[Spridgets] And the verdict is? Broken half shaft!

[Kenneth Klemmer]

As most suspected, the half shaft was broken on the spline end, very close to
the ends of the spline and tapering to a point towards the center of the
shaft.  The other shaft looks fine and has .1575 splines, which seems good,
but it is also one of the bta501 series, which seem to get a bad reputation.
The shaft that broke is a stange number 2a7085.
Should i just replace both?

So far i have not been successful getting the broken end out using a rod, but
i think at this point i'm going to pull the diff anyway to make sure its
clean, then remove the broken piece. There was a lot of metal debris stuck to
the end of the broken shaft.

I also have a diff oil leak at the nose shaft seal, although this may be due
to overfilling because ive had the car raised and angled prob 10 degrees when
filling the rear end.  Is this seal easier to renew while the diff is removed
from the axle housing? The manual advises using the handbrake to hold the diff
when removing the prop shaft nut, necessitating it being in the car and
assembled.

Thanks for the advice!
Ken