replacing carrier bearing

[dinnut]

my carrier bearing pretty much fell apart last night/today. the driveshaft is now hitting the crossmember because it came loose. went and found a new one at oreilly for 28 bucks. as far as replacing it... its a 2 pc longbed driveshaft. do i just undo the u joints at the rear by the differential and then separate the 2 pieces of the driveshaft? how is this done? will i have to have the new one pressed on? please help i dont want to put it in the shop if at all possible. thanks!

[71Rat]

you have to press out the middle u joint, once that is out you will notice a nut going through the front driveshaft. just hold the driveshaft somehow without dammaging it and take the nut off then the bearing, new bearing on nut on and press the joint back together....... you might want to make sure that the driveshaft goes back the same way it came off.... the driveshaft might be phase matched.. most front driveshafts with the yoke that unbolts are keyed were the splines are but i have come across a few were PO have messed up the splines... i hope this helps you

Rat

[71Rat]

it is easy to do it out of the truck also, and if u want dont want it to go into the shop you can press the middle u joint out with some sockets and a vise..... not the best and safest way but it gets the job done..... use some socket that is garenteed for life incase something goes wrong

[WRMZ71]

I had a hell of a time getting that nut off as there isn't a lot of room in between it and the u-joint. yea make sure and use a crappy socket that you don't care if it breaks

[garold99]

I've had to replace 3 of these on my truck. Its not much fun. Not hard, but frustrating. It helps to have a second set of hands. Believe it or not the tool we use to hold the driveshaft so we can get the nut off is a light stand. The light stand just happened to be close by when we was trying to figure out how to do this and it really made the job easier for us. I dont have a pic of the stand and its been 2 years since I last replaced the bearing so I dont really remember the steps. All I do remember is that we wedged one of the legs of the stand in there to hold the shaft tight.

Hey you gotta do what you gotta do, Right

[Stanford]

My 71 has the "tear drop" style and eats them that they are going out of style. I find that its easier to take the drive shaft completely out from under the truck. Mine haven't been to hard to get off of the shaft. Its really not hard, but it is frustrating, and like everything else never goes the way you want them to. While its out I recommend that you replace all three u-joints, there cheap and it will save you from doing it later. Good luck, and enjoy.

Stanford

[1970 CST Short Wide]

1 piece shaft is the only way to go. We have one in my sons 71 LWB and it works just fine. You just need to go with the larger diameter shaft. I know there’s been LOTS of discussion on this Pro and Con. Just my 2cents, mine works

[Alex Hayley]

1970 CST Short Wide, did you have that driveshaft custom fabricated? Did you alter the crossmember that holds the carrier bearing?

[70short]

I to am going with the one piece drive line. There are more trucks out there with one piece drive lines than there are with the hoakey two piece drive lines. Stanford by reading your post makes me want to go with the one piece even more.

Gary

[1969K10]

Dinnut: these guys make this sound harder than it is. It does take some time, and a little patience. I would agree, that if you can afford it, replace all (3) U-joints while you're at it. My rear section, is splined onto the front half of the drive shaft, so it's real easly to pull the rear half. Then unbolt the carrier bearing (if you still have left-overs), and then remove from tranny/X-fer. Mark the orientation of the all the parts before removing them to keep them aligned the way the factory has it. The hardest part for me was CAREFULLY beating the new carrier bearing into place on the front drive shaft half.

Good luck!

[1970 CST Short Wide]

Alex
Yes I had it made by Driveline Specialties here locally. They told me how to measure it. $250 included a New Yoke. We also removed the bracket for the carrier bearing. The truck is lowered 6 & 4 the shaft measured 71 3/4 " and works perfect. They also enlarged the diameter and balanced it

[69ChevyLB]

I just replaced my teardrop shaped one with a $19.95 one from Advance with a lifetime warranty. Was easy with the driveshaft out from under the truck. Took the center ujoint apart with a hammer and socket and then hit the bolt with the impact wrench. About 10 minutes work plus time to remove and install driveshaft.