Technical Prop shaft bearing; I see the light - and probably shouldn't...

[Panda IIs]

On the '63 plate TA 4x4 I decided to investigate the "clunk" felt on reversing off the slightly upward inclined driveway.

I was thinking a while back that the car was "of an age" when the rubber bits might be giving up. I was wondering if the sound might be the dog-bone engine mount (hoping?) however it seems the rubber mount for the prop shaft centre bearing has let go - possibly around its whole circumference...

 

[Eltezz]

Haha, cue the Queen track: Boom, boom, boom, another-one-bites-the-dust!

So, new bearing or new propshaft is the question…

 

[Panda IIs]

Haha, cue the Queen track: Boom, boom, boom, another-one-bites-the-dust!

So, new bearing or new propshaft is the question…

Tempted to have a go at swapping the bearing by splitting the shaft; what could possibly go wrong... My position is that the prop-shaft has to come out either way..?

 

[Eltezz]

Give it a go! I would have tried it if I had more time when the last one went. My only regret was taking the old shaft down the tip - I should have kept it and had a go at splitting the shaft.

 

[Panda IIs]

Give it a go! I would have tried it if I had more time when the last one went. My only regret was taking the old shaft down the tip - I should have kept it and had a go at splitting the shaft.

Challenge accepted sir! (I'm so easy!) Can you recommend a source for the part Shop4Parts would normally be my go-to? Only attraction of a refurb shaft would be the additional new UJs but we don't here much about them failing on here?

I guess it remains drivable to Royston (Fiat Workshop) with the shaft out and in the boot if all else fails...

 

[Eltezz]

Which part? The bearing or shaft?

 

[Panda IIs]

Which part? The bearing or shaft?

Des Shelly for the shaft I assume - I was thinking of the bearing assembly?

 

[Eltezz]

Here you go, Shop4Parts do them, you just need to know where to look:

Prop bearing

 

[Panda IIs]

Here you go, Shop4Parts do them, you just need to know where to look:

Prop bearing

Thank you!

 

[Andrew Harvey]

I'd change the whole item
Fix and forget.
£288 was a peace of mind repair

 

[Panda IIs]

I'd change the whole item
Fix and forget.
£288 was a peace of mind repair

Yes, coming to that conclusion already! Having decided to remove the 'shaft this pm all nuts and bolts came off relatively straightforward but the rear c.v. joint left half of its self in the diff (corrosion adhesion) spilling balls and grease everywhere. I need an air chisel (which will actually be and SDS+ drill with appropriate bit on it tomorrow. The car will be used in 2WD until either I can separate the shaft and rebuild c.v. parts of joint or Des Shelly gets a call...

 

[Eltezz]

Best of luck getting it off but right about now I would be ordering one from the Des Shelly website…

 

[Andrew Harvey]

I too had this issue. Its a domed cup that sits in the diff mounting.
A liberal spray of penetrating fluid and some encouragement and it came out
Perfectly happy with my decision to replace it in its entirety

 

[Panda IIs]

I too had this issue. Its a domed cup that sits in the diff mounting.
A liberal spray of penetrating fluid and some encouragement and it came out
Perfectly happy with my decision to replace it in its entirety

Thanks for the moral support, I slept on it leaving some WD40 (I know WD stands for water dispersant, but it works) on it overnight. As I proposed above I gave it quick burst of SDS+ drill, in hammer mode only, which did the job - it took longer to set the drill up!

The domed cup came out all shiny and clean (no corrosion) and I noted that there were paint pen marks to indicate alignment with the diff flange so I suspect someone had been there before me which is interesting as the car has 50k miles in my ownership (total 97k). I am going to have a bash at splitting the shaft and removing the bearing but will happily replace the whole if it puts up too big a fight. It does mean I have to commit to regreasing the CV joints at each end though which is a pretty gross job in itself

It seems to be happy to trundle around in 2WD although I don't intend to provoke the system into demanding 4WD (intentionally!).

 

[Panda IIs]

As by way of an update, I had been away from the prop shaft for a week but that gave me some thinking time. So the issue is splitting the shaft at the centre by the failed support bearing, inspired by a YouTube video showing someone fabricating a tool from some steel plates and jacking the splined part into two pieces I decided to invest in a bearing puller kit from China - cheap but effective. By using the two clamps provided and finding some M10 studding and locking a pair of nuts to each of the studs I was able to jack the two clamps apart and thus split the shaft.

The internet tells us that there is a master spline (bigger one) thus not requiring the two parts to be marked... Here, there is indeed a master spline (more accurately a bigger gap) in the female half BUT no matching master in the other half meaning it can be reassembled in any position... Close inspection showed that a some kind of thread locker had been used and had pooled around the area where the bigger gap was thus identifying the position, a near miss perhaps?

What you don't get with the new bearing are the two metal covers for the bearing on the shaft which get damaged in the separation process these may be recoverable with some delicate hammer work but I will try to source. Some pictures may help understanding...

 

[Panda IIs]

This is not the end of the story; one of the UJs feels a bit notchy and both cv joints separated and reassembly is being a bit of a pain given these issues and the damaged bearing covers Des Shelly will be getting a call methinks.

In summary prop shaft bearing replacement is DIY feasible but comes with some baggage!

 

[Panda IIs]

I'd change the whole item
Fix and forget.
£288 was a peace of mind repair

You were of course right!

 

[steg750]

Tempted to have a go at swapping the bearing by splitting the shaft; what could possibly go wrong... My position is that the prop-shaft has to come out either way..?

I've just done my propshaft centre bearing and it all went ok apart from shearing off one of the studs on the bash guard under the bearing. Trickiest bit was splitting the shaft to remove and replace the bearing but made up a tool to pull it apart. There is locking compound on the splines which needs some persuasion. As it turns out, the bearing itself was fine, just the rubber surround which had disintegrated. New bearing was less than £25 off ebay and it all went back together ok. I took the opportunity of checking the UJ bearings (all fine) and wire brushing and repainting the shaft. Clunking has now stopped so was a worthwhile job.
Iain

 

[porta]

I've just done my propshaft centre bearing and it all went ok apart from shearing off one of the studs on the bash guard under the bearing. Trickiest bit was splitting the shaft to remove and replace the bearing but made up a tool to pull it apart. There is locking compound on the splines which needs some persuasion. As it turns out, the bearing itself was fine, just the rubber surround which had disintegrated. New bearing was less than £25 off ebay and it all went back together ok. I took the opportunity of checking the UJ bearings (all fine) and wire brushing and repainting the shaft. Clunking has now stopped so was a worthwhile job.
Iain

Yes, if it all comes apart it’s a pretty easy job
2005 climbing bearing was done at 80k and was still all good at 150k
Oddly now need to do daughters 2009 cross at 88k and wife’s 2010 cross at 70k

 

[steg750]

Yes, if it all comes apart it’s a pretty easy job
2005 climbing bearing was done at 80k and was still all good at 150k
Oddly now need to do daughters 2009 cross at 88k and wife’s 2010 cross at 70k

I didn't want to buy a whole shaft just for a £20 bearing.