broken longfield?

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Joined
Jul 10, 2015
Threads
4
Messages
59
Location
Australia
Hj60 2h turbo lunchbox lockers front and rear, PTO winch etc. Broke a genuine longfield 27spline cv/bifield, standard Toyota axle. No stupid driving, less than 10000km on them too
Outer bell hasn't cracked or broken, inner hub not broken, balls and cage pieces were floating in swivel.
I thought these were supposed to be stronger than the factory axles? Bad batch?
Any suggestions where to go from here rcv kit?
 
Original Longfields or the new Trailgear version?

What size tires and gearing?
 
33's 4.1 trailgear version, pretty pissed, might as well run std replacements and carry spares
 
That's what I do. Cheaper.
 
I broke 7 front axle shafts then went trail gear and never had a problem since. maybe the odd clicking. welded front w/35" muds

Trail gear might be honoring the shafts if you still have your receipt? I know I kept mine :)
 
my 30 spline supersets have lasted 10 years no problems with diff locks and 35" tyres I used to break a birf every second weekend before I installed them, maybe a bad batch from trailgear or shockloading from the autolocker?


quite unusual for just the balls and cage to fail without everything else exploding?
 
Yes strange, never killed a stock one either, I think the rcv kit might be the next step but is exxy
 
High mileage (+5,000) Chromoly Birfields tend to start clicking, then soon thereafter have a catastrophic failure (e.g. push the balls out of the cage on a turn). The bell isn't usually cracked when they break because they are usually not hardened to the degree of a factory bell (usually 55-58). This means the tracks for the ball bearings tend to oblong over time, where the factory do not. This is the inherent trade off in any Birfield type CV joint. Generally the Toyota hub should break into a thousand pieces before you put enough torque through a Longfield to break it. It's not uncommon in rock crawler land to get 2-3 seasons out of a set of Chromo Birfs before they start clicking.

I was out there at the Hammers many moons back (2005) when Bobby was still alive. He had the machine testing various axle shaft combos which was awesome. I also changed two Birfields that weekend.

Sorry Aussies, this wasn't available in N/M.

PRODUCT ................................ FT.LB. TORQUE / DEGREE TWIST

Yukon 4340 Dana 60 35 spline short side axle ...12,000 / 130
Stock Dana 60 35 spline short side axle .........6,500 / 35
Yukon 4340 Dana 44 30 spline short side axle ....5,800 / 35
Stock dana 44 30 spline .........................5,000 / 35
Yukon 4340 Birfield Eliminator kit (ear failure) 5,500 / 50
Longfield 4340 30 spline (shaft failure) ........8,500 / 175
Longfield 4340 27 spline ........................6,500 / 75
Stock Toyota Birfield ...........................4,200 / 45
Stock Toyota Inner Axle .........................5,000 / 45
All Pro "Profield" ..............................3,500 / 30
Stock toyota Transfer Case Output Shaft .........2,500 / 65
Longfield treated Transfer case output shaft ....2,500 / 20
Longfield 4340 Transfer Case Output Shaft .......4,000 / 25
All Pro Transfer Case Output Shaft ..............2,500 / 60
Marlin "treated" Transfer Case Output Shaft .....2,500 / 10
Stock Toyota Hub ................................5,800/
Longfield Treated Toy Hub .......................6,800/
Stock Toyota Flange .............................6,000/
Longfield 4340 Flange ...........................Didn't test


Bobby Longs Axle Breaking Machine Results - Pirate4x4.Com : 4x4 and Off-Road Forum

The factory Birfields are through-hardened steel. They last forever when it comes to wear, but tend to explode under shock loads. The Rockwell Hardness of a factory Birf is something around 65-68 which is as hard as the ball bearings inside it.

So essentially if you want to drive in 4x4 a lot, the stock is better suited. If you want to rock crawl Chromoly is better suited.


As far as RCV: I will word this carefully - you will not see a significant difference between RCV Birfields and Longfield Joints.
 
Never clicked, just stopped driving, never heard it either, over the normal pops,and clicks the lockers make, likely 2-3000k's in 4wd, vehicle total k's be 8000 since fitted, I'm mindful of being delicate, so looks like stock ones will be the go
Most of the wheeling I do is rock, maybe a Dana 60 willbe on the cards
 
Love to post pics, not sure how, don't have photobucket account
 
Pics upload how to: click "upload file" below the reply text window, click "choose file", navigate to the appropriate folder and picture, select it and done.

toyotaoldlogo01.gif
 
tmp_9212-DSC_0077-639797527.webp


tmp_8474-DSC_0077-1213098554.webp
 
I emailed seller, see what happens, is a month or so out of warranty
I notice the seller no longer sells these....
 
No warranty as I suspected, trail gear has a very strict warranty policy (necessary for them to stay afloat with sub par parts i might add) seller has recommended "much stronger rcv 30spline cv/axle's". Well as the racecar has eaten up all the fun tickets, might be a while till she gets those.
 
Outside the 12 month timeframe...
Bought in august 2015
 
1 year warranty?! Wow, that's a long way from Bobby's lifetime warranty. TG trashed the Longfield name.
 
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