I'm going to replace the driveshaft bearing on my 60 Belair tomorrow. I looks pretty straight forward. I just dont want to run into any problems. I'm sure more than a few of you here have done it. Any pointers?? Thanks, Todd
I'm assuming it's a split shaft set-up? Done it on my '64 Buick Electra with no real issues. Go carefully in case there are any shims under bearing mount so that you can re-use them. I like to handle the assembly gently while pulling it out so you don't beat up the joint thats next to that bearing and of course deal w/ any u-joint issues while it's out and they're accessible. Good luck- Steve
Thanks Steve. Yea, it's a 2 piece D/S with a center support bearing. I'm going to replace the center u-joint also as long as I got it out. Todd
Driveshaft angles are pretty important so if there are any shims under the carrier bearing mount then make sure they get reinstalled and when re-installing MAKE SURE you have ride height set on the car before tightening the carrier mount .... if you are working off a four post then no problem but if your working with a floor jack you need to have the car setting on the ground (or equal-sized blocks under all 4 tires if your not skinny) ... this will keep the driveline angle maintained when tighening ..... otherwise you will probably get a shudder when driving. ... and make sure the zert fittings are pointed the right way (accessible) when installing the u-joints.
You may want to invest in a chassis service manual for your Chev. Originals or reprints are cheap and plentiful and I don't do even simple stuff like this on factory built cars without referencing one. A quick look at my Buick manual to refresh my memory on that split shaft/ bearing and there are torque specs and other details and while I'm not saying you can't do it without one, I didn't. -Steve
Thier were no shims under the carrier when I pulled it out. Also, I was under the impression I could lower it down most of the way on the lift, then use a floor jack under the rear end and jack it up to load the rear springs and then tighten the bolts on the support bearing. Todd
That's the way. It was a once a year item when I had cars like this. Maybe they have improved the rubber since then. Frank
Not surprising about shims. Most I've done didn't either. Honestly, I wouldn't worry about the suspension/ jacking issue that much. The bearing is usually C- clipped to one shaft, and when that's bolted down, there's a slip yoke on the other shaft that allows plenty of room for suspension travel. Why not try and just line things up in the place that they were? (look at bolt marks). If you can do that with the suspension hanging then you should be fine. If you can't, then get everything in place and lower the car (or raise the suspension) til you can then tighten bolts. If you have to do the latter, just be careful, especially while on a lift.
It's not that big of a deal, just put the shims back in like stated. Takes a little work to wiggle it in and out but It's not a herd job.
You need to mark all the components before you take the shaft apart to maintain the balance. If nobody has messed with this shaft then it will look like the front shaft is 90 degrees out of phase. You do need to bolt the center bearing down with the car at ride height.
Best advice right there. Mark the shafts in a way that you can easily tell how to put them back together in the same relationship that they were before you took it apart.
My memory may be playing tricks on me but I believe that the carrier bearing is on the forward section of the shaft so the angle of the rear section of the drive shaft doesn't come into play.
The yoke in front of the bearing goes on one way only, so no chance to un phase it. Rear must be loaded BEFORE tightening the bolts. All my cars that have the X frame have a slip yoke (4x4 style) in the rear shaft, it relieves the pressure off of the support bearing. Most of the time the rubber pulls out (or with the cheap bearings the foot will break off) or the bolts are not in the center of the slots on the frame (bolts all the way to the rear and still have about 1/4" until u joint hits diff yoke).
take the bearing and fill it full of silacone(sp) wrap tape around it let it dry .makes it almost a solid rubber type bearing. lots of old threads on here about that bearing. guess i should be a little more clear,put sil.in the holes around the metal part to fill between the carrier and rubber part. try a quick search.
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