To Recondition a Torque Tube (as posted on the Rennlist.com forums)

Order 4 of 6006ZB C4 Bearings, they are an odd size and can be hard to locate (at least in New Zealand) so get them first. Remove the Torque tube from the car, this can be done without disconnecting the brake lines or cables, but it may be easier to do so (the transmission must be removed first). Measure how far into the tube each of the end bearings are located from the end, mark the tube or write it down. Get a piece of steel pipe that fits over the drive shaft, the thicker the pipe the better. I added a flat piece to the end that pushed evenly on the bearing housing so as not to deform or twist it.

Remove the shaft by belting the hell out of it, I held the tube in a vice and had an assistant steady the end of the pipe while I hit it with a sledge hammer (this can be done with threaded rods as a puller but is not necessary) After the shaft and bearings are out I put the end of the shaft against a block of wood and belted the bearings down the shaft with just the weight and impact of the steel pipe.

After the bearings are removed press the plastic sleeve out of the inside of the bearing (a socket and a hammer will do this) do not throw these away as they are reused.

Next drill the six rivets out of the bearing retainers (5mm drill bit) and separate the two halves, later cars do not have riveted bearing carriers (easier).

Throw the old bearings away and reassemble the new bearings in the housings with new rivets if necessary, I ground part of the rivets away so it would fit in the groove (this is obvious when you can see it), I also used a small spacer between the rivet gun and the rivets so they would pull in evenly. I then pushed the shaft in from the gearbox end with the bearing closest to that end fitted to the shaft, the shaft goes in until it is 49mm +/- 0.5mm from the edge of the gearbox end bellhousing (specs from factory manual).

Next I put the assembly hard up against a solid wall with a piece of wood jammed between the driveshaft and the wall, this stops the drive shaft sliding back out when fitting the other bearings.

Next I installed the bearings by pushing the housings down to there appropriate position with the steel pipe, I put marks on the pipe so I wouldn't push the bearings too far. After installing all four check the shaft end is still 49mm +/- 0.5mm from the edge of the gearbox end bellhousing. The new bearings are quieter than the old ones but not silent.

Total cost was 110$ NZ (including shipping the bearings from Japan) about $55 US. Not too difficult but time consuming. Before you do this I would suggest running the engine with the transaxel coupling slid back into the transmission and verify that it is noisy as the gear boxes make a racket on these cars