79 Trailfire driveshaft bearing

[johnpdo]

2 feet of snow in the last 2 weeks, and had lots of fun, but now blew a bearing. Sorry if this is listed somewhere, but left side bearing on the secondary drive shaft just shot craps, and I need to know what bearing to get to replace it. Looks like it might be NPS-014-RPC national bearing I can maybe get at Autozone, but not sure. Also, pulling the driven pulley off....any advice or tricks. I have a manual, and it looks straight forward, but that's when I worry most. Lastly, can I just replace the bearing without taking out the whole shaft and doing both sides? If not, are the bearings the same on both sides? OK, any help is appreciated.

[nick80lf]

I didn't look up the part number you provided but the jackshaft bearings are very common. My opinion (which isn't worth much) is: don't skimp on jackshaft or drive shaft bearings. Get a good quality bearing Fafinr, SKF, Ect. At least on the 2nd gen Liquifires the origional made in Japan jackshaft bearings failed. See this post for reference:
http://www.jdsleds.com/community/viewto ... g&start=15

Going from memory the ID of the two jackshaft bearings are different. Secondary side has 1" ID, chain case side has 7/8" ID.

A few years ago NAPA bearings were SKF (not sure if that's true today)
http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/Catal ... 0338932775
http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/Catal ... 0338931083

As long as the secondary is not rusted fast to the shaft it's not a bad job.

[JDT]

Nothing wrong with bearings made in Japan.
They failed due to years of service, seasonal freze/thaw cycles, dust and lack of lube.

Avoid bearings made in China or PRC or any such other crap.

Don't try and save money with the $8 bearing from China. Spend the extra $4 and get a quality one.

Actually the R&R of the shaft is not that bad and you will appreciate the quality time you get to spend with your sled.
And your sled will reward you with peace of mind and years of reliable service.

[johnpdo]

Thanks! I've ordered the bearings from NAPA online to my local store. One is at the warehouse, and the other is in-house. With luck, they'll be in today, if not, I get them tomorrow. Supposed to be 46 here today, so snow is going away or at least getting slushy. Best time to work on the sled! Thanks again, JP