So, I've noticed a bit of a low frequency vibration lately, usually just after shifting in to 5th gear at roughly 50-55 mph. Today I got under the truck to check my suspicions and sure enough the carrier bearing is shot. Grabbed the drive shaft yanked on it to see the slop around that bearing. 

 Has anyone used the cheaper ones from say O'Riley auto parts or advance auto? I don't want to spend alot right now since I haven't worked in almost 8 weeks so have to stay on the cheap end for now. They both list one for around $25.

 Also looked them up on rock auto, they show 2 different ID measurements. Not sure which one I need. Don't think I can get a caliper in there to measure it.

Mine came from Advance several years ago and is still going. I remember something about the 2 different sizes. It's been a while but I think there was a physical difference between the two that I could see. Like one has the bolts on the inside and the other on the outside. Like I said it's been a while but somehow I got the right one without measuring.

  

Yeah, here we go. Of course if yours is like mine you want the expensive one   

That would be my luck @dave110. I won't be able to do much with it until the weekend. Hope it's ok to drive a bit longer. I won't be towing or hauling anything. Just going to the inlaws for Xmas.

In the parts look up for a 2001 Ram 2500 on page 310 you will find the part number is 04773014 for a  4x4 (line 7,8), 5.9L diesel (engine code ETO), 5 speed manual (transmission code DDX).  This bearing has the 1.575" bearing ID. 

@IBMobile, would that be the same for a 3500 then? 

 Took me a minute to figure out how to use that look up tool. Not enough coffee I guess.

 Can that be replaced by only removing the front section of drive shaft or is it a must to drop the entire shaft t-case to rear end?

56 minutes ago, Doubletrouble said:

would that be the same for a 3500 then? 

Yes

 

57 minutes ago, Doubletrouble said:

 Can that be replaced by only removing the front section of drive shaft or is it a must to drop the entire shaft t-case to rear end?

I would drop the entire driveshaft, Mark front and rear halves for alignment before taking the rear half off first.

@Doubletroublethe more I think about it mine came from AutoZone and not Advance. Either way it's the same Chinese crap .

Merry Christmas!

I would not scrimp on that bearing due to the install part. But you never seem to know what you are getting with any of the bearings anymore. Some chinese crap is better than others. You might look up the old part number and find some new old stock of the original. Mine has over 500k on it and still seems tight.

Make sure to take it to a shop that can press it on and off. Like a few members here found out if your doing it with a hammer you most likely damage the bearing and shorten its life span. I pulled my driveshaft and took it in and had it checked for true and carrier bearing replacement done. Yeah it cost a bit to have the carrier and u-joints replaced but it was done. Still going on that bearing. I think its a SKF bearing IIRC...

 I'm thinking it may have been replaced before since one of the strap clamps on the rubber boot is now a hose clamp.

 

 A buddy has a press in his shop. I'll most likely press it on myself. I would rather do as @Mopar1973Man suggested but right now money is super tight. A cheap bearing will only be a bandaid for now. I will go back in the spring and change all the U-joints and replace the bearing with a better quality part. No point in having a heavy 1 ton truck with a weak drive train. Normally I wouldn't skimp on such a thing but at the moment my options are limited. 

 No so sure the last one was installed correctly. Shouldn't the rubber dust seal be up against the metal seal at the end of the DS tube?

 

Can you tell if the slop is the bearing or just the rubber cushion? They are prone to rot away. The cushion is available separate.

 

https://www.napaonline.com/en/search?text=center%2Bsupport%2Bbearing&referer=semantic&se=1#

@NIsaacs, I'm thinking it may just be the rubber part that has deteriorated honestly. Won't know for sure until I remove it though. Unless there is a way I didn't think of to check the bearing while in place?

11 minutes ago, Doubletrouble said:

Unless there is a way I didn't think of to check the bearing while in place?

 

After traveling freeway speeds for a awhile I would just stop at a rest area and put my hand on the carrier bearing to feel for temperature.  Normal condition would be for the bearing to run just warmer than ambient temperature.  This bearing does not receive much of a load - just keeps the driveshaft centered.  

 

When I had around 290,000 miles on the original bearing, I started noticing that the bearing began to run warmer than usual.  I changed it out then.

 

Also,  this is a good time for you to take apart the slip yoke and thoroughly clean out the old grease and put in new grease.  A sticking slip yoke can cause launch shudder and vibrations.  Many times launch shudder is misdiagnosed and the real culprit is a sticking slip yoke.  This has happened twice with my truck over approximately 347,000 miles.

 

- John

 You would think they would make that bearing with a zerk fitting to grease it. I think they have aftermarket ones that have them. 

 Anyway, I'll try that and check for temp. I'd still have to do near the same amount of disassembly just to replace the rubber isolator I believe. 

 If I have to pull the entire drive shaft I'll clean the slip yoke and re-grease, change the carrier and probably paint it while it's out. I'd like to just replace all the U-joints while it's out as well but money is tight. I already have the paint. Lol

44 minutes ago, Doubletrouble said:

 You would think they would make that bearing with a zerk fitting to grease it. I think they have aftermarket ones that have them. 

I am the opposite on the zerks. If I can find good quality sealed thats the route I like. All my OE front suspension held up for 240k before changing them out. My drive shaft is all original. Of course 60% to70% of my miles are highway miles so that helps. I just dont like having to grease things. 

I'm personally a zerk guy, even the lower ball joints which are a pain. It is important to make sure the zerk - and the end of your grease gun - is clean before injecting grease. Otherwise it's a grit-injection device.

 

With one of these high-dollar gizmos life is better, especially if you have the lever-type grease gun. I have pistol-grip grease gun, so it's now a one handed operation.

https://locknlube.com/

Edited December 29, 20204 yr by LorenS

I'm like yourself I prefer grease-able parts. Not like I'm going to jump through hoops for it though. My ball joints are only upper grease-able but since I've never ran oversized tires I'm up to 200k miles and counting on this set of ball joints. U-joints are another story being the bearing cup typically fail to water / salt failure for me by spring I will of wiped out at least one u-joint in the rear shaft.

 

Carrier bearing on my truck was more so the rubber failing and the shaft had one bad joint adding excessive vibration to the cab. I looked at this way it already cover like 200k miles back when I changed the carrier bearing last time. With all the salt and water I'm going to be look at changing again soon. 

 

Like my front wheel joints (U-Joints for the axle) I changed the first set at 350k miles. The problem was it took over 60 tons of pressure to break the caps free on the passenger side shaft. The driver side shaft took me 4 hours of beating on the caps to remove them. I learned even if the part is still good at hundreds of thousand miles later it might be a good though to just replace it because it will be well rusted and locked in place and nearly impossible to remove. 

 

Just consider I do brake jobs every +200k miles. No joke, not a typo either... Everything on my truck typically last a good long time.

I did not have to grease anything on my truck for the first 240k. I like it that way better. 

 I guess I just like the idea of pumping clean grease in and forcing the contaminated grease out. Makes sense to me but I get the "maintenance free" side of the sealed parts as well. 

A  lot of this stuff just boils down to personal preference. No so much a right or wrong way.