Twisted rear axle shaft (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

landtank

landtank

Supporting Vendor
SILVER Star
Joined
Mar 27, 2003
Threads
382
Messages
21,127
Location
Groveland MA
Website
landtankproducts.com
I know that this has been covered before but I couldn't find the threads by searching.

I went out last week to the Toyota trail team invitation and the rear locker wouldn't engage. Today I lift the truck off and found what I suspected all alone. The rear axle shaft on the PS twisted and locked the slide collar in place stopping it from engaging.

Luckily I was a\ble to pry bar the shaft out of the axle with minimal effort.

So the question is, Slee has them and I thought that Longfield did as well but couldn't find them on his site. Are they available from Longfield and are they the same or is one preferred? I know that I can get them from Slee in time for next weekend but was told that axle shafts from Longfield might carry some sort of warranty.

Any new info on this front?

Here is a pic for those who might not have seen it before.
axle shaft 003 (Large).jpg
 
Howdy! I suppose your lucky it didn't just snap. I did that in my Piggy in a doctor's parking lot. It fractured kinda spiral-like right at the end of the splines. I figured I was lucky that it happened in town. John
 
I'm running Poly-Performance on my rig. He shipped them for free. I don't Know if Christo could do the same since he's the middle man, just like Poly-Performance couldn't ship me the Longfields for free:rolleyes:. It looks like you ended up luckier than some of the others I have seen:D
 
I got real lucky on this one, it has been in the back of my mind for a while that I should address this.

Are the axles for a locked and open diff the same ones? I thought they were different.
 
inkpot said:
I suppose your lucky it didn't just snap.
Click to expand...

Years ago on the original 80S Cool (SGI days for those who remember) a test was done on an 80 rear axle. It twisted 2.5 times on itself before it snapped. I can see it being an issue for the locker mechanism, but I doubt it would've snapped.
 
I believe that the axles for a locked diff will work on either but not vice-versa. The only difference is the length of the splines IIRC.
 
I talked with Christo a little while ago. To get a set of axles to my door in three days there was an 85.00 upcharge from UPS so they are coming ground. If they don't make it by Saturday I'm going to try and grind this axle to make it work as I have a light wheeling trip planned for Sunday and then overhaul the axle when they arrive.

He mentioned his distaste for the e-locker which I already knew. He wasn't sure if these poly axles would avoid the problem or not but wasn't aware of any of them twisting up and causing a problem either.

So I can't be sure if this is a 100% fix for an e-locker or not, only time will tell.
 
I didn't think Bobby Long made rear shafts, but it doesn't hurt to give him a call. I heard he should be home from the hospital some time today and I'm sure he'll be back answering the phones soon enough.
 
I know there are some people seriously abusing them and haven't heard of anyone with problems. However, with the e-lockers I think breaking is better then twisting. If you break it you can at least retrieve the axle, the twisting and subsequent tribulations is I believe what has soured people on the e-locker.
 
The poly axles are chromeoly. By definition just like HD birfs, they will twist more before they break. Whether they twist easier I do not know. I know what I have twisted both stock Toyota axles and Mosser axles that I ran before the Poly axles were available. Bobby does not make rear axles. They might make fronts but Poly is the only solution for the rear axles.

If you break a stock axle in a rear end with a e-locker I will bet you that the axle stub inside the locker will be twisted and you will not get it out. If you wheel hard, best is to take that pos rear e-locker and replace with ARB.

For newbies this is not an issue with the front e-locker design.
 
sleeoffroad said:
If you wheel hard, best is to take that pos rear e-locker and replace with ARB.

For newbies this is not an issue with the front e-locker design.
Click to expand...



Thank you! i just knew there was some reason i bought my cruiser without lockers. I haven't been able to figure it out until now.
 
It seems like it is worth it to just pony up the bones for an ARB instead of retrofitting an E-locker if you don't already have the e-locker. It seems like its almost a wash considering what people are charging for e-locker axles. I have read that ARB's perform quite well as long as they are installed by a competent shop like Mr. Slee's.

It seems like it would be difficult to try and pull a severely twisted axle shaft out on the trail.

I'm with you ConcreteJungle, I don't feel like such a bastard child for not getting a rig with an e-locker.
 
Rick - Any idea how you twisted it?
 
For the record, the twist that Rick's is showing is not the one that makes the axles get stuck in the differential. It seems his was twisted outboard of the locking collar of the e-locker.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

S
Rear axle shaft won't go in
Replies
6
Views
1K
SkylaneGuy
S
IronWheel
No power to rear axle?
Replies
1
Views
418
ppc
ppc
F
Rear axle bearing oil bath woes
Replies
18
Views
848
robnicko
R
thrillerdjc
Rear axle cut housing
2
Replies
26
Views
2K
landtank
landtank

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom