# 1986.5 D-21 drive shaft



## slizzzzard (Dec 16, 2007)

Hello folks,
Recently I was getting some vibration from the drive line in my 86' HB. I found that the drive shaft's center bearing needed replacing again, which is really a joy to remove.

Additionally I found play that indicated that the shaft's u-joints needed replacing. No big there, u-joint bearing replacement would be what, forty bucks? NOT. I was really disappointed to find out that the u-joints on my truck were what you call "staked-in". Staked-in is code for "you are f-ed". Meaning that the bearings are not removable by the common back-yard Joe mechanic. They are made to be permanent. What a great idea Nissan!

I wound up taking the drive shaft to a drive line speciality shop where they cut both ends off of it, welded new ones on, balanced it, and replaced the center bearing. It now has replaceable u-joint bearings.

Needless to say, I wasn't very happy with that design from Nissan, who by the way told me that the drive shaft wasn't a serviceable part. They don't sell replacement drive shafts for that model truck either.

I really don't have much to complain about my truck, it has been great, but because Nissan chose to save a few bucks in manufacturing, it wound up costing me over $700 to essentially replace my u-joints. Ouch. All good now, but after that I need to replace my wallet due to excessive leakage.


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

Yeah, they do that on some of their vehicles and not on others, for whatever reason. Used to see the non-serviceable U-joints a lot on Datsuns. Dorman has started making remanufactured driveshafts available. Currently they have one available for the 86-87 Hardbodies with the 4-cyl/RWD/MT/short wheelbase for $450.


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## slizzzzard (Dec 16, 2007)

Howdy smj,
That's cool. When I had that work done it was over a year ago. I searched and found some for sale but the price at that time was close to what I wound up paying. I had already removed the center bearing and my truck is my only car so I needed it back on the road asap.

I posted this just for this reason, that replys such as yours may help others who find out about this issue when servicing their trucks. To me what Nissan did was planned obsolescence. That in the long run is bad marketing as it shows that a manufacturer has limited faith in the longevity of their product. They shouldn't cut corners in that way, it reflects badly on the company as a whole.
Thanks for your reply!


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## JCElizondo (May 2, 2016)

Are there compatible drive shafts from other year hardbodys that would fit the 86 D21???


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

I'm sure there are, but one would need more information than just "86 D21." Most salvage yards have interchange programs that can look up interchangeable parts. You might also try Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market


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## JCElizondo (May 2, 2016)

Thanks for the info. I will look into this


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