Hi guys,

Long time lurker, first time poster... And for the first time I can't find my answer under the search button (I'm sure it's there though...)

Anyway, I hopped in my '03 X-Type (3.0L) this morning and heard an odd sound, almost as if I was dragging something. When I looked under the car I saw that the center bearing on the drive shaft has been banged up pretty badly. Instead of being vertical, the outer ring is at about a 45 degree angle. I obviously hit something pretty hard. I'm fairly sure it happened a couple weeks ago, but I didn't notice anything when I looked before, and there were no unusual sounds or driving/handling issues until this morning.

I'm assuming the entire drive shaft needs to be replaced and that this is not something repairable. I'm wondering what your guys' opinions on used/re-manufactured drive shafts are. A couple of local garages, as well as the local dealership, all quoted me around $720 (including parts, labor, tax) to replace the part with, I assume, a new shaft. That doesn't seem outrageous, but I already have 130K miles on the car and wonder if I might be able to save a few hundred bucks. It seems unlikely that I'll run the car past the miles left in a used part, right? (although I would LOVE to get to 200K in this car)

Thanks in advance!

Kevin

 

Salvage yards are full of wrecked cars and I am sure that one of them has a prop shaft that will operate the rear diff and wheels alot cheaper than a new shaft.

just a thought....

bob gauff

 

I thought the center bearing could be replaced without the shaft!

 

Hey guys, sorry to take long to reply (in-laws were in town) but I did figure I should give you an update.

The shaft and center bearing are all integrated on our car, so you need to replace the whole kit and caboodle. There weren't any used shafts near me (Denver) and it would've been about three days to get a refurbished one shipped here. The new shaft costs $460 (ish.. the invoice isn't in front of me), the refurbished one is $400, and a used one is around $200. I ended up getting the new one because it could be done the next day and I had family in town. So what I would have saved on a refurbished shaft would have been spent on rental car costs and I just didn't feel good waiting even longer for a used part that I couldn't examine first. Labor was just over $200 (and would have been with any choice). It seems like a totally doable job for a competent backyard mechanic, although maybe a PITA. But with the fam in town, I didn't really even consider it.

The cool thing is that with the new shaft the car is MUCH quieter on the highway. I'm talking SHOCKINGLY quieter. Also, a slight steering wheel vibration I used to get around 55-65 mph (which I always thought must be from a very slight dent in one of my rims) is totally gone. So, I'm pretty stoked about that.

I would definitely tell people experiencing excessive road noise, or vibrations at highway speed, to check that bearing.

Thanks,

Kevin

 

ktag, that price on the new prop shaft is about half of what the dealer pricing was a few years ago. Glad you are happy with the results.