Jake Dykstra's 1962 409/409 Impala!

[RPOLS3]

Originally Posted by Too Many Projects

Car looks great !!
Sorry to hear about the next issue...

I bought a replacement for my '62 a number of years ago now and the pressed metal stand was so cheesy, it bent under hard acceleration and would rub inside the frame. I had to remove it again and weld supports on both sides..

Thanks Mitch - supposedly the trick is to install the billet version that holds up better, which suppsedly Dad did back in 2010 based on receipts and forum postings I can see. There can't be that many miles on it since then guessing 5k? Some say the billet one isn't worth the 4x price as it fails just as easy. Will see once I get it apart.

[Too Many Projects]

I thought the billet support required a slip yoke on the rear half shaft ? Is there one with the rubber around the bearing for shaft movement ?

[Bill Pritchard]

Originally Posted by RPOLS3

I know the center carrier bearing support for the driveshaft is a weak point in these cars.

Yup, always has been. Those were a routine maintenance item back in the day.

The car looks great! With so much history (and family history, to boot!) behind it, putting it back to the correct non-SS configuration was absolutely the right thing to do

[RPOLS3]

Picking up a center carrier bearing (not the billet one) from NAPA tomorrow morning, hoping I can get to replacing it this weekend.

[markjohnson]

Make sure you final tighten those two carrier bearing bolts with the rear axle loaded. Also, shine a light thru that driveshaft tunnel to inspect & clean the mating surface where the bearing resides.

[RPOLS3]

I was able to easily remove the driveshaft this morning and sure enough the center support was smoked. The bearing was fine but all of the silicone bushing was gone. I don't have the tools to separate the driveshafts and remove the bearing so I will get it off to a driveshaft specialist on Monday. The new bearing I picked up seems to have a smaller ID than the one on the car now so I will have to deal with that too.

Good thing is it did not take long to remove so it should go back easily enough too.