Sprint 79

I have an '07 F-150 XL w/8 foot bed. I towed a lot with this truck when I first got it, and I pulled a lot of weight. I was not surprised when the center support bearing failed at 68,000 miles. Ford replaced it under warranty. Now I have almost 150,000 on it and it is banging again when I first pull away from a stop. I have not been pulling with this truck since the last one broke however. At least not anywhere near what I was pulling with it. Just small and light stuff now. I would not expect the problem this time around. Is the life expectancy of this bearing pretty short on this model? I have had older trucks go a lot longer before needing a bearing.

The old bearing tore itself out of the carrier, the rubber shredded. Although I suspect that is what is happening to this one, I have not yet crawled under there to make sure, but all of the symptoms are exactly the same.

Question. If this is the problem again is it possible that a bearing assembly out of a heavier duty truck would work, or is the driveshaft assembly from a 250 or a larger unit not interchangeable?

What would you all suggest as a decent fix and is this a problem with this model and year of truck. All I get from Ford is that you have to replace the entire driveshaft assembly. I am hoping that there are some better options.

Thanks for reading this.

PerryB

We have 2 f250s and a 350 at the ranch (91, 95 and 2002) that have 2 piece driveshafts and I have replaced the center supports on all of them over the years. I've not personally witnessed a 2 piece 150 shaft so I can't speak with certainty, but I'd be surprised if it wasn't serviceable. Once you have the shaft split, the bearing just taps off/on. It's important to mark the two halves of the shaft so they are returned to their original orientation, otherwise you'll likely have a vibration.

Sprint 79

Thank you for the information Perry B.

I have done them in the past on other trucks, but I have never heard of a driveshaft that was not serviceable until I had a Ford dealership tell me that. You say that yours just taps on and off? You did not have to have it pressed?

Thanks again, I appreciate the help.

PerryB

Every one I've done was fairly easy to remove with a big drift punch and a few judicious raps with a hammer. I was under the 95 today to refresh my memory (and to figure out the best place to mount the destructive chages) and I re-remembered the tricky part. There is a ratcheting metal band - clamp holding the accordion boot around the slip joint. Without the proper tool its tricky to get it ratcheted back to its original notch, which is quite tight. I certainly could have left it a notch loose but in typical fasion for me it became a quest.
I'd go to an auto parts store and see if they list a part for your truck. I wouldn't even want to guess what Ford wants for a complete assembly.

Sprint 79

Ford is getting right around $1,000 for the entire assembly. I have found the center support bearing. I think I am going to have a go at this thing and see what happens. Thanks again Perry B.

Rick's 06

If your center support bearing and drive shaft look like this, you may want to just lube up your center spline joint really good before you purchase a new center bearing. Mine used to clunk every time I started to move. After packing it with grease it's been fine. Might fix your problem without having to spend big bucks on a new bearing.

Sprint 79

I will have to take a good look at that. I assumed that the bearing was going bad because it is behaving the same way that it did before the original bearing came apart. Maybe that is the only problem. Thanks, I will look into that Rick's 06. Hope that is the problem, it will save me a bit of time there. Will be crawling under it this weekend.