The stock center support bearing carriers hold the driveshaft in place with a layer of thin rubber. While that’s great for making sure no NVH makes it to the cabin, it doesn’t hold up over time to driveshaft vibrations caused by worn u-joints and heat caused by bearing friction and proximity to the exhaust. They also sag over time, misaligning the shaft and accelerating wear on the u-joints.

Our upgraded driveshaft carriers restore and maintain alignment at all times. The stronger bushing design keeps the bearing firmly centered in the carrier during rapid loading, maintaining torque delivery and driveshaft alignment, resulting in more direct driveline response under all conditions.

Benefits as described by our customers include:

• More direct throttle response

• Firmer, more direct shifts

• More instantaneous launches

• Reduction in vibration due to driveshaft misalignment and/or rubber deterioration

• Smoother low-speed on/off throttle behavior (1st gear in parking lots)

The videos below show a comparison of how much the OEM carrier gives under load and the improvement with the JXB carrier.

Installation doesn’t require removal of the driveshaft. The 2-part design clamps around the OEM bearing. The old carrier must be removed, so a cutting tool is required. Below is an install video from the Toyota Sienna. The process on the 9-3 is similar. Cut off the old frame, trim the rubber, clamp the new one around the bearing. The Saab-specific install video will be uploaded on Monday 10/28.

The exact steps to access the carrier will vary slightly by model, but the removal and installation of the new carriers are the same. The basic steps are:

• Remove any braces or splash shields preventing exhaust and heat shield removal

• Remove or lower exhaust in area of center support bearing

• Remove heat shielding covering center support bearing

• Cut off OEM carrier and remove rubber support material with razorblade, leaving base layer of rubber intact on the bearing

• Clamp new carrier around OEM bearing

• 2nd gen Saab 9-3 models with XWD (2008-2012) including:

  • Turbo X

  • 9-3 Aero with XWD

  • 9-3X with XWD

Street and Track refer to the durometer (stiffness) of the bushings. Track are roughly twice the durometer of the street bushings. Both track and street are many times stiffer than stock and will hold up to whatever abuse are thrown at them, but the street bushings are better at soaking up drivetrain noise and vibration. Usually both street and track are completely silent and vibration-free, but in cases where there is an underlying drivetrain issue causing the driveshaft to vibrate badly, the track bushings may not be able to soak it all up, where the street bushings can.

We generally recommend street bushings for any car that's not purpose-built for track or overland use, since the street bushings have a much lower chance of transmitting drivetrain NVH to the cabin at high speeds or under heavy throttle loads.

If you’re not sure which to go with, the “Give me Both!” option will give you a full set of each of the street and track bushings. You can use all street, all track, or even mix and match them to find the perfect balance of performance and NVH-absorption.