Carrier Bearing

How much should I be able to wiggle the driveshaft at the center (carrier) bearing. I'm talking up and down, side to side. Mine wiggles more than I feel it should...

 

So does mine. If I'm correct in my theory. It is a balanced shaft moving through the carrier bearing so it should not move much at all while driving. You probably don't put anywhere near as much force while driving to move it side to side up and down etc.

But I'd like to see a go pro set up to see how much it moves.

 

Go on YouTube. There are plenty of go pro videos. And the ones I've seen where they love a lot the guy is askin if his carrier bearing is worn out... But no one ever answers. I have replaced all 3 u joints in the past week and still have a driveline squeal. Starting to piss me off

 

The rubber center "support" on the inside can have some movement that would be expected to be too much, but in reality is just fine. The best suggestion would be to get the rear of the truck lifted and supported on jack stands, and then take a camera and video the movement when it is spinning. Usually not much movement there. If there is a lot of movement at that point, then you may need to look at replacing it.

 

This man knows all!

 

I took a video and some pictures of me shaking the driveshaft at the bearing and the amount of give it has. I will also upload pictures that show a significant amount of rust just before the boot on each side. Maybe you can tell me if it needs to be replaced. As i stated before, all 3 u joints were replaced this week and I still have an intermittent high pitched squeal while driving. I know its coming from a moving part because the noise usually happens when accelerating.

 

My truck is a 2014, Double cab, short bed. Has 4240 miles and is a month old. Mine is pretty tight, but I can move it. It's definitely not lose, and doesn't have any play.

 

It wouldn't let me upload the videos. The pictures are of the rust on the carrier bearing. Should i be worried about that much rust

 

Everything looks pretty clean under there. I wouldnt say your carrier bearing looks different than normal.

 

From the looks it appears the rubber part of the carrier is solid. However the rust and the noise you talk about sounds like you may have an issue with either rust itself making contact, or a bad bearing. Unbolt the carrier and let the shaft hang down some, then spin the carrier around the shaft by hand. Listen for abnormal sound. If it makes any noise, or feels unusual when you spin it, then replace it.

 

What about flipping it over to change the load point on the bearing and if the sound goes away you've got a bad bearing?

 

The load on this type of bearing is continuous. It is like taking a wheel bearing that you suspect is bad and flipping it to see if the noise goes away. Since the bearing rotates constantly, the load is placed at all points of the bearing through it's rotation at some point. Good thought, but it won't work.

 

eh not necessarily.... the outer race has more weight on the downward facing portion,

these CB's are super sloppy from the factory IMO, but they have to be due to the way the prerunners account for driveshaft extension / compression.

 

I'll disagree with you on this. When the driveshaft is spinning, the bearings are in constant rotation. There is no possible way to load one side of the bearing this way. The bearings are revolving on their axis due to the inner and outer races, but it is also spinning with the driveshaft. So wear is always constant, and pressure points change.