HELP!- I found out what that noise was...

[BioFarmer93]

Well, I drove Henry from Jacksonville to Tallahassee and back today to take my Mom to pickup a 1999 Subaru Legacy Outback she found on Craigslist. The car turned out to be a jewel and runs like a top. Unfortunately, (or actually fortunately) as soon as I got back into town and off of I-10, Henry decides that he no longer needs that mid-point bearing on the drive shaft- boy was HE wrong!
BU-DU-DU-DU-DU-DU! AAHHH! *** is THAT?!? I whip into a HESS station that fortunately was right there, and I was only going about 25mph when it let go, so between the low speed and immediate availability of a place to stop I was again fortunate. Long story short, Henry is towed home ($80) and I have to fix him. I have replaced 20' long propeller shafts on commercial fishing boats, I have built wind turbines with close tolerance shafts and industrial grade bearings, and I have built giant lathes for spinning 5' diameter chunks of polyurethane foam to make fiberglass molds from... BUT- I have never even looked very closely at the drive shaft(s) of a truck before. I need HELP! Please tell me the tips and tricks to do this thing. I have to have it finished by tomorrow (Sunday) night because I need to go to work Monday morning

 

[OnDaRoad]

Carrier bearing

Sounds like you lost your carrier bearing......
That is centerpoint by where the two piece drive shaft comes together

From experience - take your driveline into a driveline repair shop

When you drop it - mark where it slides together on the splines
with a yellow crayon or indelible means

Have them balance the drive shaft - replace the (3) u-joints with
premium sealed u joints

Have them check the yokes on the driveshaft for play when they
replace the u-joints

Get new straps for the front & rear yokes - make sure the front
and rear yokes that the u-joints fit into have no play where
the u joint meets the yoke or the u joints will spin

Very important to have the front output shaft on the transmission
checked for play & the rear differential shaft checked for play
by an experienced driveline shop

I lost a transmission & rear diffential to a hack transmission shop
in Franklin, OH that f*cked up my truck by sealing a leaking
output shaft on my transmission with silicone a few years ago


Jim

 

[BioFarmer93]

Umm.. I guess this means it's a job I CAN'T do in the driveway by myself, huh? Dammitman! That sounds like Visa money, not checking account money... *****!

 

[starmilt]

Check the bearing if it still spins freely you can buy just the rubber and slip it on.
I only worry about balancing them really when I have a new one built, and that usually on my trucks. Unless you have damaged your drive shaft or your slipjoint has to much play it should be balanced.

 

[Diesel JD]

Well, if Jacksonville has a junkyard open tomorrow you might could grab a driveshaft that fits provided it's a 2 piece with a carrier bearing like yours. I don't know if you really have to dot all your I's and cross all your t's like On Da Road says but an unbalanced driveshaft is very likely to damage other components such as the transmission and differential if you run it that way for very long. It's best to make sure the transmission and differential aren't hurt and then replace the carrier bearing and U-joints and pay to have a shop balance the driveshafts. It'll cost about 100-200 bucks to do it right but it should stay right at that point.

 

[gonecrazyi]

To bad you arnt closer, Im pretty sure that the driveshaft on that 350 I have would work perfectly for ya.

 

[BioFarmer93]

@ Starmilt Is the slipjoint between the two shafts, or somewhere else?

@ Diesel JD Cool- that's pretty much what I had decided to do, replace all the u-joints and carrier bearing and yoke straps like Ondaroad said and get it ASAP to a (yet to be determined- possibly NAPA) shop qualified to do stuff like that.

@ gonecrazyi Aw, man.. come on Billy, my buddy Don lives in Orlando and works in Jacksonville, commutes 5 days a week and is in every morning by 7:30. What's the problem? Just throw it in the truck an' run on up here. It'll be good to get away for the day... You know you were just gonna work on that paper you had to have finished before spring break anyway...

 

[starmilt]

Yes the slip joint is where they connect and allows for suspension travel. over time the splines wear, you shouldn't have any slack twisting the two and not a lot of play side to side or up and down. I have never seen a napa that can balance a driveshaft. If you were to take it to napa or any normal shop they will fix it the same as you can. You will have to take it to a shop that specialises in drivelines to get it balanced, and most of them require you to bring the drive shaft in not the pickup. Install all three ujoints and the carrier bearing, check for wear in your yokes while you are at it, and drive it if you have any vibration take it to a driveline shop if you need to. Normally if it is out of balance it is hard to keep seals in the tranny or rearend. The seal problem is also caused from a dry or bad ujoint.

 

[gonecrazyi]

Your about right on the money when it comes to that paper, ( accounting tests I have put off for a month) lol.