Carrier Bearing… Alternatives and Solutions

HEll yeah, im tired of these slop in the CB replacements.

 

I went single piece tom woods driveshaft about a year ago and have had no issues with it. As far as cost, my oem shaft sold the first day I listed it at $200, so it kinda offset the cost.

 

It will physically fit a Prerunner and can be installed. I'm running it on my Prerunner. See post 88 & 89 of my build thread (https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/buyobuyos-build-thread.511891/page-5#post-17515509). It is not a straight bolt on part, and it will require making a bracket to support the bearing and spacers to put it at the correct height.

With that being said, you may run into issues because it is a lot stiffer than the factory carrier bearing and may not let the driveshaft move like it should. I discovered that my rear diff was leaking at the pinion oil seal after running it for 4 months. However, the leak could have also been caused by running around for 4 months before installing it with the u-joint at the pinion totally screwed, and it just took a while to show up because there was about 1-2 month during that 4 months after install when I basically didn't drive my truck. I just got my truck back from having the rear LT suspension installed and have a new driveshaft with a slipjoint after the carrier bearing, so it shouldn't be an issue for me anymore.

 

Sounds 100% more likely the leak developed due to the defective u-joint.

 

Dang, that looks pretty nice.

 

No, it is rubber, but a totally different design from stock. It is not sloppy at all. If you want it, PM me.

 

These aftermarket center bearings are definitely not designed for a shaft without a slip joint. There are two problems. The rubber is not meant to move axially, and the metal cage is not strong enough. It will fatigue and fail. Even with a slip joint, I welded reinforcements into my cage. A driveline without a slip joint is bullshit. Apparently, Toyota chose to let the sloppy factory carrier take up the movement. The best course is to do what buyobuyo did and replace the shaft with one with a slip joint, and then use one of these carrier options.

 

Yikes, that sounds pretty involved (and expensive)

 

My new driveshaft was $450. Also, it can be hard to find a shop that will do a custom 2-piece driveshaft. Tom Woods who everyone goes to for 1-piece driveshafts for our trucks won't even consider doing a 2-piece driveshaft.

 

Has anyone cut one of the stock bearings open to see how the bearing is assembled/supported?
My '99 has this issue and I've been debating getting a cheap rubber one and filling it with silicone to stiffen it up.

 

Would I be able to get away with 1p on my truck?

 

Maybe, but I don't know for sure.

 

@12TRDTacoma I have a DCLB too, is the 1/8th inch plate necessary? Thanks

 

Question is, why do you want that?

 

Yes it is. As it will close the bearing bushing on the open end. Otherwise it would be flopping around on nothing.

 

10-4 ill make one then

 

Welp been getting serious vibes lately and sure enough my carrier bearing is toast

 

So with this installed it looks like the whole shaft will be dropped a little bit. I just got the CB off another member and wanna install it. Just wanna make sure the drop wont cause issues. I only have a 1” lift in the rear.

 

The large drop will cause you issues unless you flip it around like others have and then use some some sort of stack to space the carrier bearing back down some. You will have to play with the angles, but ideally you want the DS straight all the way through. You can see it visually when you are doing it. I run a 2.25" thick leafpack and I ran mine the opposite way of how most run theirs. I haven't had any problems whatsoever, but my lift is also substantial.

 

I was thinking of running it upside down with a thick piece of metal to reinforce it at the bottom where the opening would be and some sort or spacer like below to get the correct angle for the shaft.