Front Diff Isolation: Getting home with a broken diff

[gungriffin]

@gungriffin I was thinking about how it could be done the last time I had CVs out, good to know you have a field tested method. Nice of the CV to break it a way that made it a bit simpler.

It worked out quite well. Especially since it broke in a way that allowed me to continue forward on the trail. We were only about 3 hours in on a 12 hour trail run that day. I completed Golden Spike (7 of 10 difficulty) with only the 3 drive wheels. That got interesting at points!

Oh and just for anyone wondering, this was the final day of Cruise Moab and I drove my truck home from Moab to Denver that way. There was no issue with having one broken CV, one intact CV, and driving home in essentially RWD. I just locked the center diff and drove home on I70.

 

[abuck99]

Thanks- everything in my front driveline is fresh with the exception of the diff internals hence my concern over going to the effort to mill some flange bores and carry along simply to save the bearings and spindle from water & debris.

Andy’s (@AimCOtaco) post with ziploc bag suggestion made perfect sense to me. Thats what I needed to know.

Thanks guys

 

[BadReligion]

It worked out quite well. Especially since it broke in a way that allowed me to continue forward on the trail. We were only about 3 hours in on a 12 hour trail run that day. I completed Golden Spike (7 of 10 difficulty) with only the 3 drive wheels. That got interesting at points!

Oh and just for anyone wondering, this was the final day of Cruise Moab and I drove my truck home from Moab to Denver that way. There was no issue with having one broken CV, one intact CV, and driving home in essentially RWD. I just locked the center diff and drove home on I70.

Your story was what I was thinking about when I asked that question at the start of this thread. Me and @lelandEOD were supposed to be on that run too in my 80 but had to bail when everyone was airing down because my wife went into labor and we had to get back to Reno ASAP (we did, with literally 30 min to spare).

I hope to be back at Cruise Moab next year and maybe with my 100. Golden Spike is #1 on the list.

 

[medtro]

C. 'B' but for style points you swap diffs back and forth with your friend so you can say you drove the whole trail unassisted.

Why swapping diffs when CV is grenaded?

 

[tiptoez]

When my front diff let go, I removed the front shaft & flanges, locked the cdl and had duct tape covering the hubs. Drove for 6 months like that until I could get around to replacing the diff.

 

[gungriffin]

Your story was what I was thinking about when I asked that question at the start of this thread. Me and @lelandEOD were supposed to be on that run too in my 80 but had to bail when everyone was airing down because my wife went into labor and we had to get back to Reno ASAP (we did, with literally 30 min to spare).

I hope to be back at Cruise Moab next year and maybe with my 100. Golden Spike is #1 on the list.

You picked a good year to skip Cruise! I am looking forward to getting back out there next year.

When my front diff let go, I removed the front shaft & flanges, locked the cdl and had duct tape covering the hubs. Drove for 6 months like that until I could get around to replacing the diff.

That is good to know that you were able to put some miles on it in that condition and state of repair. That would certainly get people off of the trail then.

 

[bentambling]

Here's the dealio: I think there are probably a million recommendations for swapping in the ARB locker (or similar) ASAP after purchasing a 100 on 'MUD. That, right there, eliminates 99% of the risk of having to wonder about how to...get home after the front diff blows.

Its the BEST insurance investment you could possibly do for yourself if you: A) Don't like trail side fixes; B) Venture away from tow truck ability; C) don't have patience, time or $/$$/$$$ for A or B.

Or you could ignore all the experienced advice on this forum and roll the dice. Then, and its "when" not "if", you'll soon join the discipleship after you fix everything that broke...and then install the ARB anyway.

Why front locker helps not to damage or blow the front diff?