Trouble Symptom | Probable cause | Remedy |
Noise at start | Worn journal bearing or center bearing | Replace |
Worn sleeve yoke spline or center yoke spline | Replace | |
Loose propeller shaft installation | Retighten | |
Noise and vibration at high speed | Unbalanced propeller shaft | Replace |
Improper snap ring selection | Adjust the clearance | |
Worn journal bearing center bearing | Replace | |
Vehicle pulls to one side | Scoring of drive shaft ball joint | Replace |
Wear, rattle or scoring of wheel bearing | Replace | |
Defective front suspension and steering | Adjust or replace | |
Vibration | Wear, damage or bending of drive shaft | Replace |
Drive shaft rattle and hub serration | Replace | |
Wear, rattle or scratching of wheel bearing | Replace | |
Shimmy | Defective wheel balance | Adjust or replace |
Bent wheel | Replace | |
Defective front suspension and steering | Adjust or replace | |
Excessive noise | Wear, damage or bending of drive shaft | Replace |
Rattle of drive shaft and worn hub splines | Replace | |
Rattle of drive shaft and worn side gear splines | Replace | |
Wear, rattle or scoring of wheel bearing | Replace | |
Loose hub nut | Adjust or replace | |
Defective front suspension and steering | Adjust or replace | |
Bent cage | Cage damage due to improper handling or tool usage | Replace bearing |
Galling | Metal tears on roller end due to overheating, lubricant problem or overloading | Replace bearing Check seals, check for proper lubrication |
Cracked inner race | Race cracked due to improper fit, cocking or poor bearing seats | Replace bearing |
Etching | Bearing surfaces appear gray or grayish black in color with related etching away of material, usually at roller spacing | Replace bearing Check seals, check for proper lubrication |
Brinelling | Surface indentations on the race surface caused by rollers either overloading or vibrating while the bearing is not rotating | Replace bearing |
Heat discoloration | Heat discoloration is dark blue resulting from overload or no lubricant (Yellow or brown color is normal) | Replace bearing Check seals and other parts |
Fatigue spalling | Flaking of surface metal resulting from fatigue | Replace bearing Clean all related parts |