Grenaded birfield w/pics

[shfd739]

Yesterday I went over to an off road ranch and while showing off in front a bunch of Jeep owners grenaded the driver birfield. I was able to pull the axle and drive home. Spinning the front wheels with the locker engaged is a bad idea.

I did the service ~3 months ago and the moly all looked good and it felt fine at the time. I hadnt noticed any clicking or abnormal sounds. One guy said he thought he heard a clicking after lunch but I didnt hear it; he told me that after it broke. Had I known sooner I wouldve headed home.

Still had fun. I cleared an obstacle/climb that nothing larger than a Jeep/FJC had cleared before. Surprised alot of the Jeep owners with the big beast in the woods.

The two pieces of cage are the largest parts left besides the balls. The inner shaft is worn down almost smooth with some heat marking on the very end. Im thinking it is from the breaking, I cant think of what would have caused the marking up till breaking as it was all put together properly not long ago and packed full of moly.

The inside of the bell is nicked up and no longer good.

Lessons learned:

Work on your junk. Due to having done a PM I knew what to do so I could get home without calling a wrecker.

Keep all the tools needed in the truck. I had the nut socket, a rechargeable impact gun, all the needed sockets etc. Need to add a pair of snap ring pliers

Oh and Dont spin wheels with the diff locked.

I hate that I broke the axle but Im proud that I was able to break it down, effect repairs and get home on my own.

So anyone know a cheap source for a driver side inner and outer axle?

 

[caldentey]

Just looking out for you here... get some real jack stands or at the very least throw the tire under the frame so your head doesn't get squashed like a grape when that thing shifts

 

[Lka1988]

Is that 2nd-to-last pic the inner axle splines?

 

[4x4CPOSEADOG]

Just looking out for you here... get some real jack stands or at the very least throw the tire under the frame so your head doesn't get squashed like a grape when that thing shifts

And at least 6Ton jack stands just to be safe. Northern Tools/HF carry them with low prices.

 

[Brian894X4]

That's interesting that the bell held together and no twisting on the splines. I'm more familiar with mini-truck birf failures and this is the first Land Cruiser one that I've seen. On the mini-trucks the bells usually fail and/or the splines twist off. The mini-trucks (even the solid axles) have small 27 splines where they go into the birf. Do the LCs have larger splines here? Also the bells on the LCs look a lot beefier.

Looks like the cage is the weak point. Which is a good thing. You'd hate to be digging bell pieces out that mared up the knuckle. Was this a stock OEM birf?

I'm curious now...have to do a search on other LC birf failures to see if they are roughly the same.

 

[shfd739]

Just looking out for you here... get some real jack stands or at the very least throw the tire under the frame so your head doesn't get squashed like a grape when that thing shifts

Tire/wheel was wedged under the front axle. I had just pulled it out to remount when I thought to take a picture. Didnt help I was 2 1/2 hours from home and my good stands. I was being safe. I knew I would get a comment.

That's interesting that the bell held together and no twisting on the splines. I'm more familiar with mini-truck birf failures and this is the first Land Cruiser one that I've seen. On the mini-trucks the bells usually fail and/or the splines twist off. The mini-trucks (even the solid axles) have small 27 splines where they go into the birf. Do the LCs have larger splines here? Also the bells on the LCs look a lot beefier.

Looks like the cage is the weak point. Which is a good thing. You'd hate to be digging bell pieces out that mared up the knuckle. Was this a stock OEM birf?

I'm curious now...have to do a search on other LC birf failures to see if they are roughly the same.

Yep stock birfs with 179k miles on them. Glad the bell held up but even with the star/cage breaking there were a ton of pieces I dug out.

 

[cool breeze]

Where were you wheeling at? Was the wheel at full lock?

Im in town and can lend a hand wrenching, just give me a call. ill pm you my number.

 

[shfd739]

Where were you wheeling at? Was the wheel at full lock?

Im in town and can lend a hand wrenching, just give me a call. ill pm you my number.

We were at Brazos Valley Off Road Ranch in Bryan. I might need help putting it all back together. Bear80 gave me a lead on used axles Ill check out tommorow.

I just found out there was vid of it:.

 

[ralphy1997]

Did the fact that you were running wheel spacers have anything to do with it? I've been thinking about spacers but always wondered how the difference in angles might affect things (torque in bad places).

 

[Ebag333]

Reverse + Locked + Power = Broken stuff

You're lucking you didn't break something in the diff.

 

[Bear80]

I don't think you did anything out of the ordinary. I've spun the s*** out of my 36's locked up going backwards up a steep ass hill. I think the problem was worn birfs more than anything, then the right combo of torque and turning did them in. Sort of off topic here but never cross a dip straight on, try to angle the exit slightly to prevent a hang up. Keep us posted in the club corner if there is anything else you need.

 

[80t0ylc]

I don't think you did anything out of the ordinary...... I think the problem was worn birfs more than anything, then the right combo of torque and turning did them in. ........

X2, plus if you listen closely you can hear a tell-tale click or metallic chink about 10-15 seconds before it lets loose. Both times the wheels were cranked in reverse. I think maybe it cracked all the way through on the first chink, and continual torque with the wheels cranked finished it off.

......One guy said he thought he heard a clicking after lunch but I didnt hear it; he told me that after it broke. Had I known sooner I wouldve headed home.........

I'm with you there. Makes you want to get out the stethoscope before you hit the trails. Good job getting it home with out a tow job!

 

[Ebag333]

I don't think you did anything out of the ordinary. I've spun the s*** out of my 36's locked up going backwards up a steep ass hill. I think the problem was worn birfs more than anything, then the right combo of torque and turning did them in.

No doubt it's due to the worn birf.....but I still say he's lucky the birf went and not the front diff.

Not the best thing to back-up with a locked front diff. High-pinion or not. It's about a push between the early trucks and a high-pinion 80. In an early truck you shatter a bell and in a high-pinion you shear teeth.

Take your pick.

I avoid backing up with a locked front whenever possible, especially if I have to turn to back up. It's just smart, especially when someone's sitting right there who can give you a tug.

Sort of off topic here but never cross a dip straight on, try to angle the exit slightly to prevent a hang up.

Sound advice.

 

[shfd739]

I don't think you did anything out of the ordinary. I've spun the **** out of my 36's locked up going backwards up a steep ass hill. I think the problem was worn birfs more than anything, then the right combo of torque and turning did them in. Sort of off topic here but never cross a dip straight on, try to angle the exit slightly to prevent a hang up. Keep us posted in the club corner if there is anything else you need.

This of kind of what I thought. Ive seen and heard of people doing more axle stressing things than this with no problems.

The birfs were probably getting worn and just had not started the noise making in regular driving to tip me off. That was the hardest on the truck trail day Ive had so Im sure that did it in.

Lesson learned about locked front,turned hard and wheelspin.

Looks like Ill come out of it relatively cheap as Ive found some good used axles and I know the limitations to not do it again.

Im still pretty new to the mechanical traction adders and what can and cant be done. Last truck was an FJC w/ ATRAC that could be spun like crazy. Before that was an open diff pickup.

Thanks for not beating on me too bad about it.

 

[Grench]

Tire/wheel was wedged under the front axle. I had just pulled it out to remount when I thought to take a picture. Didnt help I was 2 1/2 hours from home and my good stands. I was being safe. I knew I would get a comment.

We all do what we need to do with what we have where we're at. At least you were thinking about it and got something in there as a buffer.

Now... to the next level. If you study the 80's drive line, something starts to become clear... An 80, with all diffs unlocked, with one wheel in the air, while in park, can and will roll. Never trust the parking brake.

I'm betting you had a chock on the PS rear wheel. Everyone knows they should use a jack stand. The fact that Park means nothing when a wheel is in the air, that's often ignored.

IMHO YMMV etc...

 

[gotmud]

Tearing that down in your driveway sure beats doing it trailside!

 

[shfd739]

Tearing that down in your driveway sure beats doing it trailside!

Only reason Im in a driveway is cuz a relative lives 8 mins from the trail head. Otherwise it would have been trailside.

One wheel in the air. Tire under the frame,center diff was locked. If I didnt think it was safe I wouldnt have been under it. I still limited exposure under the truck.


So what is the difference between front locker inner axle shafts and non locker shafts?