Re: Center support bearing

[David Rubie <drubie@domain.elided>]

Zacharey Cox wrote:

>Ok, it sounds like my center support bearing is about to blow up in my
>Alfetta GT.  I need to replace this and would like to do it myself.  Does
>this require any special tools?  Are there any step by step instructions
>posted on the web?  I'll take all the advice/tips out there. 

No special tools, I don't think anyway.  The best tip I can offer is that
when removing or installing the tailshaft, you can make life much easier
for yourself if you undo the bolts holding the transaxle/rear suspension subframe
on so the nose of the tranny drops down (put a trolley jack underneath it
before undoing the bolts).  It makes it much easier to get the rear donut
to clear the mounting spider on the transmission.

The tailshafts are actually pretty easy to pull apart.  If you want to remove
the donuts completely, but reuse them, buy a whole bunch of big hose clamps
and make a "hose clamp chain" to keep tension on them.  This makes them
much easier to put back on.  It's not necessary for the donuts that are still
attached to the driveshaft.  You might only have to fully remove the middle
on if you are only replacing the bearing.

You should be able to get access to everything by undoing the exhaust at
the header and pushing it out of the way, no need to pull it out completely.
The bolts that hold the header to the engine pipes are a real pain to get
tight though, there's not much room to work without a hoist, especially
on the nuts closest to the sheet metal heat shield that surrounds the
engine mount on the exhaust side.  I always pull out the radiator
overflow tank and the windshield washer tank to get some elbow room.

You'll need to remove the gearshift to get the driveshaft out.  Make sure
that when you re-install it, you can still get all your gears.  If you move
it around a bit, you can damage the gearbox with partially selected
gears.

My car has a very long screw holding the centre console in place.  This
guy intrudes into the transmission tunnel quite a long way, and is in
the perfect place to stop you pulling the driveshaft out.  I always forget
to undo it before trying to pull the driveshaft.  I'm not sure if this is a standard
feature though :-)

Good luck and let us know how you got on
dave.

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