5K series propshaft - saga ends (medium length)

[RCARSELLE@aol.com]

Fellow listers - (I was asked to post my resolution. So here it is)

I wanted to provide a synopsis of how I solved my propshaft/carrier bearing
problem on my 88 5KCSTQ. Many of you responded with various ideas and all the
input I received was helpful. I also went through the archives very
thoroughly and found some useful information. Steve Bucholz had a very good
post relating to this issue as did other members. This is just my handling of
this situation, and my sharing of the information so that others may benefit,
I hope this helps someone someday.

First some background - I had developed a small whining sometimes
growling/grumbling sound from my carrier bearing on the 5KCSTQ and I took it
to my trusty mechanic here in Columbus who diagnosed the carrier bearing.
Well he checked the part's sources and the local dealers and he was told that
his only alternatives were for me to buy a new driveshaft assembly for the
Q.....that would be over $900.00 US alone in parts....or I go could try some
boneyards......well as a member of the Q-list I knew there were some
alternatives......

Well places like Blaufergnugen, or German Parts Restoration, or Shokan (there
are probably more vendors I just listed these because I know of them) sell
their version of a rebuilt driveshaft assembly which includes the entire
driveshaft from tranny to rear diff including the carrier bearing, u-joint,
and shafts..you can call them for prices but you are looking at anywhere from
$ 450 - $ 600 including the shipping. This isn't a bad way to go and you can
solve your problem, but either you will pay for some 3 to 4 hours of labor at
most shops (I think it is only 1.5 hours of work maximum including repacking
the CV joints to rear diff and tranny) but you know how it goes
sometimes....this is not a bad fix...if a driveshaft becomes scoured or
damaged or unbalanced this may be your only way out if you wish to restore
proper Q characteristics...

Well since I only suspected the carrier bearing, I set out to find if it was
possible to simply remove the driveshaft and have the carrier bearing removed
from the driveshaft with a press or something like that.....so I began to
cruise the archives for some information. Turns out that people with 4K
series cars have actually used a BMW bearing part number which works great
and yet others with UR's or 80/90 Q's have done the same thing.....but there
was little to none information on the carrier bearing replacement for the 5K
series.....

I was able to purchase a carrier bearing assembly from one of the vendors on
the list which rebuilds these propshafts. They usually do not do that so I
don't want to jeapordize my relationship with the vendor by listing their
name, but any long time lister will be able to figure out the possible
source. I was sold the bearing based on my frequent purchases and rapport
with the vendor. So I got lucky finding the part, maybe if you have a good
rapport with any of the propshaft vendors they can sell you the part....I
paid $ 160.00 US for the carrier bearing. The carrier bearing assembly had
obviously been machined and built by the vendor and they did a good
job....fresh rubber new paint etc......

My mechanic wanted to remove the old carrier assembly from the driveshafts so
he used a grinder and got the bearing off without damaging the
driveshaft....this was very important to me since I did not want any scouring
or marking of the propshaft. He was probably more careful than he had to
be...but I was breathing over his shoulder....the bearing was pressed on and
bolted but it wasn't welded (this is good to minimize any damage on the
driveshaft) 

He then pressed the new one on the driveshaft....and we also cleaned and
repacked the two cv joints at either end of the entire assembly and
reassembled the whole deal and mount it back in the car.....we also regreased
the u-joint during the process.

In all I spent $ 189.00 in labor plus the part cost from above of $ 160.00.
I have driven the car several hundred miles since the repair and the bearing
gods have not reared their ugly heads as of yet....

some more data my car has 107k miles on it when this happened...my father's
5K CSTQ has 150k miles on it and still has the original carrier bearing....in
the archives it seems that most occurrunces of this failure happen in the
125K mile to 150K mile range......

so we 5K series Q owners may not get off as cheap as the 4K owners that can
more easily replace or find the replacement bearings for their cars...but I
think that we can solve the problem in a pretty efficient manner.
Please let me know if there are any questions that I can answer, thanks again
to all that provided input.

RC
90 90
88 5KCSTQ
Rob Carselle - Columbus, OH