New rattle from the front suspension turned out to be the repaired right side shock absorber bottom mounting -
Just needed the two small nuts tightened half a turn each.
Propellor shaft centre bearing well overdue replacement: it's been moaning for over 6 months and already has been off once for a dose of grease to keep it going. Finally got round to buying an Iveco Daily 40mm bore centre bearing but then, Sod's Law as ever, an original centre bearing came up at a reasonable price.
Propellor shaft comes off easy enough ... if the right size spanners are used.
Metric at the rear -
And centre -
Then to confuse things, Imperial at the front -
Once the shaft is off the alignment of the three universal joint yokes should be noted before splitting the shaft -
The two shafts pull apart at the sleeve joint behind the centre bearing -
Gaiter over the sleeve joint is a push fit both ends.
Puller used instead of dragging out the press buried in the shed -
Socket used as a protector to prevent damage to the sleeve joint splines.
Separator must bear on dust shield adjacent to the bearing inner race -
Old, new GM replacement and Iveco Daily alternative -
To fit the Iveco centre bearing the mounting bracket will need modifying to accommodate the wider spacing of the bearing mounting bolt holes and offset of bearing compared to the GM part.
The plan was to fit the bearing (assuming Iveco dust shields aren't hard to find), install the shaft and the original bracket separately then determine the optimum position to attach a piece of steel flat bar or angle to the bracket and drill bolt holes for the centre bearing.
Otherwise the bearing fits the shaft well and the assembled height of the bearing centre is the same as the original.
Fitting the GM bearing starts with the smaller dust shield, tapped in place with open side towards the rear using a piece of tube -
Bearing is bumped on, again using a piece of tube, until it bottoms against the shoulder on the shaft -
Followed by the larger dust shield -
A spin of the bearing to check that nothing is catching then treat all three universal joints to a thumping to free off binding journals -
With the flange supported, thump the yokes of the shaft and vice versa, similarly for the other two joints, until all journals move smoothly.
(Joints that remain lumpy after a thumping usually need replacing.)
All that's left before installing the shaft is to grease the universal joints (but stop pumping as soon as journal seals expand), smear the sliding joint splines with grease then reassemble exactly as it was with all jokes aligned before it came apart.
If the front flange is attached to the gearbox with one bolt and nut then the centre mounting can be fastened to the underbody crossmember after which all the front flange bolts can be fitted and tightened with less cussing.
Centre mounting bolts to the crossmember are easier to get at for tightening before fitting the rear flange.
To save on knuckles, at the front and rear flanges hold the nuts with an open end spanner then swing on a ring spanner on the bolt heads to tighten. On the front flange the nuts when tightened should be positioned for a flat to lock against the shallow rim on the gearbox flange.