Hi folks, I have a '96 F150, Centurion 4 doorfull cab. Last summer after I replaced the carrier bearing, and noticed a slight vibration under my ass. I removed and replaced the driveshaft exactly the way it came out. I also did the u-joints. It's not my daily driver, but I've about had it with this. I remember the old carrier bearing looking a little beefier than this one. Also, this one has some wiggle to it, I go under the truck and can wiggle the driveshaft inside the bearing about a good 8th inch.
I see NAPA has 2 kinds, one much beefier than the other. You guys thinks it's worth the $40 and my time to try it?
I would change it out with the heavier one. One thing to keep in mind is the part you installed might have stated that it was for that vehicle, but you dont know if it met OEM specs. Most parts do these days, but that sounds like too much play in the bearing. If that driveshaft can wobble around in the carrier rather than the U-joints doing their job, then that is whats goin to happen. And that will cause your vibration.
Also did you install the u-joints correctly? Are they greasable u-joints and if so, have you greased them? When you installed the U-joints did you put the grease zerk in between the driving yoke and the driven yoke pointing in the direction of rotation while in drive? If you didnt, then you need to pull them out, inspect them thoroughly and re-install correctly. As an example, on a single drive shaft, I would install the u-joint with the grease zerk in front of the yoke on the trans and behind the yoke on the driveshaft (for a driveshaft that turns CW while in drive). That way when the vehicle is loaded there is compression on the zerk area, and not tension. If they arent installed correctly, the weaker part of the web where the hole for the zerk is drilled can allow the u-joint to stretch slightly when under load, or rip completely apart. That can cause your vibration.
Lastly, did you grease the slip joint between the driveshafts when you re-installed it, and did you clean it as well?
Drive shafts with carrier bearing can be a pain in the butt sometimes. A while back GM had so much trouble with them on some pickups that they retrofitted a single piece driveshaft in its place as a fix.
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