KidJethro or Jess- Question about my HAD shaft

[FWP]

Rear 1350 CV shaft. Took it apart today to clean and lube the splines. Noticed that there is no end cap (the dust seal with the little tiny hole in the middle) on the slip (female) side. Was there one there originally? I've had it for about 2 years now, and don't remember .

 

[Zeus33rd]

We weld up the little hole so water and crud can't get in there and weld the cap on so it won't come off. However, do to the fact that the cap is steel and the rest of the slip is cast, the weld isn't really that strong. If theres alot of grease in there, and the shaft compresses, it can hydraulicly force the cap off. So to answer your question, yes, it was there originally. Can you look closely at it and see if theres evidence of a broken weld? I wasn't working for HAD 2 years ago, but the machinist was, he's told me that they've always done it that way.

If you have questions about what to do about it, I'd give Jess a call on Monday. If it were me, I'd prolly just run it. Up to you though.

 

[4X4HIGH]

Buy yourself a concave freeze plug of the appropiate size and install it in the end and drill a very small hole so the slip can move without trying to hydraulic on you.

 

[FWP]

Thanks guys. It's kind of a toss up for me. Leave it and keep up the regular maintenance I do, or put a plug in there to keep crap in. I wish I knew how long it's been like that, then I would have my answer. The splines were in excellent shape, still had that blue stuff on it.