centre bearing

coupedownunder

coupedownunder

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Has anyone come across a quality replacement for the OEM driveshaft centrebearing . The OEM is listed st approx $300 ! The trouble is there are lots advertised for $12 - $40 , but if they are like what I currently have in the car they shudder under harder acceleration in first gear... it appraers the rubber insert/moulded piece is too soft allowing the tailshaft to move upwards and hit the floor ...
 
My car too suffers with thumping on hard acceleration in first gear, comes in at about 3700-4000rpm but only in first.
I can run up through the gears in 2nd with no problem, and have been driving myself mad trying to find the cause, having in the past couple of weeks had the prop out and rebalanced, the drive shafts out and rebuilt and the exhaust gone over and hangers replaced. Carefully reinstalled measured and aligned and it's still there. I was thinking of changing the engine mounts next but will have a further look at the centre bearing. Sorry no answer yet but I'll let you know what I find.

Cheers. John
 
It can be the rear subframe also Ive been told John, but mine is all ok ... We think it is the aftermarket centre bearing as when I first purchased the car it thumped badly .. we then changed the C/B ( with an aftermarket ) and it didnt do it for a couple of weeks , and then it was back !
 
coupedownunder said:
Has anyone come across a quality replacement for the OEM driveshaft centrebearing . The OEM is listed st approx $300 ! The trouble is there are lots advertised for $12 - $40 , but if they are like what I currently have in the car they shudder under harder acceleration in first gear... it appraers the rubber insert/moulded piece is too soft allowing the tailshaft to move upwards and hit the floor ...
Click to expand...

Have you tried adjusting the preload? If it is softer rubber may need more preload than the factory spec.


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Cars going back up on a hoist tomorrow as it spat all the brake fluid top up I put in this morning all over the drive, think the clutch slave cylinder is cactus.... so another poke around underneath, I'll let you know if I find anything, seems unusual that there is no race/ track version of the c/b
 
Installed a Febi brand (made in Germany) center bearing in my 88 M6 about 10 years ago and never had a problem. Be careful tough, a lot of these cheaper bearings are of dubious quality and origins.
 
Yes and now not all Febi is German anymore so be wary of any German sounding name.

bert35csi said:
Installed a Febi brand (made in Germany) center bearing in my 88 M6 about 10 years ago and never had a problem. Be careful tough, a lot of these cheaper bearings are of dubious quality and origins.
Click to expand...
 
I have a dozen Driveshaft's done each year with no problems.
Just a few years ago it seemed they were all bad.
Febi is a good brand.
Happy to bring a few new good ones over in June.
 
Yep- it was a couple years back. They were all junk.
I quit replacing them for customers because they were a disaster.
The worse were the OEM bmw ones made in Taiwan
Junk.
 
Don't forget to order the bearing dust cap, as a matter of fact, order a few extra ones. These caps are easily dented, bent, or mangled. Seems they are available from the BMW only.
 
Ordered for the trip

Bmw engineers are the worst.
They always have the driveshafts so straight. Guibo, 2 u-joints, center bearing all straight, of course the driveshaft bounces around in 1st gear.
Of course the joints get notchy, the bearings are brinelled.

Ordered some spare center bearings for OZ today
 
Under high torque, if your rear trans mount (the spool of thread sized rubber gizmo) is not good to go, the trans may wobble a bit. This can induce "dshaft wobble" or shake the exhaust more than it should.

Just another complication on these delightfully simple machines....
 
I was told an M5 CSB is stronger, any truth to this or experience with fitting?

Edit: buy the e34 M5 CSB, just need to open up the mounting slots a bit as they are narrower than stock. I helped Mike put one in his coupe.
 
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I'm now here in surfers paradise- center bearing artfully smuggled in
Have an address? Or maybe contact Gazz for a visit.
Stay in touch.
 
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