axle breakage

ok early today i broke the ears off my dana 30 axle. broke the u-joint boths side on the axleshaft side. i will get some pics up tomorrow.

i was wondering when you break these things can you drive very far and not trash the carrier and such. wondering cause i have a ARB in front and dont wont trash it. i had to drive it about 30miles to get her home.

also what is a good inner and outer aftermarket place?

It may just be time to upgrade man. Maybe a HP44 or 60.

Well, you don't need to get a D44 or 60 just because you broke one axle. You didn't say what you have now, other than a D30. What year is your rig, do you have a disconnect or non-disconnect housing, and are you running 260x axle u-joints or 297/760x u-joints, and what tire size?

If you have 260x joints, you can get replacement Spicer axles that use the larger 760x joint, which is a good upgrade. The 760x joint is stronger if it is held in using snap rings (full circle clips) rather than the c-clips that they come with. To do this you need to grind away a small part of the straight ridge that's inside the ears of the Spicer axles, so there's room for the snap rings. You can also put a few tack welds on the outside of the cups to the ears, which does the same thing, but the snap rings should let the u-joint last longer if that's an issue. Beyond that, you can install chromemoly axles with either 760x joints, or Longfield joints, or CTM joints. In order of strength......260x, 760x, snap ringed 760x, cryo treated 760x (snap ringed), Longfield Super joints, CTM's (I didn't include the OX joint because it hasn't been out long enough to have a track record).

For stronger axles, you can use a Warn or Superior chromo inner axle and a Spicer outer, or Superior chromo inner and outers, or Warn chromo inner and outers, but you need a Warn hub kit to run their chromo outers. If you run both inner and outer chromo axles you can run CTM's. I don't know how much money you want to spend, your tire size or ultimate goals, but that's what's available.

BTW, it is STRONGLY recommended that you DO NOT drive on a broken front axle when the joint has broken. The broken ears of the axle yokes can bind against each other when you turn and can force the knuckle off the ball joints or even break the knuckle around the ball joints. I've seen this happen numerous times on the trail, and it's not pretty. If a broken rig must pull forward, someone should watch the axle yokes while the rig is carefully moved so no more serious damage occurs. Consider yourself lucky that you made it off the trail and the 30 miles home.

i have a 1994 xj w/the non-disconnect axle and the weak u-joints. i am wondering will the newer style axles 1997 and newer fit in my '94. i have 33" tires. i can get the axles from driver out of a '97 or newer xj for $75. sounds pretty cheap. and yes i am lucky getting home after driving 30 miles from the trail like this:

moneypitxj said:

i have a 1994 xj w/the non-disconnect axle and the weak u-joints. i am wondering will the newer style axles 1997 and newer fit in my '94. i have 33" tires. i can get the axles from driver out of a '97 or newer xj for $75. sounds pretty cheap. and yes i am lucky getting home after driving 30 miles from the trail like this:

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They will slide right in.

Rob

I would think that with 33" tires yo should be fine with the D30 with 297/760 ujoints.
I keep a set of fully built short and long side axles in the back of my rig for just such occasions.
Get some axles out of a newer XJ and rebuild the ujoints, and you will be money ahead.
If you must drive off the trail with a broken ujoint, take out the inner axle shaft and stick a rag in there, then, just drive on the stub shaft with no ujoint at all. This will keep your unit hub intact and allow you to drive home.
Just a note for next time.
HTH

thanx everyone, i hope this dosent break the bank. trying to build a house and finance this hobbie is stressing me out, but how could i ever stop wheelin :tears: i guess if you play you gotta pay!

moneypitxj said:

thanx everyone, i hope this dosent break the bank. trying to build a house and finance this hobbie is stressing me out, but how could i ever stop wheelin :tears: i guess if you play you gotta pay!

Click to expand...

BTW Hinkley, h-o-b-b-y.
Spell it with me h-o-b-b-y.
Just pull the shafts from the first 97+ HP30 you find in the yard.
This should set us straight for the beer.

If ya have to limp, you can pull the inner shaft, cap the axle tube, and drive all you want. Just don't remove the outer shaft from the hub/unibearing and try to drive it.