I bought my replacement bearing from Skip Hanley and have attached slightly modified instructions that he sent with the new bearing.
1937-1948 CENTER DRIVE SHAFT BEARING REMOVAL AND INSTALLATION
1- Remove speedometer drive gears, bearings, bearing split race and bearing seal. The bearing seal may be difficult to remove form the transmission end. Heating the torque tube locally with a heat gun and driving it out from the rear end with a
1”NPS pipe or the driveshaft being careful to locate it on the seal and NOT on the torque tube seal retainer may be necessary.
2- Remove torque tube to rear bolts. Slide torque tube off drive shaft.
3-Stand torque tube up with rear bolt flange down.
4- Remove center grease fitting.
5- lnsert a 42" length of 1-1/2" steel pipe down through transmission end of torque tube. Make sure it is centered on old bearing and drive out. with a large hammer. There is a metal flange down there you will hit if not centered.
The pipe size of 1-1/2” NPS is too large. It will not go past the four nubs that provide stops for the front axle grease seal
I bought a 1-1/4” pipe plug, ground the plug corners, inserted it into a 1” NPS pipe for the tool and duct taped it in place. It worked well.
My existing center bearing’s rubber was still fairly solid such that even with large hammers, it was reluctant to move. I ended up applying heat with a gun around the exterior of the torque tube for three minutes or so. Hitting the pipe/pipe plug with a sledge hammer quickly drove the old bearing out.
6- Clean inside torque tube and examine with a flash light for any rubber or dirt.
7- Apply grease from rear end with an old broom handle to bearing area.
8- Insert alignment pin in grease fitting hole.
9- Slide new bearing assembly on drive shaft. If too tight file shaft to fit. It wants to slide on with very little effort, yet not be too loose.
I measured the drive shaft at 1.100 and had to remove about .003” before the sleeve would slip on snugly.
10- Clean inside of new bearing sleeve and apply a THIN coat of original J.B. Weld (NOT the fast hardening type) inside the sleeve and on the center bearing surface of the drive shaft. Grease the O.D. of the rubber.
11- Clean broom handle and slide new bearing assembly on broom handle with the white line facing down. With the torque tube standing up with the transmission end down, slide the bearing assembly into the torque with the white line on the side of the grease hole in the torque tube.
12- Lay torque tube on a set of saw horses and with a flash light look in from transmission end. Align white line on end of bearing with the alignment to pin in grease hole.
13- Stand torque tube up on transmission end. REMOVE ALIGNMENT PIN and broom handle.
14- Take a
36" length of 2" plastic pipe with a coupling on one end and insert the coupling end down in the torque tube. Center on bearing and with a block of wood and a heavy hammer drive the bearing in until it seats. Carefully watch the white line through the grease hole so the hole in the tube aligns with the hole in the rubber.
I applied heat to the exterior as I had when removing the old bearing. This made insertion easier.
15- Insert drive shaft into torque tube through the new bearing assembly and bolt up the rear.
16- Install grease fitting and grease.
