Drive shaft problem with pics - please help!!
 

ok, so i heard a clunking rattling sound occasionally yesterday, got too looking and found the problem pretty quickly when i took a look at the drive shaft.

Attachment 212412

first question, is the balencing weight or something else. right now its just kinda floating around there between the top of the drive shaft and the transmission.

this is where it is supposed to be
Attachment 212413

the seal that held it in place completely tore the whole way around
Attachment 212414



i have no vibrations or any other strange or unusual sounds/feelings when i drive, aside from the occasional clunk over a bump when it slides back down and comes in contact with the spinning drive shaft. the drive shaft is not sliding around or moving in any way that it is not supposed to, at least from what i can see.

is it safe to drive around with it like this untill i can get it fixed sometime hopefully in the next week or so?? i drove it home about 100 miles after i discovered the problem and nothing sounded or felt out of the ordinary other than it bouncing around a little bit every now and then. and what do you think it will take to fix this, do i need a whole new drive shaft or can it somehow be put back on?

thanks in advance for any help

Ummm....icky....that there my friend is the balancer for the yoke....and i presonally wouldnt tootle around with it like that for any lenght of time for you could fry your tail shaft....Also I wanna say that the holes line up with the carrier bearing that is on your rig and helps with the balance there too...it is a super cab right? and to be honest with you....you might as well just go to the j-yard and buy/pull a 98+ aluminum d-shaft, and then lose the carrier bearing.

read my post here.

https://www.ranger-forums.com/forum2...ad.php?t=19859

just happen to me 3 months ago.

all you have to do is pull the 4 rear bolts of the driveshaft, slide the shaft out of the transmission, take that part off and throw it in the garbage, then slide the shaft back in the tranny and bolt the 4 bolts back up. keep in mind the 4x4s have never come with those rings.