Hello all! I finally pulled the propeller shaft from my 83 SIII
to look for the cause of a vibration present since I bought the car 2
months ago. The problem was immediately obvious, the rubber part of
the center bearing that surrounds the propeller shaft and holds the
actual bearing was rotted through. I am actually quite surprised that
the car worked as well as it did. Anyhow, now I have bought the new
bearing ($79 from the dealer) and now I am trying to decide whether
to install it myself or take it to a machine shop, plus whether I
should go ahead and put new U joints in while I am at it. (They look
fine, turn smoothly, and like so many have said, if it aint broke…)
How prone to failure are the joints? Has anyone ever installed a
center bearing ? I am not going to be able to get back to it for a
couple days, so I am open to advice. Do I need any special tools,
besides the puller for the old bearing (whats left of it)? Do I just
press the new one on using the center bolt of the yoke? And where do
the two circular metal parts that are loose in the box with the
bearing go? (Maybe pulling off the old one will answer that…)
I will post a description of the process after it is finished (and I
am sure it is done right…). Removal wasn’t nearly as complex as I
had feared, and the Haynes covered it rather well. It took about 3
hours. I did have to separate the exaust at the downpipe to
intermediate pipe joint to get the heat shield off, but I didn’t pull
the transmission mounting as instructed, because I found I could
reach the bolts fine with a couple long extensions on the socket. I
may end up pulling it during installation, we will see.
Finally, a special thanks to all who helped me along the way. I
originally was convinced it was a problem with my right rear hub, as
the sound appeared to come from there. I got a number of responses
to my original questions about the vibration, and they made it clear
that I shouldn’t take it for granted that it was the hub, as the
sounds can be misleading. Quite so. So, the lesson for anyone
having a vibration on acceleration is to check the propeller shaft
first, as this is the likely spot. (The reason, I think, that it
sounded like the rear was that the exaust was rattling from the
intense vibration caused by the shaft)
Thanks for the help. T. R.