Borg 4404 rear output shaft play

[aveee8tor]

Should there be any movement (up,down,left,right) in the rear output shaft on a Borg 4404 t-case? Logic tells me that it should be solid with no play but the flakey Cottmans Transmission guy that rebuilt it 1 1/2 years ago insists that it is "normal". The back story - I'm trying to track down the dreaded "hum" vibration in the drivetrain of my 1998 5.0 AWD Explorer. The rear end was rebuilt last year, the case the year before. New u-joints just installed and as I was putting the shaft back in I noticed I could move the rear output shaft flange. The rear seal was also leaking as well as the pinion seal on the rear end. I thought bad bearing and took it back to Cottmans but he said no and suspected bent driveshaft. He supposedly had shaft straightened but didn't charge anything and didn't cure anything. I'm done dealing with them and ready to replace bearing myself if it's not normal. After that the driveshaft gets checked for balance and the rear end gets re-checked and a new seal installed. It probably won't cure it and it will be on to other things but I can see that this, at least, needs fixing. Thanks

 

[Mbrooks420]

Did you try and drive it with the front shaft removed? The CV style front drive shafts aren't the best, and do fail. My 4404 has play, but is also has high miles.