Today I had the carrier bearing on my 2004 Chevy Silverado replaced. This is an Extended Cab 2WD with a two piece driveshaft. This is the second time the carrier bearing assembly has been replaced. Last time was in 2016. The bearing was replaced because it was dry... no grease in it. It was putting off a raspy noise.
Two of the three u-joints are originals (138,000 miles). The third (I believe it was the center u-joint) was replaced several years back.
After the repair, we now have a rumbling driveline vibration at anything over 45 mph. Took it back to the mechanic, he double checked all of his work, says that the carrier bearing is not in a bind, he put the new one where the old one was, and all u-joints look good (no rusty dust) and are in good shape. He made some minor adjustments, with no improvement. There has been some very light occasional rumbling in the driveshaft in the past several years, but only at 75+ mph, and nothing even close to this severity now. I wrote it off as accumulating wear on the two u-joints with 138,000 miles on them.
Mechanic is adamant that the driveshaft needs to be balanced. He said he was not rough in taking the old carrier bearing off. All the factory weights are on the driveshaft. It does have a few light dents, but none are new.
I suggested all new u-joints and he told me that he'll do it, but told me that I'll be tossing my money away, and then still have to balance the driveshaft. Mechanic has been working on this truck for several years. If it has needed it, he's done it. He said that he's seen this before in other vehicles, and the cure is to balance the driveshaft.
I've never been in a situation before, where I've had to balance a driveshaft out of nowhere. I have a 2000 GMC Sierra Ext. Cab 2WD with more miles than this one. This is the first time in my life, after a few dozen vehicles, that I've ever been told that I need to balance a driveshaft.
I guess I'm skeptical about a driveshaft that all of a sudden needs to be balanced, when it didn't appear to need to be balanced yesterday.
Two of the three u-joints are originals (138,000 miles). The third (I believe it was the center u-joint) was replaced several years back.
After the repair, we now have a rumbling driveline vibration at anything over 45 mph. Took it back to the mechanic, he double checked all of his work, says that the carrier bearing is not in a bind, he put the new one where the old one was, and all u-joints look good (no rusty dust) and are in good shape. He made some minor adjustments, with no improvement. There has been some very light occasional rumbling in the driveshaft in the past several years, but only at 75+ mph, and nothing even close to this severity now. I wrote it off as accumulating wear on the two u-joints with 138,000 miles on them.
Mechanic is adamant that the driveshaft needs to be balanced. He said he was not rough in taking the old carrier bearing off. All the factory weights are on the driveshaft. It does have a few light dents, but none are new.
I suggested all new u-joints and he told me that he'll do it, but told me that I'll be tossing my money away, and then still have to balance the driveshaft. Mechanic has been working on this truck for several years. If it has needed it, he's done it. He said that he's seen this before in other vehicles, and the cure is to balance the driveshaft.
I've never been in a situation before, where I've had to balance a driveshaft out of nowhere. I have a 2000 GMC Sierra Ext. Cab 2WD with more miles than this one. This is the first time in my life, after a few dozen vehicles, that I've ever been told that I need to balance a driveshaft.
I guess I'm skeptical about a driveshaft that all of a sudden needs to be balanced, when it didn't appear to need to be balanced yesterday.