Tailshaft removal ??

Yep, no worries to do that.

Make sure you mark the universal flanges with white paint before you remove it.

No fluid will leak out anywhere.

I think however that you will have more vibration from universal joints at either end with the tailshaft removed.

You could take the tailshaft to a specialist mechanic to have it balanced

Cheers

I have had the tailshaft balanced but I now think it could be in the output shaft of the transfer case.

Should there be play where the tailshaft goes into the transfer case, as there appears to be some in mine.

And when I mark the flanges, the rear is easy, but with the front how do I know I am in the same spline as before.

Thanks for your reply.

The front of the tailshaft is usually flanged and bolted to a matching flange on the transfer box. If this is the case, then there is no issue in removing the shaft and driving around. However, if the front of the shaft slides into the box on splines, as is usual in ordinary rear wheel drive passenger cars, then you cannot drive with it removed as oil will run out everywhere.

In both cases, the rear of the shaft should not be a problem as it will either be flanged, or the joint will be held in with U bolts, thus no oil seals to the diff involved.

Before going to all this trouble, have the uni joints been replaced and if so, have they been put in evenly? The cups need to be centred accurately else the shaft will be slightly out of centre causing vibration.

Cheers
Gerry