1990 244DL

Went for a test drive today, and the drive line is quiet! Not a squawk, nor a squeak, nor a whimper! YAY!!!!

Based on the condition of the spring and the rubber in the central support bearing mount, I will be replacing the entire assembly in the near future. I was amazed at the amount of corrosion gunk that vacated the bearing while I was lubricating it... yet another reason not to let a car sit!

However, if I can get the clunk in the front end to go away, I am pretty confident I can drive it for a little while without worrying about this particular situation too much! Junior goes back to the mechanic to have him tighten the gland nuts properly, like I asked him to do at least four times, if the strut tubes haven't already been destroyed.

Thanks for all suggestions and the encouragement!

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can get Junior on the road!
ezsha
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'84 244, Peter, never drove. Robbed to fix Paul, '86 244 - drove for 2 years; holey saint now, passing parts to Paul Jr, '90 244, yet to drive. Friends w/ '90 245, jokingly aka Mary, (pregnant sedan & completes PPM trilogy). Daughter to unnamed '90 745.

There is no need to dismantle anything, apart from dropping the cross member and peeling back the doughnut. Then you can spin the bearing and confirm it as the source of the noise, or not.

In my experience injecting a bit of oil is not just a stop-gap measure. Mine started squeaking a few years ago, so I gave it a drop of oil, and spun it to work the oil in.
That was at about 250,000 miles. It is now on 365,000 miles, and still silent.
I reckon it's a routine service item, probably worth doing every 100,000 miles.

I have it torn apart, and have been lubricating with LPS2 industrial lubricant - it goes in a clear light amber, and is coming out a very muddy rust, so obviously there is some serious corrosion here.

I'm going to repeat the lube and spin cycle a couple of times to flush it a bit more, but at least the whole rubber assembly is turning quite freely now, as opposed to when I started. I believe the outer race is turning very freely now on the bearing, as the lubricant straw, which I try to wedge between the ball bearings up near the top, glides around to the bottom when I try to pull it out.

It looks like I will be learning how to remove and replace a center support bearing in the very near future. I just hope this kills some of the noise in the mean time.

Thanks to rstarkie for the vinyl conditioner suggestion - it made a huge difference in me being able to slide the rubber support around to get the jeweler's screwdriver into the seal. That got me started, and the industrial lubricant helped slide things around too. A dental pick was too small a diameter tool to create a big enough hole to tuck the straw in next to it.

I will post when I've run it as to my success in diminishing the noise.

Thanks again!

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can get Junior on the road!
ezsha
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'84 244, Peter, never drove. Robbed to fix Paul, '86 244 - drove for 2 years; holey saint now, passing parts to Paul Jr, '90 244, yet to drive. Friends w/ '90 245, jokingly aka Mary, (pregnant sedan & completes PPM trilogy). Daughter to unnamed '90 745.

Yep that is what I said. You are doing it wrong....Before doing anything, do as was already said. Mark everything as to it's alignment. I take a parts marker and draw a line from the front connection to the tranny all the way to the rear connection to the differential. Oh back to your dong it wrong.. After you drop the crossmember (I hope you are supporting the tranny) then the next step is to REPLACE THE CENTER BEARING.. Stop trying to patch something that can cause an accident or other serious problems.. If it squeeks then you are going to have to replace it eventually anyway. Why whimp out by squirting a little oil on it... FIX IT..I mean really, you got the crossmember down, all you have to do is disconnect the shaft and replace the bearing. The hardest part is removing and reinstalling the bearing over the short shaft. Tap if off with a hammer, replace it using a short length of pipe the diameter of the bearing. Read your Bentley..Max:>)
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Max..1989 244 DL 5 Spd., V15 Phase II Cam Bilstein HD, Turbo Swaybars, Poly Bushings all round, Turbo Wheels, Black leather interior, Electric mirrors, LED dash and gauge lights and now NEW ECODES with the turn signals, 1992 black 244 next project

Although a number of folks have had success with lubing the carrier bearing. Unfortunately, when you hear a bearing growl, damage has been done.... Consider replacing the bearing, that way you won't have to worry about it again for a VERY long time.

jorrell

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92 245 245K miles, IPD'd to the hilt, 06 XC70, 00 Eclipse custom Turbo setup...currently in pieces

After removing the support crossmember the driveshaft will drop down from its normal position. Take note of how everything is put together when you drop it down. The spring on the donut position and so on. You want to put it back just like it was.

I suggested using the vinyl conditioner to lube the donut and make it easier to move and slip where you want it to be.

I used LPS3 because it turns into a light grease afterwards. Some people have used PB Blaster but I think that is too light and not really a lube.

After spraying several times put it all back together the way it came apart.

Randy