[d7k8]

To start out I'm having issues with my carrier bearing and lift angles. The amount to of lift I have on the rear is causing the carrier bearing to wear out prematurely. So after doing some research tonight I found that some people have had custom steel drive shafts built.
The problem is most of these are for 4x4 models and ccsb trucks. I have a 2wd cclb (crew 6' bed). Looking around one thing that caught my attention was someone stated that the length of the drive shaft could cause premature wear on the output shafts and other parts.
My truck comes with a two piece drive shaft so I don't even know if I can have a single piece drive shaft made to stretch the full distance. I know it would 1) take away from ground clearance. 2) have the supports removed 3) cost x amount of dollars.

So if anyone has ever replaced their cclb drive shaft with a single piece drive shaft to remove the crappy carrier bearing, please chime in. Also looking to have the double cardan joint at the output to remove vibrations and any binding.
Note: I have almost 6" of lift in the rear. Hence the issue with the support bearing.

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[Zedbra]

Why don't you just shim the transmission and carrier bearing?

 

[d7k8]

That is an option, but I don't want to be fixing this every 40,000 miles. My truck s a 13' that just rolled 45,000 and the bearing is already shot.

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[Nissan4Life]

Have you shimmed the axle?
Rear Axle Degree Shims - Nisstec Lifts: Nissan Lift Kits: XTerra Lift Kits, Frontier Lift Kits, Titan Lift Kits, Nissan Truck Lift Kits

Seems like you would do this first before trying to shim the trans or build a 1 piece DS.

I am not familiar with a double cardan joint with respect to vibrations. I do know that one of the reasons cars have 2 piece DS is to eliminate harmonic vibs. I have a 2+2 Z that I put in a 1 piece DS. Balanced perfectly, yet I still get some vibrations at certain speeds.

 

[d7k8]

Yes I do have the axle shims and the pinion is inline with he drive shaft

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[d7k8]

Called Greg at prg today. He recommended I try the center support bearing drop bracket and remove the axle shims. He said with my lift I should be a lot better off going this route.
A little info about the bracket. It is designed for the Titan but works on the frontier as well. The original was designed by CST but is no longer made. Greg said he makes his own now and has them stocked on the shelf. I ordered it today and it's already on its way.

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[Zedbra]

I'd like to see this bracket before and after you install it, please.

 

[d7k8]

I'd like to see this bracket before and after you install it, please.

Will do.

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[Nomad 13]

Just a quick note on driveline angles;
There needs to be at least some angle in all of the u-joints or they will vibrate as u-joints are not designed to work well in a straight line. So if you put shims in the rear to cut down on the DS angle, you need to make sure that the rear angle is still close (within a degree or two ideally) to the front angle and in the opposite direction so the vibrations cancel each other out. EX: 3* down on front from trans or carrier should be canceled out by 3* up at the rear from the pinion. If the rear is straight and the same 3* down in the front exists then the resulting DS vibrations will destroy the carrier bearing and the u-joints long before their normal life cycle.
So basically, that's why Greg recommended ditching the rear shims and adding the carrier db instead.

Also, one-piece driveshafts are limited in length. I think it's somewhere around 5 - 5.5" IIRC? Any longer and they can't be effectively balanced to remove the vibrations from the shaft at speed and they are much more prone to failure from torque forces.

 

[d7k8]

Just a quick note on driveline angles;
There needs to be at least some angle in all of the u-joints or they will vibrate as u-joints are not designed to work well in a straight line. So if you put shims in the rear to cut down on the DS angle, you need to make sure that the rear angle is still close (within a degree or two ideally) to the front angle and in the opposite direction so the vibrations cancel each other out. EX: 3* down on front from trans or carrier should be canceled out by 3* up at the rear from the pinion. If the rear is straight and the same 3* down in the front exists then the resulting DS vibrations will destroy the carrier bearing and the u-joints long before their normal life cycle.
So basically, that's why Greg recommended ditching the rear shims and adding the carrier db instead.

Also, one-piece driveshafts are limited in length. I think it's somewhere around 5 - 5.5" IIRC? Any longer and they can't be effectively balanced to remove the vibrations from the shaft at speed and they are much more prone to failure from torque forces.

This makes a lot more sense than what some have told me recently. Thank you for that insite!

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[d7k8]

I'd like to see this bracket before and after you install it, please.

Fyi. It arrived today

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[Nissan4Life]

Love PRG. Greg comes through again.