our trucks but the bearing and rubber are available.
There's a post on here somewhere with the part number. If you want I'll try to get the part number.
I hope that helped.