Pic of factory marks on driveshafts

[engatwork]

this should be applicable to all MB driveshafts. I was finally able to get a good picture of the marks. The center punched marks are my markings. The tit shown on the lower half goes as close as possible to the center of the larger mark shown on the top half.

[R Leo]

Hmmm interesting...all the shafts I've dealt with so far have had marks cast into the yoke and the sleeve.

According to the FSM, the cast marks were only used for alignment balancing after August '82 and prior to that, technicians were responsible for marking the shaft before disassembly.

From the 123 FSM:

'On vehicles up to July 1982 with 5-cylinder Diesel engine, as well as with engine 102, mark front and rear propeller shaft with vibration eliminator in relation to each other (refer to arrows). Remove front propeller shaft in forward direction and rear propeller shaft in rearward direction.'

'On all vehicles starting August 1982 the front and rear propeller shafts are pertinently identified."

'The front shaft is provided with a hump and the yoke of the rear shaft with two-arrow-like humps (arrows). The hump of the front shaft should be located between the two arrows on yoke (arrows).'

'Note: Identification has already been available on propeller shafts prior to August 1982, but not been taken into consideration during assembly. For this reason, propeller shafts on which the marks are not in agreement must be identified prior to removal and the two parts must be plugged together again in accordance with this identification.'

The thing to remember here is, no matter when your vehicle was built, ALWAYS mark the shaft halves before disassembly.

[engatwork]

These marks are on the d'shaft for the '83 300SD.