Are these splines normal?

[Never Satisfied]

I was bolting the front shaft back up and couldn't figure out why the slip joint was practically froze. I pulled it loose from the case, put it in the vise and had to use a dead blow to seperate it. Here's what I found....is this supposed to be this way? This thing was so tight, I had to beat on it for 10 minutes to get it apart.

 

[bronc3buster842001]

I've had a few like that. It's some kind of plastic coating. Prob. to keep them from having slop in them.

 

[Never Satisfied]

Cool, I took a wire wheel to it and cleaned it up real good and it seems good to go. This caught me off guard, as I have not seen that coating on the splines before.

 

[four_by_ken]

Yup, factory coating. Actually helps them to slide and not rust up and bind.

 

[GreenieK30]

The coating is normal, remove it and the splines will be really loose and sloppy.

 

[Never Satisfied]

The coating is normal, remove it and the splines will be really loose and sloppy.

Well, I already removed it and there is zero slop. In fact, the only way those two were going back together, was with the coating removed. Once removed and cleaned up, I still needed a liberal coating of grease to get the joint to slide properly.

 

[imiceman44]

Well, I already removed it and there is zero slop. In fact, the only way those two were going back together, was with the coating removed. Once removed and cleaned up, I still needed a liberal coating of grease to get the joint to slide properly.

This coating is actually a shock absorber, it's supposed to keep the shock of loading and unloading smoothed out to prevent damage to the splines.
If you have seen a 10 spline 205 sleeve and shaft you would understand how important it is.
The fact yours was so tight makes me think someone put this shaft together from seperate pieces and they were not made for each other.

 

[Never Satisfied]

This coating is actually a shock absorber, it's supposed to keep the shock of loading and unloading smoothed out to prevent damage to the splines.
If you have seen a 10 spline 205 sleeve and shaft you would understand how important it is.
The fact yours was so tight makes me think someone put this shaft together from seperate pieces and they were not made for each other.

I can totally believe that.
I know it's still a rather tight fit now that the coatings gone. I'm not too worried as this is gonna be my mall crawler and will not see much 4x4 action. That's what my '90 is for.