911, Terrible wreck last night!!

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Bamaboy

Bamaboy

Joined
Jun 3, 2009
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Location
Florence Alabama
Okay i need everyones help diagnosing this, last night i was out doing some wheeling and everything went great my new ARB air locker was just installed professionally and i picked it up last Wednesday so once we got off the trails where i needed the locker i disengaged the locker but didnt take it out of 4x4 cause we were still on some kinda muddy dirt roads while headed back to the main highway to head home and while on the dirt road my front drive shaft made an INSANE POP i lost all control of the my steering and my front right tire locked in place and just skidded, then the front right tire went up an embankment dug into the ground and stopped while the back end came up off the ground and flipped us over onto our side. Once i got everyone safely out of the car i looked at the under body of my cruiser and my front drive shaft was twisted up like a cork-screw which greatly shortened so it came out of my front differential.

My question is, was this caused by the shop not properly installing the AIR locker? maybe they didnt put lubricant back into the front diff when they were done with the install? or something else i dont know about.

please i need any and all help so i can know what do next.

I plan on calling the shop and letting them know what happened and then having a third party garage diagnose the problem as best they can. i am bout to put the pictures on my computer and ill post those up momentarily.
 
That's wild, and the first time I've ever heard of it. You were in 4h, then shifted to 2h?
 
i was in 4h when it happend
 
Those photos aren't very helpful. Are both halves of the driveline still connected at their respective ends? Did the driveline just separate at the slip joint? Did you go over some kind of bump or hole just before the driveline popped? Is your truck lifted?

I'm thinking that your driveline may have just separated at the slip joint. I've seen that before on trucks that were lifted or had the wheelbase increased without lengthening of the driveline.
 
Were you hard on the gas when it locked up?
 
The front drive shaft stopped moving completely and twisted like a cork screw and came out of slip joint and is now about 6 inchecs shorter than it was. no i didnt hit any bump before the wreck. yea the truck is lifted with the OME 4inch lift but it has been lifted w/ no probs for several months.

yes i was on the gas but not flooring it or anything.
 
Duh, I don't know how I got that mixed up. It's obvious you were still in 4x4 on my 2nd read.
Anyway, what did you do to it to get it out of it's predicament? Just let a pro wrecker do it, or did you and some friends drag it home? With the driveshaft apart, did you notice that that right tire was still locked up? Like when being dragged onto the flatbed wrecker?
 
Once you open the diff that will tell you ... If its locked up then you know what happend... If it's not you got some digin to do. If the diff failed I would think both tires would lock up??? Make sure to ck the brakes on the side that locked up.... Maybe the were put together wrong or failed. Glad you and you riders are ok rolls are not an fun ride
 
I would be suspicious of the front wheel bearings on that locked up tire, the brakes etc. I would think catastrophic failure of the ARB would have locked both wheels and all it would do would be to seize the unit creating a permanent locked up front end. Like Wile E. said was it still locked up after it was uprighted?

Tony
 
I'd have a 3rd party shop do the teardown it if is your intent is to have the original shop recoup your damages.
 
Check to see that one of your drag link ends didn't come apart causing the wheel to lock to one side as you say..

Having the DS twist like that is not a specific symptom. Often if you nick the shaft while wheeling, it can buckle unpredictably when under load.

And do a post mortem on the entire front end. See whats bent, seized broken. I'll be very interested to see if there is oil in your differential. Is the drain plug in place? They frequently get knocked out when wheeling-I've seen that a half dozen times or so.
 
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Howdy! I had a somewhat similar experience, but at lower speed. Long story short, I had a LockRight in the front diff and it broke while moving under power. A piece of it wedged in the diff carrier window, which made everything on one side of the axle stop instantly. The force was enough to not only twist the splines on the outer end of my Longfield birf, but it sheared the inner axle shaft a the snapring. I would bet there is something real wrong in the diff, or you busted the right birf and it decided to lockup at a really lousy time for you. I would also guess that maybe the front air locker did not disengage properly. Hopefully your 3rd party shop can diagnose it for you, and not just offer a repair. Good Luck. John
 
Most likely the diff was not assembled correctly -loctite used - or even tightened - and something came apart. But it's got to come apart first to figure it out.

Post pix of the diff and axles when it's dissembled.
 
Yup^^ If something wedged itself between the diff housing and the carrier, it could cause just what you described. The TC would still try to turn the front d-shaft, leading to the twist. Those TC gears are tough, and it looks like the shaft took the brunt. However, I'd ask that the TC be looked at too, if that scenario pans out, and the installer( or even ARB, don't overlook that) is on the hook for fixing it's booboo.
 
Not to throw gas on the fire, but I have a great FJ60 body here inTx if you decide to repair it.
 
Glad all are OK ..

I read this this AM , Though about it ,
Glad all are OK ..

Worked on my POS 60 , thought about your post , HAd a better look..

Glad all are OK.

VT
 
I'm interested to see how this turns out, but it seems like a case of installer neglect. Even if the wheel bearings locked up while driving, the driveline should have been unaffected because the diff was supposed to be unlocked.

How fast were you driving when this happened?

Have it towed to the shop the ARB's were installed at and tell them to fix it, driveline and all.
 
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