[Retired Ralph]

87 Spiter Veloce. The donut has about a 1/4" play in it. Should it be changed? Also the rear seal is leaking. Should I change the donut? Is rear seal similar to other cars? Pry it out and tap in a new one. Thanks for your help. Ralph

 

[ghnl]

When you say the "drive shaft support donut" has 1/4" of play are you referring to the rubber cushion around the driveshaft support bearing or the "donut" aka qiubo?

It is normal for the driveshaft support bearing's rubber cushion to allow the driveshaft to wiggle a bit. The bearing itself shouldn't have appreciable play. It would be unusual for the "donut" to have any play. If it is cracked or missing any chunks of rubber it should be replaced before further driving. It it fails at speed it can cause quite a bit of damage.

I'm not sure about the rear seal. A search would likely find some BTDT's.