Freelander 1 Aligning front / rear prop shafts on VCU?

So I made alignment marks between the front and rear prop shafts and their fixing to the IRD and rear axle flanges, but the issue I now have is that having separated the VCU from both the front and rear shafts I cannot see any reference marks to enable me to refit the front and rear shafts back to the VCU so they are in the same orientation as when I removed them.

I stupidly assumed the splines on the VCU would have a locator spline so that you could only refit them back together in a single way. This does not appear to be the case.

There does, however, appear to be a double width spline on the front / rear prop shaft females, but not a corresponding double width spline on the males on the VCU.

Have I made a terrible mistake here by not marking the exact position of the front/rear prop shaft to VCU assembly before I disassembled them?

If so, is there a way of resolving this or will I have to have the shaft rebalanced?

No need to align the props at all. Just bolt then on

Nodge68 said:

No need to align the props at all. Just bolt then on

Click to expand...

But if I don't fit them back on exactly how they came off the VCU, then the front and rear shafts will not be in their respective locations prior to removal?

I am just trying to understand why both Rave and Haynes tell you to mark the front/rear shafts to IRD and rear axle prior to propshaft removal?

The front and rear shafts look like they have a small piece of metal welded on the top of each of them. I just assumed these were balancing weights and need to be orientated in the same manner as when the shaft was balanced. If I just reassemble any old how then the prop shaft will most likely be unbalanced and cause vibration?

as above,it will make no difference

Ok thanks. I just read Hippo's guide on replacing the prop shaft bearings and he too makes no mention of realigning the shafts to VCU in their original orientation.

I had the same panic attack but when refitted it made no difference. The prop shafts are balanced individually.
BTW how good is the damper on your VCU. On mine the outer ring was ready to fall off so I filled the whole thing with silicon sealant and it's been fine since.

For many years, it's been considered good practice to mark propshaft flanges before removal. This is to help against adding a possible vibration to the drive train. However a Freelander has a big lump of rotating iron (VCU) between its 2 short props. If anything is going to add vibration this will. Hence it really isn't necessary to put the props back on in the same place they came off from. Besides the props are balanced off the car during manufacture so they were never fitted in a particular way from the factory.
Don't worry about it and bolt them in. If you suddenly notice a vibration that really wasn't there before you took it apart, then turn the rear prop flange 180° and try again.

Thanks fellas. Just need to get new bearings on and then I can get it reassembled.