Drive Shaft Center Bearing Failures

[Tater215]

Yes ... failures. Here is the story. Had a new clutch put in at 187,000 miles. Took it to a good ole boy shop to get done. New clutch works great. After a few hundred miles the original center bearing went bad. Had them put on a new one. After a few thousand miles another center bearing failure. Put another new one on it. Now sitting at just over 200k miles and the center bearing failed again. My 17 year old son started driving it just before the clutch failed. So I am not sure of the symptoms the car was having between repairs and failures.

Original guibo still on it.

Here is my plan.
1.) Replace guibo and cente bearing (again).
2.)I suspect a u-joint issue in the driveshaft (shop said there are fine ... not serviceable but fine) but won't know until I pull it.
3.) Is there anything else I should check for that could be causing these failures? For it to go out so quickly repeatably. I think i will replace transmission mounts although they don't look bad. Thought about engine mounts also. What about differential mounts?

Lastly, do I need to remove the exhaust at the exhaust manifold to get the driveshaft out. Or can I pull off the rear section?

How do I check alignment when installing the center bearing? Are there shims that should be used (if needed) to move the center bearing down to make sure the axis of the driveshaft is square to the mounting plate on the end of the transmission output shaft?

Thanks,
Tater

[bullmand]

There's a certain amount of pre-load that bearing is supposed to have. It's detailed in the Bentley manual. The original one probably just wore out, but the second one may not have been set correctly. Try that and maybe OEM parts and you should get another 100,000 miles out of it.

[familytruckster]

At 200k, if none of the mentioned parts have been replaced- replace them all.

The centering bushing also needs to be replaced with the guibo. More than likely the u joints are bad, they might not have play, but they are probably bad.

[Monolith]

+1 on the bad u-joints. Repeated center bearing failures point to bad u-joints. I haven't really heard of any center bearings failing on their own accord. If the center bearing fails, you usually have other problems causing the failure.

This place has been recommended for replacement driveshafts if your driveshaft shop can't repair it:
http://www.wholesaleimportparts.com/

Stay away from u-joints with grease fittings. Just a pain to remove shielding to grease periodically.


Not sure from your write-up in the first post but did the driveshaft shop actually disconnect the driveshaft and check the u-joints for full motion?

Check out this other thread for removal tips:
http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=32870

[Tater215]

Truckster ... right inline with my thinking.

Bull ... I have a Bently manual and know about the pre-load. I have no idea if they pre-loaded the center bearing when they installed either one of the two new ones they installed. If I ask I am sure they won't say they won't tell me.

Monolith ... The shop that worked on it pulled the driveshaft to replace the center bearing. The said the u-joints seemed good. Told me they couldn't be serviced but that they moved smoothly with no notchiness.


I basically have the car time to work on it. It is not needed as a daily driver so I am going to tackle it myself this time.

Thanks for the input. Anyone know about replacement u-joints for staked driveshafts from www.rockforddriveline.com? I love to do things the hard way. But hate doing them twice.

Thanks,
Tater

[Monolith]

Be sure and check your transmission mounts as well.

[familytruckster]

Motor mounts to, mine seemed OK, then I found that they had completely separated. That the excess movement could be tearing up the center bearings.

[Tater215]

So here is the somewhat final plan ...
New motor mounts
New transmission mounts
New Guibo
New Center Bearing
New U-Joints in the driveshaft either by replacing or by a new shaft.
Hope the differential bushings aren't shot ...

This is going to be an experience ...

Thanks for the input

[iriaf2001]

I am in the process of replacing the Center Drive Shaft Bearing but it will not budge and slide out. Any recommendations on getting it out? Will the drive shaft get damaged if I use a torch to heat it up and pry the center bearing out? Has anyone here faced this issue before and was successful on getting the bearing out? Thank you everyone for your input.

[juan.manjarres]

I'm with Monolith. I would check these people out on a driveshaft.

http://beyermotorworks.com/new/page,art,id,201.html

Motor mounts specifically can appear to be in good condition unless leakage is seen. I would just go ahead and upgrade to e46 m3 motor mounts while your at it. I recently did that and transmission mounts and it made a huge difference. Something to think about, my mounts appeared fine from the outside, when I removed them they were both in two pieces.

[J!m]

Did those good ol boys separate the drive shaft halves when they did the clutch? I assume so, as they did the center bearing at that time.

did they put it back together EXACTLY as it was?

Based on your description, I suspect not, and the drive shaft is out of balance now due to being reassembled incorrectly.

Please add this to your list: "Balance of fully assembled drive shaft"

I suggest doing it after the u-joint is replaced.

Although bad mounts can add to a center bearing failure, to fail so fast really has me thinking it is a balance issue tearing it up.

[Tater215]

I assume you got the snap ring off. After that I took mine off by clamping it in a vice and using an old socket extension to hammer against the inner ring of the center bearing and drive it off. Took a little bit. Soak it with some liquid wrench should help. Trying to hammer it off while the driveshaft was on the floor originally left me with thinking I would need to heat it also. Before I used heat I cut it off with a dremel. Of course I love to do things the hard way.

[Tater215]

By the way got her back together a couple of months ago. When I got the driveshaft off the u joints were bad. I ground the stakes and drive them out. Bought OEM replacements and tack welded them in after a sample reassemble to minimize runout of the driveshaft. One motor mount busted while removing it. Vibration dampener at the front of the driveshaft was junk also. So I replaced it while I was there. Seems to run fine but man is the thing loose like a big old caddy. Think I need to invest in shock and struts on all four corners since they are all original. Or maybe just sell it. Anyone want to buy a 97 Boston Green 318 to with 201k miles clear coat is peeling and it's a little loose but starts and runs good.

[J!m]

Original suspension is good for MAYBE 60k miles, so, yeah, those shocks and struts are toasted.

Replacing those, the spring pads and sway bar links and bushings and it will drive like new again.

Actually, all the suspension and steering are suspect to me now, so please do a few searches and see what is needed for front lower control arm work as well as front and rear suspension.