somebody had a bad D44 day

Jason · Post by **Jason** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 12:14 am

seee what happened was..

i ran bobcat from the 460 side down last sunday in the 15 degree weather. Now i dont know if it was the freezing cold or what but halfway through the trail, after the pits, my brakes started to shit out, id have to pump them to get any braking power... So i get to the bottom of the trail, was messin around on coal hill and without thinking decided to hit that last real steep short hill. So i got to the top and jus rolled back down the hill but as im coming down i hit the brakes and of course i got nothing. So we are rolling towards the woods and i was not sure what was in there so i dumped the clutch. I was in 1st gear- 4low- with locked front and rear so obviously not good. We hear a loud bang when i did it and i was sure i broke something. Anyway, I get out look at it real quick and didnt see anything right away so i got back in and drove... everything felt fine. So i thought id show them the trail up the creek and start going up it. Get about a quarter-mile up there and i cant get up this pretty easy part after a few tries. i get out and see that my rear was like flexed out on flat ground and come to see the split axle all the way up the trail.

Basically i broke it at coal hill but the axle tube didnt fall out of the housing so everything looked fine..... now i know i had sheared a rear axle shaft, blew a front hub, and rotated the shaft out of the housing.. just took a while for it to fall out.

Lukipela · Post by **Lukipela** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 12:23 am

haha quality... that sucks but at least the story behind it is good

Post by **hssss** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 2:20 am

When preparing an 8.8 to withstand too much power the first mod is to weld the tubes to the center. This appears to be a good practice with D35s & D44s.
________
Plymouth laser specifications

Post by **Stinson** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 10:42 am

so how much fun did you have getting off the trail?

Jason · Post by **Jason** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 11:09 am

yeah it was awful getting off the trail but we got suprisingly lucky. From the pictures benny posted you can see what we did. The axle tube had come out of the housing (as well as cracked it off) but we were able to jack the back of the jeep up and get the tube back in the housing about an inch or so. From there we strung a come-along and a big tie down strap across the axle to each of the spring perches. It will sagged like hell but was enough to keep it sei-together. From there we spent about 2 hours backing down that creek trail with 2wd ( front right and rear right drive) and i had a buddy with a stock jeep pull me over the tight spots. I say we got lucky because we werent sure if that idea would work and it did first try plus literally right as i got it on the trailer at coal hill the strap broke and the axle cam back apart.

As far as fixing it goes i think im going to get another d44 for now because money is so tight. With any luck I can pull my gears and detroit and put it in the other one for next to nothing. I have a buddy who said hed weld it all up and truss it for me so , for right now, seems like the best answer.
This summer I think im going to go with an 9" trussed with 35 spline chromo shafts. This should be plenty strong for what I have plus they supposedly offer the best ground clearance. I guess it all depends on the deals i can find.

Post by **jonesy** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 7:54 pm

Jason wrote:yeah it was awful getting off the trail but we got suprisingly lucky. From the pictures benny posted you can see what we did. The axle tube had come out of the housing (as well as cracked it off) but we were able to jack the back of the jeep up and get the tube back in the housing about an inch or so. From there we strung a come-along and a big tie down strap across the axle to each of the spring perches. It will sagged like hell but was enough to keep it sei-together. From there we spent about 2 hours backing down that creek trail with 2wd ( front right and rear right drive) and i had a buddy with a stock jeep pull me over the tight spots. I say we got lucky because we werent sure if that idea would work and it did first try plus literally right as i got it on the trailer at coal hill the strap broke and the axle cam back apart.

As far as fixing it goes i think im going to get another d44 for now because money is so tight. With any luck I can pull my gears and detroit and put it in the other one for next to nothing. I have a buddy who said hed weld it all up and truss it for me so , for right now, seems like the best answer.
This summer I think im going to go with an 9" trussed with 35 spline chromo shafts. This should be plenty strong for what I have plus they supposedly offer the best ground clearance. I guess it all depends on the deals i can find.

you know .... some of us on here are AWS and ASME qualified welders

nice trail fix though ... glad you got out in mostly one piece.

cheers

Post by **Billet Benny** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 8:32 pm

Jason wrote:seee what happened was..

Jason,
Thanks for coming on and telling your story. If you wanna step up to a real axle, I got one! Haha.. Sounds like you took it like a man and that's the only way to do it.

Post by **jonesy** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 10:12 pm

the only thing i dont agree with is that you continued to wheel with known brake problems. at the first signs of brake problems you should have stopped and tried to solve the problem. stopping is very important and solving the problem would have saved you costly repairs on a new axle. this is why we have inspections. brake problems can be dangerous and deadly if they happen at the wrong time.

driving, with know brake probelms, is the absolute last resort.

kind of like:

the jetta is leaking brake fluid badly and i have to fill it up every 5 miles or i lose brake pressure and i cant stop .... ill just drive it 6 miles to autozone to fix it.

personally i think you made a bad decision and it cost you. hopefully other wont make the same decision. if the brakes start to fail even slightly (having to constantly pump them is not a slight problem, it is a big problem), you should stop the vehicle, secure it via mechanical brake / winch / strap / wheel chock / etc and diagnose the problem. get it fixed. then continue having fun.

jsut my $0.02 and yes, i have made plenty of bad decisions and some of them bit me in the ass. luckily i had someone there to tell me i was being an idiot. i dont make those decisions anymore and lots of others learned from my mistake.

im not trying to crucify you or say you are an idiot ... you are not. im just trying to give the situation my point of view in hopes that you dotn make the same mistake again and break more $$$$ stuff and that others learn from this mistake.

for the record .... i drove a jeep with 3 of 4 control arms on a public road ... next to a elementary school ...

we all do stupid shit.

Jason · Post by **Jason** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 2:32 pm

Yeah i hear you... definitely wasnt a good situation. I had gotten out and looked it over a few times and didnt see and leaking or cut lines so I just kept going in 1st low. I really didnt want to turn around and try to go on 460 back so i kept going. live and learn

Website · Post by **tsmall07** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 9:33 pm

I would forget about the chrom-moly shafts (on the 9 inch) and put that money towards a nodular iron third member. You aren't running nearly enough power to worry about blowing a shaft on a 9in, but the pinion support is another story. I've got an 8.8 I'll sell you for $100 (no brake parts) that might be a better fit.

Post by **VerticalTRX** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 4:45 pm

Jason wrote: This summer I think im going to go with an 9" trussed with 35 spline chromo shafts. This should be plenty strong for what I have plus they supposedly offer the best ground clearance. I guess it all depends on the deals i can find.

A 31 spline 9" would be plenty strong IMO, even with a stock third member. Unless you're pushing 500lb-ft of torque or running 38"+ tires I doubt you'd hurt a stock 31sp 9" under a jeep.

Post by **Jwlman** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 4:51 pm

VerticalTRX wrote:
A 31 spline 9" would be plenty strong IMO, even with a stock third member. Unless you're pushing 500lb-ft of torque or running 38"+ tires I doubt you'd hurt a stock 31sp 9" under a jeep.

Agreeded

Post by **jonesy** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 7:14 pm

VerticalTRX wrote:
Jason wrote: This summer I think im going to go with an 9" trussed with 35 spline chromo shafts. This should be plenty strong for what I have plus they supposedly offer the best ground clearance. I guess it all depends on the deals i can find.
A 31 spline 9" would be plenty strong IMO, even with a stock third member. Unless you're pushing 500lb-ft of torque or running 38"+ tires I doubt you'd hurt a stock 31sp 9" under a jeep.

personally i would rather have a .1% chance of breaking a 35 spline in my jeep than a 1% chance of breaking a 31spline ....

do i need a 14bolt / 60 combo (i know, 44 right now but its going toa HP 60 when funds allow) .... hell no. but i like the security.

YouTube · Post by **TerryD** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 7:41 pm

jonesy wrote:
VerticalTRX wrote:
Jason wrote: This summer I think im going to go with an 9" trussed with 35 spline chromo shafts. This should be plenty strong for what I have plus they supposedly offer the best ground clearance. I guess it all depends on the deals i can find.
A 31 spline 9" would be plenty strong IMO, even with a stock third member. Unless you're pushing 500lb-ft of torque or running 38"+ tires I doubt you'd hurt a stock 31sp 9" under a jeep.
personally i would rather have a .1% chance of breaking a 35 spline in my jeep than a 1% chance of breaking a 31spline ....

do i need a 14bolt / 60 combo (i know, 44 right now but its going toa HP 60 when funds allow) .... hell no. but i like the security.

cody, if matt can't break a 31spline 9" the way he drives (drove before front locker), I can't imagine anyone breaking one under a jeep with less than 40" tires.....unless your level of stupid exceeds a realistic budget.

Jason · Post by **Jason** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 7:59 pm

yeah I figure if im going to build another axle I wanted it to be strong enough to handle larger tires or engine if I ever get around to it. And hopefully after graduation i will have a little extra money around to do so. If nothing else I want to make sure I get a 9" with the larger bearings in it so I can switch over later. (but then that means new locker again)