carrier bearing/center support

Correct, the rubber portion of the carrier bearing is what allows for the forward / backward movement of the rear drive shaft. It also serves the purpose of dampening minor vibrations of the drive shaft (i.e. balance issues). The slots allow for some adjustment but not much.

I suppose an FYI for this a topic, the mounting of the carrier bearing can be positioned further up or in my case, further down without effecting performance. As long as your pinion angle math works out (topic of another existing thread)

I ended up cutting out the slots to get more adjustment because they wouldn't line up. I suppose that is why the other one went so bad. I think I may have a slip joint added to the rear shaft. I figure when I 4 link it that would take a lot of stress off of that center bearing.


I still have a vibration from about 45mph to 55mph, so I guess now I have a little diagnosing to do.

Ok, quick question.... are you positioning the carrier bearing closer to the rear end or the transmission? The one thing you don't want to do is bottom out the yoke into the transmission. Been a few on here that had some transmission troubles because of that very issue.

I had to move it closer to the tranny. I checked and I had about 1 1/2 inches of plunge still till it bottomed, so it should be okay. I don't know why it is so far off, I only put 3" blocks in the rear. Going to check on have a slip joint added to the rear shaft today, and probably shortened a little.

I would find out why your carrier bearing is so far off instead of doing things like getting a slip yoke. That won't fix what's causing it to be so far off, it will just mask it. My truck has 3" blocks also and my driveline is fine. You shouldn't need a slip yoke now or when you bag it, unless you do a setup that gets like 2 feet of lift or more. My buddy's Mazda has been bagged for 6 or 7 years now and his factory carrier bearing is still good.

I am going to try and find out why it is so far off. But I also think it is a piss poor design they have, maybe I'm just used to the heavier stuff, but using a piece of rubber to flex for for/aft movement isn't to impressive to me.

possible that you put the carrier on backwards...? i know the tabs on the ears would be in a way off spot if that happened to be the case...

That is what I thought at first so we pulled it all back apart. It just looks wrong the other way, then I found my pics and I had it right the first time. It only makes about 1/4" difference anyway. All the mounts and bushings seem good so I don't know what the deal is.