How To: Replacing Carrier Bearing

They won't press or hammer out? That's unusual. You can try heating up the flange and press it then.

 

Press no I felt like it was going to bend an ear if I kept going. Hammer was working until the my socket got stuff to the u joint so now it's stuck in there too.

 

SO..... I forgot to re grease the inside of the yolk. I didn't see it in the destructions but noticed it in the video..... So do I need to rip it all back apart? Luckily I haven't attached the front of the driveshaft with the rear yet.

 

When you press the joints in or out, you should put pressure on the clamp, then if it stops, give the yolk a whack with the mallet. Sometimes the shock makes things move along. Just in case you need to do this again in the future.

Also, did you make sure everything spun freely when you reassembled (not sure if you replaced the u-joints or pressed back in the ones that stuck on you).

If you're talking about the slip joint, that's not a big deal. If you're talking about where the yolk presses the bearing in place, there shouldn't be anything in there you'd need to grease.

 

I replaced all the u joints just for good measure. Not sure what kind of stress the 6" lift put on them so since I'm lowered back down figured would give everything an overhaul. I greased the shaft on the yolk so it would slide in easier but that's it. I mean I did grease where the bearing sits but just a thin coat to help it press back in. No more than what I put on each ear for the u joints. And everything is spinning freely as far as u joints go.

 

And one more thing. When I pulled the caps off the new u joints there wasn't much grease in them so I added some in the caps then assembled. Should I go ahead and grease them with the zero fittings before I put everything back in the truck or am I good until the next oil change. I always grease everything every 5k when I change my oil

 

I don't know which carrier bearing you used but the ones I've seen are all sealed bearings so there's nothing to grease. In that regard, you should be all set.

The u-joints I bought were greasable and they didn't come with much grease in them. I greased them right away, as soon as they were installed to make sure they were well lubricated. I know they sell some that are not servicable so the only way to grease them would have been before installation. Not sure what which ones you bought but grease is cheap so I say grease them early and often.

 

I bought the 13.99 ones from Napa. They have the zero fittings on them. I went ahead after I got all of them seated and ready to lift up into the to truck and greased them.until grease was squirting out of the caps. So they should be gtg. And the carrier bearing I was talking about I bought the skf one. It's not greasable but I greased the shaft it slides on to help it go easier. That's what I meant.

 

You should be good to go then, sounds like you lubed everything up well when you installed it.

 

Well somethings messed up. There's a whine in it somewhere. I can mainly hear it at low speeds with the Windows down. Sounds almost like a bad serpentine belt..... why is this always my luck.

 

I went through 2 carriers back to back. Got less than 1,000 miles on each one because they were just crap bearings. For my 3rd, I bought an OEM bearing. Mine were squeeling though, it was very apparent that the bearing fried right off the bat. Not sure if that's your issue or not.

 

First post here... (thanks for all the great tech info)

Curious - has replacing this center bearing removed the 'takeoff shudder' for anyone? I experienced this today for the first time... (alarming to say the least) - crawled under the Taco and the play in this center bearing is ridiculous... 1/2" at least. I also notice a vibration between 60-65 mph with throttle on that I previously thought might be the gears. That is what it feels/sounds like.

By the way, I have a new-to-me 1999 v6, TRD, 4x4 with the factory elocker. 156k on the clock.

Sorry for the slight highjack.... but I thought it might be relevant.

 

My Tacoma is a second gen, 2007, but I just recently replaced my carrier bearing and I can move the drive shaft just as much within the brand new one. That huge amount of play is normal.

The shudder I was experiencing with mine I have no doubt was entirely from the rearmost u-joint. It was gone. I replaced all three though, even though the front two were fine. I don't really think I needed to replace my center support bearing, but I'm glad I did while I had everything down and apart.

 

Thanks for the info... tomorrow I can shoot a little video of the play and post up a link. It seems really excessive. It was dark out when I was looking at the thing tonight but I could have sworn the rubber even looked torn in a place. More to come tomorrow.

 

Great writeup. Thanks OP. Looking to do this very soon, I need to align my drive shaft too. The U joints don't line up at the same angle. Hopefully this combination will solve all my shakes!

 

Sorry for the delay - Here is a quick video of the play in my center bearing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B94Z7bBAZY0

:48 seconds shows it best IMHO.

(If I need to move this to a new thread, I am happy to do so.)

 

This is a fantastic write-up, one I will use at some point I would consider adding that, if the CB was damaged due to something like bottoming out when off roading (as opposed to just wearing out), you should consider getting the propeller shaft checked for balance. Come to think of it, I wonder, if there is play in the shaft for awhile, that some knocking around may cause a slight imbalance. If that shaft is warped even slightly the new CB will eventually tear apart, right?

 

I'm kind of in the same boat. I installed the OME Carrier Bearing Drop but the rubber in my seal is almost shredded so, I know it's time to replace it. =0/

To answer your question, I believe that there shouldn't be a lot of play. If they wanted everything to be extremely tight, they would have designed the carrier bearing differently but...I personally feel that if yours is moving all over the shop, that's not good.

 

Check your u joints really well, I had the same issue. Didn't end up changing my carrier bearing, just one u joint, and I'm all smooth now. My cb also has a good amount of play. Twist, push/pull, and work on your u joints to see which one has play. It was my farthest rear u joint that caused my vibes.

 

Where do you guys feel the vibration at? Floor board? I get a small vibration in the gas pedal just curious if this is the symptom that the cb is going? I only have 42k on mine.