I've learned a lot about the FC cars as I've torn them down and the surprises never seem to end when I thought I'd finally seen it all. Soooo, I'm tearing down a BASE model '86 with no options and I go to remove the differential on it and I find that along with the diff. comes the driveshaft right along with it. Big duh. I unbolt the driveshaft from the diff. only to find that it's somehow REALLY attached to the diff. I was looking for marks of where it might possibly have been welded together but couldnt find a single thing! They're like one big monster part that wasnt meant to come apart. Was this common or available on an '86 or am I missing something or what? I figured it would be harder to sell them together.

 

No. The driveshaft is always the weak link in the drivetrain. That's why it connects with four bolts.
Is the u joint, like, too far into the rear end? They can get rather stuck in there and sometimes are a real bitch to pull out.

 

^What??^

You need to take a chisel and hammer and persuade them apart. Sometimes on an aging car the flanges can rust together.

 

Yeah, they're just stuck together. Soak that puppy up with some penetrating oil then take a hammer and chisel to it.

 

You guys just made my day. I knew there had to be a very easy and logical answer. Got it soaking in PB blaster as I type. Thanks ya'll!