Driveshaft squeak found - center bearing support!

[Duke2.6]

'88 190E 2.6 five-speed manual trans

I finally found the source of my 14-17 MPH driveshaft squeak.

Suspecting the collet nut may be loose (thanks for the suggestion S-Class Guru) I removed the catalyst heat shield (3 8mm hex screws then roll it off the driver's side) and found the nut tight, but the rubber in the center bearing support was mostly gone, so the driveshaft had no center support. It was basically just flopping around.

This pillow block is not a solid rubber donut, but has an "accordian" section to allow flex and vibration damping, but it's not very durable. (See attached photo.) The center bearing itself is okay. It was replaced on warranty at about 40K miles due to making a low frequency growling noise - typical of a spalled ball or roller bearing.

This center bearing support can go overlooked because you can't see it unless you remove the catalyst heat shield, and it may be the source of several "mysterious" vibrations including some you feel through the steering wheel that you think are tire related.

I'm not sure removing the driveshaft and attendent displacement or removal of the exhaust system is something I can do (or WANT to do), so I am considering buying a new support, slicing it at the top so I can bend it out to get around the bearing and then bolting it down. I could use some contact cement on each side of the cut. The load from the weight of the driveshaft is on the bottom of the support.

I searched and found some threads on replacing the center support and most remove and disassemble the driveshaft, which also requires displacing or removing the exhaust system. This is a big job compared to what I am thinking of doing.

Pelican has several driveshaft center bearing supports as low as about 15 bucks, so what do I have to lose?

Has anyone tried this method... or what do you think?

I'm down to driving this car less than 1000 miles/year, and if I'm still around in 15 years they may have already taken my driver's license away.

As a temporary measure, I used wood blocks to jam the center of the driveshaft as high as possible, then cut about a 1/2" length of heater hose, sliced it open and jammed it between the metal support and the remants of the rubber. Then I let the driveshaft down, so now, at least, it has some support.

There was no squeak when I drove it, today, so this will work as a temporary measure until I decide on the long term fix.

Duke