The front u-joint on my 86 NA went bad, so I ordered a replacement driveshaft from Mazdatrix. The Haynes manual says to mark driveshaft so that you can put it back the same way it came out. New driveshafts don't have any lineup marks. Does it make a difference? Why does it matter if you mark the driveshaft or not?

 

Hmmm... I would be interested in this answer too, since I just put mine back in. And I didnt mark mine either.

Rat

 

Most driveshafts are neutral balanced, so it really shouldn't matter. However, should you notice some vibration after reinstallation, try rotating the driveshaft 180 degrees and rebolt in..

PaulC

 

The stock driveshaft has little balancing tabs on the bolts. The Haynes manual is telling you to put them back in the same place if you use the same driveshaft, and the best way to do this is to somehow mark them before you remove them. Since you are using a new driveshaft, you will need to rebalance everything, so don't worry about the markings.

The Factory Service Manual has a nice writeup on this. Note that Mazda calls the driveshaft a "propeller shaft" (not to be confused with the halfshafts which they call "driveshafts").
See the manual on this site under How-To's/Manuals:
http://fc3s.org/

 

Oh ****....Let me get this straight. Lets say for example, someone did a motor/tranny swap, then they lost the bolting hardware to hold the shaft to the differential. So they used other hardware. Now they have to get the whole thing balanced?

Rat

 

Make that TWO someones...

 

Aint this a bitch?

 

Our 7s must have been 'separated at birth' (in a factory sense) or they share some funky mystical connection... ("Oh, hell! The clock's ******* up again! I hope J-Rat isn't running late for anything...)


Or maybe you're just riding on my coattails and can't come up with any original probs of your own...