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Carrier Bearing Replacement

81K views 23 replies 12 participants last post by  lariat7.3 
#1 ·
2002 F-350 Crew Cab, Short Bed, Automatic, 4x4

Do I need any special tools to replace the carrier bearing for the rear driveshaft?

Thanks
 
#2 ·
Did a lot of searching on this site and others and found nothing. So I'm just going to do it and see what happens. How hard could it be?
So the goal is to remove this support bearing on the rear driveshaft...




I removed the rear section of the driveshaft first by removing the four 8mm bolts...



Then on to the front four 12mm, 12 point bolts...


For those bolts I was able to get two of them before having to put the truck in neutral and rotating the driveshaft 180*.

Once I got 3 of them out, I held the driveshaft with one hand, took out the last of the front four bolts and then used my impact to remove the bolts for the carrier bearing housing...



Wasn't as heavy as I thought it might be...





It has sure seen better days...





The threads are a mess...


After using a wire brush I noticed a big glob of something on the end of the threads...


I don't know if Ford put that there to keep the nut from ever falling completely off, but a light tap with a chisel/screw driver and it came right off...


Now I get to go see if my impact is going to be able to remove that nut. Or do I have to use a breaker bar and a fence post.
 
#3 ·
So I had to run to the store and get a 33mm socket. The 1 5/16" socket was just a little too big and I didn't want to ruin the nut.

But my impact would not budge the nut. So I put the driveshaft in a vise to use the breaker bar and the handle from one of my floor jacks...




But all that did was try to rip my vise off the work bench.


So I thought maybe some heat would work...



Then I remembered that the impact probably did not work in the driveway because there was nothing solid holding the driveshaft. With the driveshaft in the vise, my impact spun the nut off with no problem...


I doubt the heat did much since I did not use the torch but for maybe 2 minutes. But maybe it was just enough.


With the nut off I now had to figure out how to remove the yoke from the end of the shaft...



This puller actually did the job...



Hooked over the edge nicely...





With the shaft still in the vise, being held by the yoke, I used the impact to push the driveshaft out of the yoke...



That worked great...
 
#4 ·
After looking at the bearing for a while I could not figure out how to remove the bearing. So I removed the rubber that surrounds the bearing to see what I could see...



Not much...



But I noticed the back of the bearing was fairly square...



So I figured I would give the puller another try...



The puller and the impact worked out great again...





Not sure what the brown sticky stuff is on the surface where the bearing sits...



Some laquer thinner and emery cloth cleaned it up pretty good...



I figured I should clean the drive shaft since it was out. I thought it was odd that there was no paint under the stickers...


Do the drive shafts not get painted at the factory? Or do the stickers get masked?


After a bunch of sanding and some gloss black paint this section of the rear drive shaft looks pretty good...



Tomorrow I'll get a new bearing and hopefully everything will go back together as easily as it came apart.
 
#6 ·
did you remember to mark the driveshaft so it is phased right when you put it on? They are system balanced-Did you also mark the flange prior to removal? VERY important. Don't be surprised if the new carrier bearing just slides on, some aren't meant to be an interference fit.

I hope you marked it. NIGHTMARE if you didn't.
 
#11 ·
LMAO! Did I remember? I would have if I had known to do that. No worries though. I took so many pictures it was pretty simple to put back together.

New bearing went on really nice. Didn't just slip on, but very light tapping with my hammer and a small piece of wood did the trick.
 
#13 ·
Nice post!
Best,
Jim
Thanks. I'll post the rest in a bit. Too nice to be inside right now.

But I will say the Napa bearing assembly looks like it will hold up much better than the Ford unit. Plus it was a third of the price.
 
#12 ·
When I would start from a dead stop there was an odd thud. No vibration, just one thud. I could tell it was not metal to metal. There was no noise. It was the difference between hitting something with a rubber mallet or a ball pean hammer. When the truck would shift the thud was heavier.

So I got under the truck to shake the driveshaft and sure enough. The rubber all around the bearing was all torn. It was really dry like maybe the exhaust had cooked the rubber.

So I am guessing that the initial torque when starting to roll from a stand still and the firm shifts were making the driveshaft flop around at the support bearing.
 
#9 ·
when a carrier bearing is going bad/bad, besides being able to move the shaft up and down, you feel a shudder on take off-worse when towing or loaded, and it goes away once you get moving. They are very easy to check, go under the truck, grab the shaft close to the carrier bearing, and try to move it. If the shaft moves easily, replace the bearing.
 
#16 ·
Yes
 
#19 ·
The yoke needs to go back on in the exact position it came off, or the driveshaft will vibrate. Ujoints need to be phased properly so that they cancel each other out, so if you are off by a spline or two, it can cause vibrations, which, besides being annoying, will wear the carrier bearing & ujoints out faster.
It does not matter if the flange the d.shaft bolts to (on the tcase or the rear) is lined up the same as it was before.
 
#20 ·
So I've been hearing a grinding (for lack of a better term) noise for a couple days now. Sounds similar to when there is some grit in the brakes. Put the truck up on jack stands and let it idle in gear, and the noise is coming from the carrier bearing. I haven't felt any vibration or clunking, just the growling noise.
Bearing bad probably?
 
#23 ·
Im just going to throw this out there. I have a hop, at about 45 mph or so. Clears up after that, and doesn't do it before that speed. I was wondering about this bearing assembly, and if it could be the problem. New Michelins didn't change the hop.
 
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