Driveshaft Center Support

I just had my transmission rebuilt in november 2017 on my 2008 ford Escape 4wd and that came into the tune of 3100.00 i didn't really drive it till January when i needed to as i was driving my mini-van, but once my van started to break down i needed the escape so i insured it drove it approx 30km or about 15 miles i noticed that i had a really bad vibration at 60km/h or 40mph so i parked it again for a couple weeks took it back out last week and the vibration was so bad i thought i was driving on a gravel road so i got it home, went online found out that it could possibly be the center support bearing so i started calling around and low and behold this is a known issue and is a non-repairable item and the whole 2 piece drive shaft along with the bearing would have to be replaced so i go online again and Ford no longer makes this item....HMMMMMMMM... , so i called a drivelive shop and they quoted me 560 for the drive shaft and 1 hr labor to install plus taxes so i asked them to order it and i had it installed today to the tune of 650.00 out the door.

So why would ford make it impossible to get repaired or better yet even to get a new one once these things decide to go south..:banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead:

but it is fixed now and i just need new tires now the weather changes if anyone has any insight as to what a good all season is for this vehicle please help me out i have found a set of
Bridgestone - Dueler H/L Alenza Plus

tires from costco for 600 but if there is a place in the usa that is cheaper maybe ill look into that

I'm on my third set of Goodyear Wrangler SR-A for my '02 Escape 4WD. I'm in a Lake Effect snow zone and will get several two foot or more snow storms a winter. Never had a problem even with 4 foot drifts. And I commuted 30,000 miles a year for work. I swapped in other vehicles, but put plenty of miles with these tires on the highway with a smooth and surprisingly quiet ride. Never had one blow out or a belt go bad to cause a bulge. They just wore down too far at 70,000 miles to trust in the snow. My Expedition has always had Michelin. A softer ride, and much more expensive. But necessary in my opinion for all the cross country camping trips we take. Slightly less traction in the snow, but the extra weight would still push thru making it a very close second choice in the snow to the Escape.