Center drive shaft bearing

[Heavy Duty]

Does anyone have the measurements for the inside and outside of the center drive shaft bearing? Heavy Duty

 

[19Fordy]

Heavy Duty: I just checked the ID of my old OEM center bearing. It's 1.125 in. The OD of the metal outside dia. that is encased in rubber is 2 1/2 in. The drive shaft that goes through the center ID is a very loose fit and actually has about 1/16 inches of lateral play. It is not a snug fit up against the drive shaft. That surprised me. I forgot to measure the OD of the rubber on the replacement bearing. However, after you remove the worn out bearing you could attach a pair of small inside calipers to a broom stick and keep "trying it" until it just fits inside the steel retainer that holds the OEM center bearing in place in the center of the torque tube. When the replacement bearing is pulled into that retainer ring the rubber gets compressed so as to fit. One thing you might try to find the OD of the compressed rubber before removing the old bearing is try is to insert the depth gauge of a vernier caliper into the grease hole in the torque tube to the point where it just touches the top of the already compressed bearing rubber. That will be the same dia. all around the bearing. Then , knowing the OD or ID of the torque tube you can calculate the ID of of the retainer ring. Then take a piece of material and turn it down until it just fits inside the retainer. Use that as your base measurement. If you could find a vulcanized roller bearing with lightly larger "close" dia. I bet you could make it fit. A regular ball bearing would also work as long as it had the correct ID and OD. You could drill and tap the torque tube for set screws to hold it in place and for centering. Remember the ID of the OEM bearing is not a snug fit on the driveshaft, but I bet you could get a bearing that permits a fit closer than stock. The key to all this is to find an old torque tube to practice on. I thought about doing that but then I located an OEM bearing. If you can only find a bearing with the needed ID, you could machine a metal "case" for that bearing. The bearing could pres fit into that case and the case would be inserted into the torque tube and held in place with set screws through the torque tube ID. It would be a self sealing bearing so no grease would be needed. This would be a neat project. There is no pushing or pulling load on the center bearing so set screws would hold it in place. There is only lateral motion as the drive shaft tries to "whip". Measure you steel drive shaft as a starting point. Let us know how you make out - with photos. Hope you saw my earlier reply to your first post.

 

[john in illinois]

How about Skip Haney's replacement bearing? I have one but have not installed it.

John

 

[19Fordy]

Here's some helpful info. re: Skip's bearing.
https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=210073
Here's how to install Skip's center bearing as posted by CheaterCarl on HAMB.
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/torque-tube-bearing.422716/
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/torque-tube-bearing.422716
and
https://www.earlyfordv8.org/forum/printthread.cfm?Forum=14&Topic=2335
and
https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23729
Hope this helps. There must be a company that makes vulcanized ball or roller bearings that could be adapted to replace the OEM bearing. Look here:
https://www.google.com/search?q=rol...AQIQQ&biw=1411&bih=1082#imgrc=V3xuX6_v6118kM:

 

[john in illinois]

Here is Skips bearing and what they look like in the torque tube (minus where I beat on it).

John

 

[Heavy Duty]

Did you recieve my last reply that i just sent? Cant seem to get them thro.

 

[19Fordy]

John, just curious why did it require such a beating?
My impression was that they are fairly easy to install.
Do you have any more photos you can post of the bearing out of the plastic bag?

 

[Gary in La.]

The OEM bearing p/n 78-4658 has an OD of the rubber outer casing of 2.837". This was measured on a NOS bearing.

 

[19Fordy]

Thank you very much Gary. By any chance do you know the ID if the retainer where it "squeezes" into the drive shaft? I,m curious as to how much it has to compress and what would have to be the OD of a metal casing for a new style bearing".
Thanks.

 

[john in illinois]

John, just curious why did it require such a beating?
My impression was that they are fairly easy to install.
Do you have any more photos you can post of the bearing out of the plastic bag?

That section of torque tube is from and old project and I experimented on it.
I just meant it to show how orig. bearing looks inside. It is not a Skip bearing.

John

 

[john in illinois]

Here is the kit from skip.

John

 

[19Fordy]

Here is the kit from skip.

John

John, Please measure the OD of the rubber on Skips's bearing and let us know. Want to see how close it is to 2.837 in. Thanks.
By the way, Skip's bearing looks very good.
Did you ever install one?

 

[john in illinois]

The OD varies between 2.800 and 2.820. I bought this in case I need it and have not installed one.

John