emergency axle tech stuff.

[zintrex]

Hay chaps.

today i managed to snap one of my axles rigth next to the splines in the carrier and i also found a crack in the thirdmember housing.

so im wondering if the following whoud be possible as a "emergency suloution while i wait for parts:

Whoud the following setup work:



IF i remove the ring gear and driveshaft to the rear wheels. (driving the car in 4wheel drive on the front wheels only)

whoud it be "ok" to drive the car with the snapped axle?

the axle broke in such a way that the end is still inside the carrier, so it wont be "flopping around" in the axle tube

My current setup is a old 28 spline carrier (w minispool) and axles from a mustang, so i plan on buying a new 31 spline carrier, new thirdmember housing, and 31 spline axles.

but i cannot afford it all in one go.

and i live in europe so 9 inch axles are hard to get used parts for. so im gonan be buying my parts new in the us.

so basicly:

is it possible to drive it with the ring gear missing, and the broken axle while i get the new parts?

( i know i cant tow anything go wheeling etc, but if i can get to and from the store il be happy)

or do i atleast have to buy a new 28 spline "shit axle" to be able to temporary move the car safely?

Some pics of the dmg:

 

[Bully Bob]

Don't know why that wouldn't work.....

I would polish off the end of the axle just a bit., so's no burrs catch on the snapped off end piece.

 

[Seabronc]

That has been done to get a vehicle back home in an emergency like this. My only concern would be that since you no longer have a C-lock on the end of the axle that the axle would tend to work it's way out. If it is the on the right axle turns to the left might tend to pull it out, but turns to the right should tend to push the axle in. If you are going to drive it, keep an eye on the wheel position to make sure that is not happening and drive slow.

Good luck,

 

[Bully Bob]

Great point...!

My head is wrapped 'round the Ford 9"..., it "locks-in" at the brake backing plate.

Seabronc says the 8.8 uses the "C" clips.

If that's what you have....then not a good idea on public streets.

I've actually seen a veh. turn & the tire/wheel come out of the wheel-well a foot., while still rolling... not a pretty sight..!

 

[zintrex]

My only concern would be that since you no longer have a C-lock on the end of the axle that the axle would tend to work it's way out. If it is the on the right axle turns to the left might tend to pull it out, but turns to the right should tend to push the axle in. If you are going to drive it, keep an eye on the wheel position to make sure that is not happening and drive slow.

Good luck,

hrmm then i dont think that will be a issue...

my axle is a 9" axle, with big bearings, 28 splines and "truck bolt pattern" so no c-clip there to begin with.

also it makes the job of fixing this issue a lot harder,

cause the correct length 28 spline axles usually only come with the smaller mustang/car bolt pattern and not the truck bolt pattern,

(the previus owner of my bronc told me he used mustang axles, but when i went to my local "mustang geek" he just shook his head and told me he aint got xles w taht huge pattern.. LOL

so instead of trying to hunt down one of the rare weak 28 spline axles that will fit, i have decided to do a full 31 spline convertion, and also to finaly get the car a posi unit instead of the "spool o doom"

i whoud love to get a airlocker or a "e-locker" and 35 spline axles, but i cant justify spending that much on a diff carrier/axle combo when i only do a few hrs of offroading a month...

But yeah my biggest concern with it all is the possibility of the wheel "running off on its own"

cause i know that on some chevy axles it will happen, it happened to a buds suburban while towing and in highway speeds, and that did not look very fun...

but this is my first car with the ford 9" axle, and it aint got c-clips to begin with, so im hoping i can make a temp solution while i wait for my new stuff to arrive.

 

[Bully Bob]

With a good "posi" ., you won't be snap'n any axles., be it 31,28,35 splines. That "spool" is what hurt you.

Any solid locker req. diff. driving skills.

Do post your end results., as to the "patch" & the new set-up..!! >< <'>

 

[Seabronc]

OK, yeah leave it to me not to read the entire post. I completely missed the fact that you had a 9" rear end :blush: . So it looks like your original idea will work as a temporary solution for getting to someplace like the store.

Good luck,

 

[zintrex]

update time:

Attacked the broken axle with the welder today, and made made sure the end is all nice and no sharp bits.

i also had my bro weld the cracks in the third member housing.

Of course welding cast iron isn't a good solution, but it is better than letting the cracks be there, and it will buy me some time to source a used housing here in Norway.

(the shipping on a thirdmember housing to norway is like 200bucks on summit)

hooked it all back up (wo the ring gear of course) and took it for a test drive.

and maaan i have forgotten how bad the big old thing is to drive in front wheel drive only...

this is definitely a temp solution.

and to add to my misery i realized how stretched the chain in the transfer case is..

so for the next week or 2 i will be almost without a car, im only gonna be using it to the store a few times and any really important things.

and as soon as i finish the rear axle i have to look at my transfer case and see how bad the chain is and prob swap the chain and some bearings just to be nice to it.

But enogh text i know ya all want pictures:

The broken axle all tidyed up:



The welds on the housing:

They may look not too good, but there is a lot of penetration,

im actualy quite supriced how "weldable" the iron in the case was.



This is normally where you go: F**K i knew i forgot something:

 

[Bully Bob]

Geese.,

Sure seems JBG., Tom's., WH., Currie Ent. "someone" could save ya some $$

Especially A good re-man third member, set-up to your liking.

Anyhooooo.., looks like you're doing "good" work.., you'll soon be back in the dirt..!! /

 

[zintrex]

Whooot finaly fixed the beast!!

Got the axles in the mail on Friday, and yesterday I fixed it.

Sadly I only remembered to take 1 pic of the whole thing...

but there was one potentially huge issue with the fix.

My old axle setup was 28 spline, and the 28 spline carrier has a smaller axle hole than the 31 spline setups.

Ofcourse I had totally forgotten about this and not ordered a new carrier (only a 31spline gear set)

so I had a major issue and good adwice hard to get, so I called up a buddy of mine who builds rods, and asked him how total boned I was.

And f##k me the fix was simple..

apparently the only difference between the 28 spline and 31spline carriers is that the 28 spline ones havent been machined out as far as the 31's.

So we slapped my carrier into the metal lathe and seconds later the hole was big enough.

Ps:

DO NOT REMOVE MORE METAL THAN NEEDED!!!!!!!!

only remove enough for the 31spline axle to go trough the hole.

And remember this will only work for 28 to 31 spline, it is not possible to take out enough to fit bigger axles, the carrier will be to weak and break

And this fix will ONLY work for the carriers with 1.78" I.D. bearings, the carriers with 1.625" I.D. bearings will probably not have enogh metal to do this fix!

the rest of the job was pretty straigth forward:

press on the bearings and the retainer ring, put in the gears in the carrier, set it back up in the thirdmember and install it all..

I had to fabricate one Axle Shaft Retainer Plate togh, the box was pretty beat up when it arrived and I coud only find one in the box... prob fell out a crack or something.

and i am currently running with the welded thirdmember housing, so i better be a bit carefull when i drive.

but atleast now i can use the car without beeing afraid of snapping a axle, and it gives me good time to source a ok housing, a tracklock carrier and some new gears.

that way i can build me a new thirdmember and keep the old one as a backup!.

Parts used:

Yukon 31 spline axles,

Timken “set 20” bearings

31 spline gear set (dun remember manufacturer)

Rigth hand brake cylinder ( old one was leaking a tiny bit so I swapped I)

The full cost:

Parts: 398$

Shipping: 280$ ( those darn axles really pushed the price on the shipping)

so the total was 648$..

I used JBC, got to love that shop!

But enogh txt, il finish up with some pictures for ya all to look at.

Pressing the bearing on the axle.

sadly this was the only thing i rmeebered to take a pic of...



Took the top off the bronc today and started working on a cover for the rear, and is gonna fabricate a softtop for it too.