Center Driveshaft Bearing Part?

bschooled

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Had a drivetrain shop take my car out and listen and feel the vibration in the car, they said it is unlikely it is differential or CV's based on what they heard and likely that center bearing it rides in.

I looked on the forums and couldn't find much, I did find one part # but it was never confirmed that is what I need. Would it be better to just source a used driveshaft as a whole?
 
Did you get a quote to repair from the drivetrain shop? They are usually really reasonable on cost where the driveshaft is concerned. I had a local shop resize my front and rear driveshafts on my 2000 Silverado when I swapped from a 4L60E to a 4L80E, and it cost about 150 bucks to resize both, balance both and replace all four U-joints with my parts. This required that they install a new tube on the front shaft since the 80 is about 2 inches longer than the 60. This was also with me dropping the parts off with them.
 
No I didn't get a quote, they said they wouldn't be able to get the part from any of their suppliers? Suggested I look for it online or try and find a used one. I don't actually really understand what it looks like up there, hence me asking.
 
No I didn't get a quote, they said they wouldn't be able to get the part from any of their suppliers? Suggested I look for it online or try and find a used one. I don't actually really understand what it looks like up there, hence me asking.

Why would a repair shop recommend a used wear part? The center bearing can't be that hard to find.
 
Maybe I should clarify, not the U-joint, the actual driveshaft bearing that the driveshaft spins in. I have yet been able to find anything online that resembles anything like it.
 
Maybe I should clarify, not the U-joint, the actual driveshaft bearing that the driveshaft spins in. I have yet been able to find anything online that resembles anything like it.

Looks like these? Tell the dealer you want the propeller shaft center bearing.
 
Yes! Thank you, I couldn't really figure out what it was called or what it would look like. The dealer should have this?
 
I got mine from the Ford dealer (Max) a few years ago. Thought it was around $120 and a lot of labor to replace in my own garage. The exhaust has to come off, and the exhaust heat shield has to come off, then the driveshaft has to come out. Make sure that they loosen the shaft extension jam nuts to collapse the shaft to remove it, and make sure they index any weighted washers on the driveshaft coupling flange bolts, as some of the shafts are balanced in production by adding weighted washers and if these are present and not put back where they came from, the car will have an unsolvable vibration on the highway.
 
I got mine from the Ford dealer (Max) a few years ago. Thought it was around $120 and a lot of labor to replace in my own garage. The exhaust has to come off, and the exhaust heat shield has to come off, then the driveshaft has to come out. Make sure that they loosen the shaft extension jam nuts to collapse the shaft to remove it, and make sure they index any weighted washers on the driveshaft coupling flange bolts, as some of the shafts are balanced in production by adding weighted washers and if these are present and not put back where they came from, the car will have an unsolvable vibration on the highway.

And replace the bolts in EXACTLY the location they came out of.
 
Well I do have an unsolvable vibration at 70+, in addition to noise. I asked this question on the forum before, because I had my Torque Converter replaced, this all developed after they did this. I was assured that disconnecting the driveshaft at the transmission wouldn't have made a difference, they didn't need to index those bolts? Is that correct or incorrect, I don't want to spend all this money for no reason if the driveshaft needs to be rebalanced.
 
A bad carrier bearing can cause driveline vibration. It would not be a bad idea to have the driveshaft rebalanced when the carrier bearing is installed.
 
Well I do have an unsolvable vibration at 70+, in addition to noise. I asked this question on the forum before, because I had my Torque Converter replaced, this all developed after they did this. I was assured that disconnecting the driveshaft at the transmission wouldn't have made a difference, they didn't need to index those bolts? Is that correct or incorrect, I don't want to spend all this money for no reason if the driveshaft needs to be rebalanced.

The tranny shop either lied to you, or was ignorant of the indexing of the driveshaft. As other people have said, it needs to go back in, exactly as it came out. The carrier bearing could also still be an issue. It's not so much the bearing that goes bad, but the rubber around it deteriorates. Unfortunately, the whole thing has to be replaced. Ford part # 4A499. I belive this part was also used on some Ford trucks, so it should still be available for around $100-$125.

If you plan on doing this yourself, the exhaust will have to be dropped. A necessary evil. Get 4 different colored paint sticks, and mark each bolt and hardware to its location on the flange. Do this for both front and rear. Also, don't forget to mark the splined section, before separating.

Since the driveshaft has already been out. You may be best off pulling the shaft, and taking it somewhere to be rebalanced as Telco said. They will need the complete assmebly, from flange to flange. Make sure you explain the situation you are having, and that from what you understand, it has to be balanced right down to the last nut and bolt. It may take some time, (especially if the washers and collars were moved to a different location in the rubber), and cost a little extra to do it this way. If they want to just throw extra weights on it, this is just a bandaid approach, and I don't know how well it will work.

If this isn't fixed, you risk messing up your pinion bearing in the differential, and that will need a rebuild next.

Hope this works out for you.

---Mike---
 
OK,

I just called my local dealership. The parts manager is a buddy of mine. He said that the part is still available, and is specific to the LS only. This is the carrier assembly, which is the horseshoe bracket, rubber, and bearing. The part number has been superceded with XW4Z-4800-CA. My discounted price was $115 OTD. I ordered one as a spare, and will have it by Monday. Mine doesn't need it right now, but I got one anyway, because somehow, I think there will suddenly be a run on this part. :shifty::shifty::shifty:

Another symptom of the carrier bearing is a driveline vibration between 40-50 mph in colder winter temps. The issue is not the bearing itself, but the rubber breaking down. It would be nice if someone came up with a urethane replacement piece for this, as the bearing is/was available separate in the aftermarket.
 
Thanks for the info Sport_LS

I got the part for $136 or something, but I live in a backwater town, so they probably added something on.

I actually asked the shop if they indexed the driveshaft and they said they did. I was able to confirm they did, by looking at the end myself, you can see the marks they made.

The vibration didn't start right after I took it there either, now that I think about it, cause the first thing I did after they worked on it was rode it up to 70+ mph.

My vibration/noise started out in the 40-50 mph and 70+, and has slowly been getting worse, now like 30-50, on take off and anything about 65. You can hear the driveshaft move if you quickly shift from drive to reverse.

Hopefully these descriptions will be useful to someone else in the future!
 
That sounds more like a pinion gear issue to me, especially since the driveshaft's been worked over. You can put the car on a ramp stand, set the parking brake, put the car in neutral then crawl under the car and see how much play the driveshaft has. With the parking brake set, try to turn the driveshaft back and forth. You should not be able to turn the driveshaft at all. If it does spin, it should not move more than maybe 1/8 of an inch when spinning, lock to lock. If you can spin it more than 1/8 of an inch lock to lock, I'd have a differential shop take a gander at it.
 
I probably should have clarified, I was referring to my original post. They indexed the driveshaft when they dropped the trans, and there were no problems right after they did it. Its only be several months after.

I already check for play, there is none.
 
Hmm, the only other thing would be a bearing going out then, or perhaps a tire has slung a weight. I think it might be time to have a mechanic look at it then. There's only so much that can be done remotely.
 
bschooled: is the part number above (XW4Z-4800-CA) the same as you bought?
 
That sounds more like a pinion gear issue to me, especially since the driveshaft's been worked over. You can put the car on a ramp stand, set the parking brake, put the car in neutral then crawl under the car and see how much play the driveshaft has. With the parking brake set, try to turn the driveshaft back and forth. You should not be able to turn the driveshaft at all. If it does spin, it should not move more than maybe 1/8 of an inch when spinning, lock to lock. If you can spin it more than 1/8 of an inch lock to lock, I'd have a differential shop take a gander at it.

On top of what Telco said, put the vehicle on jack stands, and have a buddy shift from reverse to drive with foot on the brake, while you look at the driveshaft for any radial movement, (cocking), at the tranny flange, carrier, and pinion flange. Then have your buddy carefully run the vehicle up to the speeds where you are having the vibration, and check the concentricity of the rotating driveshaft. Any slop in the flanges themselves is most likely a bearing issue at the respective end, (i.e. tranny or pinion). Or possibly a loose nut at the flange.

Make sure you keep all body parts and loose clothing away from any rotating parts!!! If that all checks out, use a stethoscope at the tranny tailshaft, carrier assembly, and rear housing, to check for noise. Again, stay away from any rotating parts!!! If nothing found, check the rear wheel bearings.

Don't do any of this, unless you are confident/cautious enough to work around moving parts!!! If you don't have any experience doing this, then take it to a shop, like Telco said.

Hopefully you're not starting to have a tranny issue after the converter replacement.

---Mike---
 
I found some diagrams if anyone is interested, I wanted to know what it looked like under there. I will hopefully have my car checked out this week. The center bearing is part number 4A499.

Here is a link of the drive shaft assembly
http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showpost.php?p=751753&postcount=16

ds.jpg
 
Had the carrier bearing replaced today. Only cost $100 in labor, I am going to miss that when I move to Atlanta. Fixed all low speed vibrations and noises, high speed vibration still there. Pretty sure its CV's from the way it behaves, vibration worse with acceleration, let off and its fine.
 
Holy sheite did this part get expensive over the last 7-8 years!!!

Last one I bought was $108.

Just ordered another one... and it's $225!!! That's with the friends and family discount!

I did get 150k miles out of it though.
 

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