1. Verify that the joint shaft is not twisted or cracked.
2. Turn the joint shaft by hand and verify that the bearing rotates smoothly and freely.

Drive shaft
Joint shaft removal/installationMazda 6 Service Manual: Rear upper arm removal/installation
Caution
Performing the following procedures without first removing the ABS
wheel-speed sensor may possibly cause an open circuit in the harness if it
is pulled by mistake. Before performing the following procedures, remove the
ABS wheel-speed sensor (axle side) and fix it to an appropri ...
Mazda 6 Service Manual: No. 2 all on-board diagnostic functions inoperative
When performing an asterisked (*) troubleshooting inspection, shake the
wiring harness and connectors while doing the inspection to discover whether
poor contact points are the cause of any intermittent malfunctions. If there
is a problem, check to make sure connectors, terminals and wir ...