Carrier Bearing - This doesn't look right

I seriously doubt there should be this much movement, but before I dig in I'd like more experienced opinions. I shot this while laying under the truck, holding my phone with one hand, and pushing up on the drive shaft with the other. Let me know what you think.

Thanks,

Matt

https://youtu.be/U4mw9ReyRzE

 

Looks like to much play to me.

 

Yours is in bad shape for looking so new. Here's one with much more mileage that looks a little better than yours.

 

ok, so bad. What's the risk in driving it?

I don't know when mine was replaced. Before I bought the truck a couple of years ago.

 

You could hurt your transmission and/or rear differential if it breaks loose. Do you have axle wrap as well?

 

I don't even know how to tell.

 

Does the truck "thump", or a feeling of a little push from behind, right before coming to a complete stop? Will a thump happen when starting to accelerate? There's some good threads on the subject here. I'm not saying that is what caused the problem, but it could've helped. Replace the carrier bearing first, then go from there.

 

I don't feel a thump when stopping. I do get some hopping when starting, but I've always attributed that to bad clutch work.

If it's ok to drive, I'm going to take it Friday from Atlanta to Hilton Head. Back Sunday. Looks like about 600 miles round trip.

Thoughts on that?

 

Can't say Matt, it could be tomorrow or a thousand miles down the road. 600 miles is only going to worsen the bearing, it won't get better.

 

Don't do it. It's already that loose now, image adding passengers, cargo and 2 weeks of driving in just a few days.. Not a good idea considering it's a much cheaper fix at home then on the side of the road far away from tools and auto parts stores. Pay for the bearing, not the bearing and a tow truck bill...

 

Listen to the man Matt.

 

About the worse that could happen is the bearing fail completely .

then you have two pieces of the drive shaft wailing around does one take out the fuel tank good enough to cause a leak

Sparks from parts dragging on the road enough to ignite vapors ???

Rear section catches in a expansion joint throwing the truck to the right or left.

Of course the rear drive shaft in destroyed did it also take the flanges on the differential and transfer case as well.

Now it is pretty cheap to fix before things go really bad!!

 

Alright. Thanks, guys. I'll look into a rental car for the trip.

On to cause. Is this a normal wear and tear item, or is something stressing it causing it to fail prematurely? On the other hand, maybe it's not premature - I don't really know when it was last replaced. Or, maybe it was replaced with a cheap part.

 

Normal wear and tare. You could fix it in an hour or 2 if you want. Just take off that half of the axle (not the flanges, let a machinist do that) to a machine shop with a new support bearing and they'll swap it for you.

 

Yes to both. Axle wrap is a natural occurrence with leaf spring suspensions. Older/weaker springs permit more axle wrap. This creates additional vertical and horizontal (as viewed from the side ...) movement of the driveshaft. And that extra movement is something the bearing must deal with. I would suspect there's no way axle wrap can't wear out the bearing somewhat quicker.

And you've seen this? https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/how-to-replacing-carrier-bearing.260283/

 

Thanks. And, yes, I've seen it. I'm committing it to memory now.

 

All it takes is a socket and breaker bar to get the flange off. No need for a machine shop at all. Pop the flange and bearing off, stick the new bearing on and then the flange. Done.

Seriously? Quit fear mongering. The bearing itself is probably fine if he can't hear it squealing. The rubber around the bearing has deteriorated enough that the bearing moves in the pocket. Even if the bearing did sieze.. It's a captured unit that would be held together by the cage around the rubber. It's not going to sound good but it's not going to make his truck blow up in a ball of fire like you seem to think

 

^what he said. the bearing isn't the piece that joins the driveshaft. it allows it to "float" to absorb vibrations. it would have to shear off the 4 bolts connecting it on either end. worst that will happen is it sounds like shit and people look at you funny.

 

Don't you be looking at me funny!

 

If it were I, and I drove on the suspect bearing. about 50 miles down the road I would begin worrying about what that "noise" is. What if it comes apart... I shoulda fixed it... And then the rest of the trip would be a nightmare...