Front drive shaft question
 

I removed my front diff to be rebuilt. During removal the shaft was stuck in the piñon collar due to corrosion. The joint came a part with steel balls rolling out . Can you reassemble the joint or due you have to get another drive shaft? Has an one else in the front diff failure club dealt with this?

I will answer my own question
 

I have completed my diff rebuild. Yes you can reassemble the joint. I did with some patience. But it was a wast of time. When I ran the car it had a bad out of balance vibration. Had to replace the drive shaft. Also the transfer case side was also rusted in and broke coming out. If you are doing a diff on a car used in road salt country you will need a drive shaft.

Did you install a brand new shaft or used one? Fallen apart cv joint happened to me on my R350 as well. I put it all together back, but now I have some vibrations when accelerating around 2000 rpm. I din not drive this car before that fix, so I don't know if that vibration was there before front diff. replacement. I am trying to figure out if that drive shaft cv joint can be a problem.
Can you describe your out of balance vibrations you had?
Thank you

Hard to describe
 

Based on how hard it was to get the shaft out of either side. I decide that a
Donor car exposed to road salt would have a high risk of damage during removal
So I bough a new one from .http://www.wholesaleimportparts.com good prices and service New one was 327 with free shipping

The vibration is hard to describe. It is more a sound of something vibrating then a feel.
If your joint came apart I would be thinking you have a shaft problem

Thanks Astrok. I think I will be changing mine soon.