The first time I ever removed an MBZ driveshaft, the 46mm nut on the end of the front shaft was loose but the rubber boot had kept it from ever coming off completely. Since then whenever I have had occasion to repeat this job, I always install the nut as per MBZ, with very little torque. After all, the two shafts need to be able to slide freely on the spline inside the nut. Lately I have been wondering why is this nut even there? Any ideas?

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