Carrier Bearing Replacement, and what should i plan for

For reference, my truck is a 99 SR5, 4wd, manual, 3.4L with 211k miles. I bought it last year, I am really happy with the condition its in, and i want this to be a million mile truck. I want to stay really on top of the maintenance and give it what it needs to make it that far.

I have noticed a vibration in 3rd and 4th, and a heavy vibration from 55-65mph. After some investigation, i found that there is a small tear in the bottom of the rubber on my carrier bearing. I assume that this is probably the issue, and I am looking at replacing it.

So my question is two part-

1. should i replace the u-joints while im already replacing the carrier bearing? i have no record of them being replaced, so is it a good idea to replace them while im already down there?

2. what should I replace as the truck is new to me: obviously oil change every ~5k, im going to change the oil filter every other oil change, air filter every 20k or so.

records show
steering gear bushings replaced at 172k
decarbon service, throttle body serviced, timing belt replaced, valve cover gaskets replaced, and water pump replaced at 160k
drive belt replaced, valve cover gaskets replaced, brake fluid, transfer case oil, and rear and front dif oil, starter was replaced at 145k.

so maybe spark plugs and wires since no record, maybe tranny and clutch fluid, planning on upgrading suspension soon. Am i missing anything, or anything i should throw on my timeline?

 

Um, oil filters are cheap, even factory ones.

 

Why would you leave a filter already contaminated in place?

Send an oil sample to Blackstone your next change and they'll offer OCI guidance based on the health of your motor.

I'm betting they'll tell you your oil is good for at least 7500 miles (instead of 5k) if not more. But that's just my bet. Let them be your guide.

 

Valve Cover Gaskets replaced at such a short interval is interesting. I bet whoever did 'em the first time didn't address the cam plugs..

Vibrations absolutely suck to diagnose. I would just change out the carrier bearing without replacing the u joints. Being that you can really only inspect the u joints while the shaft is out anyway, use the carrier bearing work as an opportunity to check them.

Being a manual truck, you have a couple of other bearings in the transmission that could be the cause of the vib. Otherwise, realistically at 211k, you should be ready to replace all the wheel bearings soon as well as a rear diff rebuild (diff and pinon bearings).

Your vibration could be worn rear brakes too..

Are you missing anything- Add Lower Ball joints to your list as priority number one. Genuine OEM parts only for the LBJ on a 70k replacement interval. If you haven't had them done since you've owned the truck, or don't have service records indicating they've been done, do them yesterday.

 

The center support bearing / carrier bearing is very straight forward, there is a link if you need additional information in the stickied section...probably the most important thing is to put that thing back on lined up just like you took it out, so order yourself a paint pen if you don't have one already...

Before going in and replacing the u joints, I'd just make sure to grease all the points along the driveline...I'd have to double-check my notes, but I feel like there were 9 points to grease with 4wd.

The very rear slip yoke thing doesn't respond that well to greasing and can give you a "thud" of sorts when taking off after coming to a stop...a lot of people in here use some sort of Ford axel lubricant and physically take off the rear section with the yoke, clean the heck out of it and use that Ford lubricant.

 

Vibration is only during acceleration. coasting and braking it goes away, thats why i figure its in the driveline somewhere, and with the tear in the carrier bearing, i wasn't betting my life on it but it would be sweet if that was the issue because i am going to change it anyway.

also had the lower ball joints done as soon as i bought it back in setpember

i have seen the thread on the carrier bearing. planning on following that step by step- looks like a really good writeup. do you know what those 9 points are? im sure i could find in some other thread too...

do you know why the yoke doesnt agree with the greasing? might have to look into this, but havent noticed any thud after complete stops...

 

I honestly can't specifically recall off the top of my head, but as I cleaned up the driveshaft joints as I replaced the support bearing I hit them all up, and to be honest, the grease points were so caked over I didn't realize there were so many until I started cleaning it up...for reference, I used that lucas red and tacky, seems to be the consensus in the forums, and most people in here that do consistent work on their vehicles will say that hit them up with each oil change.

Essentially where the grease goes in, relies on the entire yoke being greased by it moving and pulling it down the splines...when greasing, it essentially puts it in a pocket towards the rear of the spline and has to "naturally" work it's way forward. I think the grease from Ford is a thicker viscosity and will stay in the splines longer but has to be manually applied with the yoke disassembled. I'm sure others can explain it better but that's the general consensus.

 

I grease the yoke on the driveshaft as often as I can, it definitely vibrates when it's dry. You should plan on greasing the driveshaft joints every oil change and using a new (Toyota) oil filter every oil change. When you drop the driveshaft just make sure all the U-joints move without play. Mark your driveshaft position before removal so you can put it back in the same way.

I had really bad intermittent vibration around 55 mph and it turned out to be out of balance tires. I replaced the center bearing but no change.

 

okay good to know. have you had problems with the rear yoke that rish57 noted?

 

The issue with the rear slip joint stems from over filling the void in the driveshaft side of the joint. Usually with U joints, you grease them until you see new grease come out, when people apply that concept to the slip joint, it causes problems. The splines just need a dab of grease on them- I use a plastic syringe loaded with grease, to just push little bits into where the slip joint.


It's also easy to over grease those u joints, which just makes a mess under your truck and slings grease on the exhaust.

 

New tires are like a fresh haircut! Just leaves you feeling good the whole day.

 

No, just a vibration that goes away after a few pumps of grease in there. Like it was said, don't fill it up all the way like the U-joints. When I do U-joints I stop when I hear the seals start to make a crackling sound, anymore and grease squirts out everywhere.

 

Hands down definitely do the ujoints while you're down there. They aren't super expensive and take maybe an hour tops if they are difficult. Your vibration may even be caused by the ujoints being worn out and sloppy, that being said the carrier bearing would be the next thing to go as a result of the ujoints having kicked the bucket. I went thru this with my b2200 last year and the carrier bearing was the afterthought I only realized once we were down with the driveshaft off the truck