Destroyed my IFS axle on the trail today.

[Triplel40]

Was playing around in the snow up in the canyon today and was in reverse and 4LO trying to get out of some snow when suddenly it grabbed traction and I heard something pop pretty loudly. At first I thought I had blown a CV Joint so I shoved it in second and punched it forward to get out of the snow as quickly as possible. Then just as I got out of the snow I lost Oil Pressure. Shut it down and coasted down to a level part of the trail to find that the Front Differential Case had broken where it mounts to the frame on both the passenger side mounts and the front drivers side mount. This caused the axle to fall down, and the rear drivers side mount still being in tact made the U-Joint Flange pivot up into my oil filter, shredding it. Got the Axle jacked back up near where it belongs and held up with a Snow Chain and a Ratchet Strap, then my friend came with a new oil filter and oil. Got it back to my parking lot here on campus. Going to drop the whole center section tomorrow and will add pictures then. Needless to say, it has been quite a day.

 

[great white]

Hmmm,that's the second one I've heard of lately that broke its mounts:

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[thz71]

Sounds like its time for a sas!

sent from my outdated S3

 

[woody31]

sorry to hear of the carnage..but on the upside,,time for some wrenching with the crew and a few cold ones,,,good luck on the repair,,

 

[SkyHighColorado]

sorry to hear of the carnage..but on the upside,,time for some wrenching with the crew and a few cold ones,,,good luck on the repair,,

Ahh my favorite kind of weekend! Wake up hung over, head to the jy for parts, slam a few coors in the jy, head home and wrench with the crew till we are to drunk to wrench responsibly hahaha. Have fun, shouldn't be to bad and fairly cheap at the jy. Just check the glove box for gear code before doing the pull.

 

[great white]

8.25 front differential needs an 8.25 replacement . Likewise with 9.25

The mounting points are in slightly different spots so the frame bracketing is different.

8.25 is 7600 gvwr trucks and below.

9.25 is 8600 gvwr and up.

Those are rules of thumb, but 8600 gvwr and up is 9.25 with no exceptions....

 

[Triplel40]

Got it out. Here are pictures.
Excess Snow chain that we used to hold up the passenger side axle, wired to my brush guard so it wouldn't drag.

You must be registered for see images attach

Out

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

Passenger Side mounts still on frame

You must be registered for see images attach

Drivers Side Front mount still on frame.

You must be registered for see images attach

Whole mess in bed, you can see what's left of the old oil filter after the Ujoint hit it on the bottom left of picture. One bearing cap is still in flange, found other one on trail. Never found the actual U-Joint and the rest of the slip yoke.

You must be registered for see images attach

Front Passenger Mount

You must be registered for see images attach

Rear Passenger Mount

You must be registered for see images attach

Front Drivers Mount

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

Right now I am down at college and dead broke, so I won't be fixing it till mid summer probably, and at this moment I'm kinda swinging towards a D60 Swap, as I can get a good D60 Front and 14 Corporate rear for pretty cheap from a friend of mine. Not sure what I'll do yet though.

One quick question, am I correct in assuming that I'll be okay driving it like this as long as I separate the outer CV Joints and leave the stubs in the hubs? Also, any of you guys happen to know how the outer joints come apart? Guessing it's just a snap ring on the shaft. Thanks

 

[great white]

Unit wheel bearing question regarding CV joints: yes, it will work like that.

Axles are retained in the outer CV with a snap ring: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-S-ofMoWsr0. Check it out at about 4:27

Those broken mounts can be rewelded. But it will likely cost as much (or more) than a junkyard replacement.

Just an FYI: most that I've seen that have broken the mounts like that have some kind of frame damage from a previous accident that has induced stress on the aluminum. Cast aluminum reeeeeeeally doesn't like to be put in tension or shearing stress modes......

 

[Triplel40]

Alright Thanks White.

 

[michael hurd]

Looking at the mounts, it's clear that they were already on their way out... where the aluminum is nice and bright is a new break, where it is dirty, it was previously cracked, allowing dirt into the crack.

You happened to exceed the strength of the remaining material.