Posted by casebro on Monday, March 11, 2002 at 9:26PM :
In Reply to: Re: Driveshaft Balancing posted by Matt Wilson on Monday, March 11, 2002 at 8:18PM :
It's not for balance, the arrows are to make sure that the 2 ends are in 1 plane, else the U-joints will be out of synch as they spin. You want each shaft to be "constant velocity" by keeping the 2 ends in one plane, as if you put shafts through each hole instead of u-joints. Also, the shaft through the transfer case will also benefit from alignment- if you have a 2 speed transfer case, you must re-align input and out put by hand for the smoothest operation.
I've had good luck balanceing at home by installing a hose clamp in a random spot, test drive, try moving 180 degrees, test drive, move again 90 deg, untill you find best spot, then try a second clamp there too.
The gear part of the clamp is the heavy weight, when you find the best spot, replace the clamp with a welded on nut or washer.
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