Center Support Bearing

It's time to change the driveshaft center support bearing on my 2004 ext cab 4WD 3.4L auto.

Do I want an OEM Toyota part or will an aftermarket part be ok? What did you guys use? Any opinions....

Thanks, Jay

 

IIRC the OEM one is $200+

I went with one from Advanced auto parts and have had no problems for 4 months. It was like $70 (still over priced for what it is IMO...)

 

Hi Jay, what makes you think the carrier/center bearing is bad ??

Wow, $70 is a good price , the OEM unit is $200+

 

Vibration, Carrier rubber is visibly shot.

 

Yeah if the rubber is torn away from everything (or even just torn) its probably toast, or soon to be, did it move anything like this ?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaHOtY78Yaw?version=3

 

I just replaced mine on the weekend. Firm as anything and no play. Also replaced the U-joints while I was down there. Drives as smooth as silk now

 

It is best to fork out for OEM. If you go aftermarket, it will not last as long and you will have to change it again sooner. Many guys have tried to use Napa/Autozone for the lose. You can find the part cheaper I think if you look around on toyota reseller websites. I got my oem carrier bearing for $140.

 

I found the OEM Toyota bearing online for $128.93 plus $11.47 shipping. That sure beats the $200.00 walk in and bend over price!

Thanks to all for the replies. Jay

 

Trust me , that "no play" thing isn't going to last long, they loosen up pretty quick.. BUT !! that doesn't mean its history either. Its still perfectly fine, thats why Toyota doesn't really provide any specs for it as far as clearances go, as long as its still turning relatively smooth & not squeeling or froze up or causing serious vibes it is assumed to be good....

But yeah it was $200 & change last year for mine, but it wasn't me being bent over, it was the good people of our Tacoma World that pooled their hard earned money & bought it for me last Christmas.... Thats why this Forum fuckin' rocks & I love them all....

 

What kind of vibration was it? I think i may need the same thing. I have a vibe at 1500-1900 rpm that is most pronounced under the pass side floorboard toward the center

 

Interesting video....pretty crazy. This is a very sloopy area to start with.

I have a bracket that cures vibrations and drops the bearing down in a better fashion than the common washer drop or those 1" spacers found in some lift kits. It uses a top tower as a 3rd attchment point that helps firm the sloppy area up even more. It uses a factory hole in the cross member.

I've probably sold well over 100 of these now for Tundra's and Taco's combined and have only had about 3 people say it didn't help their vibe problem. There's a thread called Vibration Gone made by Tacoridinhigh. You can click my sig and find them in Categories on the products page.

First attachment from left to right is, 2nd gen Taco, Tundra and 1st gen Taco. I have early Tundra also. Offered in 1.50" or 2.25" drop depending on rear lift.

 

Yeah , Ryan was telling me about your drop bracket, i'm going up 1 more leaf I think & will be changing rear shocks so I'll be dropping the carrier again as well , sounds like you have a fix for the mid-driveline, yep shitty area with the carrier & dbl Cardan slopped together...

 

Hello everyone...first id like to say THANK YOU to all of you for your valuable input on questions that i had but was able to find the answers on here !!

I recently installed a pair of 5 leaf alcan springs from Wheelers that raised the truck about 2 inches from previous springs..old ones were pretty saggy... after the spring swap the truck started to develop a deceleration vibration. I thought that maybe it was the pinion angle but from what i have read that 2" is not enough lift to cause this (wheelers says that they should lift the truck aprox 1.5" over stock). After aprox 3 months the vibration is now constant and i am hearing a "whirring" sound...like big ol mud tires.. btw the truck is mostly stock with stock wheels and tire size.. After watching this lil clip my center bearing looked identical to the one in this clip..was that one bad? Mine spun freely but wobbled like the one in the video. i have removed the ds a couple times now and replaced the aft uj as it was the only bad one that i could feel. Everything is lubed well and this truck has seen VERY little of the off road. I am the second owner. first was my father who took it to dealership for all work performed on it. I thought about perhaps lowering the carrier but there again its only 1.5" over stock. Any input would be appreciated.

 

Is the video not available? I am seeing the ghostbusters no play logo on my iPad......would like to see it. Suggestions appreciated.

 

I'm one of the 3 people. I had relatively bad vibes, and the bracket didnt help me.

My vibes were ~75mph, and the bracket changed the vibes to ~55mph.

So, i see how it can help some folks, but i wasnt one.

 

Alder, im getting vibes at like 55-65 and a sound kinds like waaa waaa waaa waaa waaa waaa. is that similar to your issue? was wondering because the 2 possible scenarios for it are either the pinion angle or is wheel bearings . did you ever end up fixing it?

 

I had/ still have this whaaa whaaa whaaa issue. I had some pretty bad vibes which I thought were related to worn CB. I replaced....most of my vibes went away. Between 60-70 I get a slight vibe and the whaa whaa vibe. I too am thinking its a wheel bearing.

 

so this weekend im going to tear into some things im thinking its either the front CV's or the CB and hoping its not a wheel bearing! Ill first be looking at the front end im going to lower my coils a bit to see if that eleviates the waa waa waa waa noise im hearing on the freeway. after that im going to take the carrier bearing down and see if it wobbles a ton and might toss in some 1/4" spacers on it to lower it a little bit and if need be replace it! if those 2 things dont fix it ill start looking at the wheel bearing issue! Also taco47001 if you find out whats causing that sound update this post and ill do the same!

 

What springs do you have in the front?

 

i have sway-a-way racerunner 2.5" coilovers. There just like icon or king or the camburg ones but my spindle is in the way of using my spanner wrench to loosing them and drop a little lift so i have to undo the UCA from the spindle!