Outer Intermediate Shaft Bearing Replacement Engine In Vehicle

[thomas m]

I've been reading about replacing the intermediate shaft bearings in my engine type. See specs below.

It seems that the outer can take a beating from an overly tight belt. I've only had my belt replaced in the shop. Judging from the "shop torque" on some of other bolts, it could have been to tight in its 300,000 mile life.

Am I correct in assuming that the outer bearing (nearest to the sprocket) can be replaced with the engine in the car??

Any links to this procedure would be appreciated.

[vanbcguy]

The real problem is removing the intermediate shaft itself. It'll hit the body of the car preventing you from removing it.

[air-cooled or diesel]

heres what i did to remove/install intermediate shaft. car up on stands, oil pan removed, get a couple of blocks of wood(i use short/mid lengths of 2x4), loosen engine/trans mounts, jack up motor on oil pan lip(using blocks of wood), have front motor mount ready to come out, when you get so high you can work front motor mount out, jack motor down, before you do this Make sure things on the bottom and esp the top will clear the motor moving(for instance alt will come close to rad), im shaft will clear fender and you can get out. you also need a seal for im shaft, and a special 'slim' oring for oil seal carrier(im shaft). before you finish dont forget to re-torque motor/trans mounts.

[thomas m]

I understand that the IM shaft cannot be fully removed with the engine installed in the car.

However, the question remains: with the engine on the mounts, can the IM shaft be partially pulled out of the engine so that only the outer bearing nearest to the pulley can be removed and replaced. Good time to also replace the seal and O-ring.

My thought is that this might partially restore a marginal oil pressure situation. Similar to replacing connecting rod bearings with the engine still in the car. Rebuild to come at a later date.

[thomas m]

I'm doing a little wood-working and building an engine support out of a couple of 2 x 4s and some threaded rod. I'll hook it up like the VW tool to support the engine and make easy to slowly lower or raise it.

Thanks for the tips.

[TylerDurden]

I'm doing a little wood-working and building an engine support out of a couple of 2 x 4s and some threaded rod. I'll hook it up like the VW tool to support the engine and make easy to slowly lower or raise it.

I didn't want to overthink it...



This allows moving the engine fore/aft/left/right.

[thomas m]

TylerDurden,

Great, simple, CHEAP design. The fore and aft movement is a real plus for "jiggling" things into place.

A coupling of those young weight lifters from the local gym and out she comes !!!!!

Where did you get those extra long eye bolts??

Thomas

[TylerDurden]

This rig was quite helpful on a recent tranny swap.

The 1/2"  eyebolts can be found at most big-box hardware stores, same with the loop ends that have the removable pin. IIRC, the shorter one is 6"  shank and the other is a 10" shank

There is some flex in the lumber, but not bad... the 2-by could be used edgewise for less sag, but that might require something to stabilize the outboard rails, or the lumber could be doubled-up; it's cheap and always good for something (I used scraps I have around).