transmission bearing

[Danger_Dave]

about 2 weeks ago i was inspecting my drivetrain prior to a crosscountry trip and put the driveshaft back on the wrong way and it vibrated real bad. i then put it back the right way and still got vibration,

so i replaced:
carrier bearing
all ujoints with good napa ones
had the driveshaft dynamically balanced and heat straightened

so i think i caused collateral damage from geeking it off the get go with putting it back wrong and suspect it is coming from the transmission. the output shaft has play, and i have pinpointed the vibration to be coming from there.

is there a bearing inside there? how do i replace this bearing? its a 97 3 liter v6 with m5od manual trans.

thanks!

 

[Earl43P]

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/MazdaTransDissasembly.htm

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=248249

There are some experts on here. Good luck.

 

[Danger_Dave]

thanks earl. i read that whole thing. very interesting stuff and i sure would love to do a rebuild one day when i'm ready, but i am definitely not ready right now! lol. this has got to be one of the top 10 stupidest mistakes i've ever made. i was in a hurry and about to go to work in an hour or so, then take my vacation the next day, so i didnt index the driveshaft prior with some chalk and totally screwed myself.

 

[AllanD]

On a 2wd Mazda trans if the bronze bushing in the tailcone is bad the way you replace it is to simply replace the entire tailcone.

you'll need to support the rear of the trans, remove the trans crossmember (three bolts)and transmission mount (two bolts), then unbolt the tailcone (eight bolts)
then pry the tailcone off the trans (there are pry points provded)

Clean the gasket surface, and apply a thin bead of RTV
and bolt the "new" one in place. and put it all back together.

I have a serviceable one...

AD

 

[Danger_Dave]

there is 1 other thing i suspect besides the trans. they balanced the driveshaft as a whole unit with all pieces together, except 1. one which they said does not matter, but i think it does matter. the flange on the differential. the steel drum with the center nut holding it to the differential that the driveshaft bolts to via 4 star shaped 12mm bolts. this is a little steel drum rotating at high speed connected to the driveshaft so i think it has to matter
all the stuff ive read online so far says when you remove the driveshaft you must index this piece with chalk as well, and put it back the same way. which i did not.

 

[AllanD]

And you think that round flange which is oh so rigidly attached to the diff
is gonna move?

that piece IS balanced, it is "neutrally" balanced.

AD

 

[Danger_Dave]

interesting update:

that runout near the output shaft was before i had this balanced. it shook near the trans like a paintshaker. like i said i brought it back to that shop and had it balanced and heat straightened a total of 3 times. each time the truck felt differently. they said it is good. hmm.....

i crawled under there today and put the rear up on jackstands and this is what i found:
grabbed the whole trans and shook it with force. shes tight. grabbed the output shaft, slight up and down movement, none side to side. seal leaks fluid. carrier bearing is tight. (after all the carrier bearing is new) ran it in 1st gear idleing. cant run it any faster because the rear end makes a horrible noise and cant decide which wheel to spin. i watched the rear half of the driveshaft near the differential dance like patrick swayze. the front half of the shaft is smooth as silk. the flange on the differential also was smooth. this guys video is pretty darn similar to what i saw.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCU7LsfXMFg

so now i put a scissor jack under the driveshaft and cranked it up to where its barely touching. rotating the shaft by hand i watched it hit the same high and low spots. did this all along that half of the shaft just incase of any imperfections in the metal from 13 years of age. so i marked the high and low spots. an article i read online says to rotate the shaft in the flange on the differential halfway around, then bolt it back up and measure the high and low spots again. if they trade places it is a bent pinion or flange. if they stay the same it is the shaft. they stayed the same. so it is definitely the shaft. what i dont understand is how the shop was unable to fix this, notice this, or point this out to me after 3 times, and after they were such gentlemen and didnt strike me as a shady place one bit.