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I believe he broke the ring gear not pinion. A good strong locker will still give you the same failure.
^defintitely worth understanding the cause & effect of front dif failure in 4pin dif. @paflytyer gave a good explantion on 4pin ring gear deflection in his build thread (and some good notes on a list of tools to carry for the inevitable)
I want to know if adjusting to reduce backlash would help deflection?
The weak link in the drive line to reduce shock load to other components points to the OEM ring gear. Adding a locker and a stronger gear with more teeth (example: Nitro 4.88) maybe transfers the torque and shock load further into the driveline. Saves the ring gear but chernoybles something else. Question becomes what's more expensive or easier (least amount of labor involved) to repair- ring gear, output shaft, cv axle? Ring gear is not an expensive part, but the labor to change it is.
Not discussed much as a contributing factor is driving technique, which IMO plays as big a role as component weakness and is probably the cheapest insurance to upgrade individual skill set: driving low rpm and slow, picking good lines, managing wheel spin ( like left foot braking technique when a wheel is in the air).
Unfortunate that in the OPs case hidden ice under snow causing momentary wheel slip and re-engagement was probably unavoidable. I split a t-case in half on my old Willie's in a similar event.
I want to know if adjusting to reduce backlash would help deflection?
The weak link in the drive line to reduce shock load to other components points to the OEM ring gear. Adding a locker and a stronger gear with more teeth (example: Nitro 4.88) maybe transfers the torque and shock load further into the driveline. Saves the ring gear but chernoybles something else. Question becomes what's more expensive or easier (least amount of labor involved) to repair- ring gear, output shaft, cv axle? Ring gear is not an expensive part, but the labor to change it is.
Not discussed much as a contributing factor is driving technique, which IMO plays as big a role as component weakness and is probably the cheapest insurance to upgrade individual skill set: driving low rpm and slow, picking good lines, managing wheel spin ( like left foot braking technique when a wheel is in the air).
Unfortunate that in the OPs case hidden ice under snow causing momentary wheel slip and re-engagement was probably unavoidable. I split a t-case in half on my old Willie's in a similar event.
