Shaft End play ?

[Winkman]

I have a question about my SE106 . Its about two years old . I currently have the drive split to replace the water pump assembly for basic maintenance . When turning the drive shaft to install the water pump impeller i noticed a LOT of play side to side and thought that it seems to be way to much . Is it normal to have a lot of play like this when the drive is split? I'm not having any problems with it at all but thought this was bad. well actually i have one problem. The finish of the drive just keeps pealing off down to bare aluminum but im dealing with it. Should i be worrying about this play side to side in the drive shaft when apart? I can see a bearing moving side to side with the shaft.

[Technical Support]

The side to side play is normal. The gears are designed in such a way that the drive shaft will try tu go straight up under a load. If you pull up on the driveshaft you can simulate a load and you will see that there is no longer any side to side play.

Thanks,

Tech Support

[Winkman]

Wow that was fast . Yes i did notice that if i pull up on the shaft the play is gone.. I just wanted to make sure before i put it back together. Thanks for the fast help.