Pictures of my broken rear end
- Thread starter Zarr
- Start date
svtpickemup
Active member
Deja Vu.
Mine poped, then I drove 45 miles home to fix it. Looked like shrapnel.
Mine poped, then I drove 45 miles home to fix it. Looked like shrapnel.
Bimota Guy
Member
Been there as well. Often the "ears" break off the clutches as well. Looks like the ring gear is good, so presumably so is the pinion.
yeah, the ring and pinion both look fine from what I can tell. I know the clutches were already shot before the spiders went as well. I drove the truck home about 25 miles after this all happened. It goes down the road straight just fine, but it doesn't like corners too much. 
oh well....Eaton it is. I'm also thinking about throwing a 4:30 into it as long as I'm in there. we'll see.
oh yeah....the rear main has developed a nice leak too.
oh well....Eaton it is. I'm also thinking about throwing a 4:30 into it as long as I'm in there. we'll see.
oh yeah....the rear main has developed a nice leak too.
OK, after seeing all these people with spider gear problems I have come to a question.... What's the deal? Why are these trucks breaking rearend pieces? I mean the diff. is basically the same as a Mustang, just more case strenghth.
How come these trucks seem to be prone to breaking rearends, but Mustangs hold up fairly well unless an axel snaps? True the trucks out weight the cars by about 1500 lbs. but manual transmissions seem to shock the tires harder.
Not saying that Mustangs and the like don't break rearend parts, but not usually spider gears. It just seems to me like there is a very common problem here that shouldn't be... or am I the only person that thinks this?
How come these trucks seem to be prone to breaking rearends, but Mustangs hold up fairly well unless an axel snaps? True the trucks out weight the cars by about 1500 lbs. but manual transmissions seem to shock the tires harder.
Not saying that Mustangs and the like don't break rearend parts, but not usually spider gears. It just seems to me like there is a very common problem here that shouldn't be... or am I the only person that thinks this?
CarolinaLightning
Windsor+Boost = :)
I honestly just think its the weight difference between a mustang and a Lightning. Also it seems weird how some of the trucks with less mods have blew the rears while some others that are raced often havent had a failure yet.
Billy
Billy
Thundrn_Lightning
Romans 10: 9-13
Yeah, did that twice in mine.....and the truck was basically stock! Ok, the second time it had a little 100 shot of juice, but that was it.
I believe that the problem lies in the weight of the truck, great traction, and an engineering blunder of the diff itself. Weight plus big tires enables good traction, and thus all of the speed differentiating from side to side is done by that diff. No tire slip. That generates heat. Heat is bad. Add lots of engine torque and the diff has a tougher time keeping up. You can guess what it generates.....more heat. Note that the ribs on the bottom of the axle housing are specifically there to dissipate heat. And ever wonder why 75W-140 full synthetic is required? Heat. I've burned 75W-90 in my truck one time when I put it in by accident. Now, the engineering blunder.....most likely a manufacturing thing. If you ever disassemble your stock traction lock, take a look where the clutch "ears" align into the diff case. Especially note where the base of the ears fall. The base of the ears are generally radiused to the outer circumference of the clutch disc. Now, note that the diff case has a sharp edge that will dig into the base of that clutch ear. Over time when the clutches loosen up, the clutches tend to move around. In the movement process, the radius at the base of the ears whack into the sharp edge of the case, causing small "dents" into the clutch ear material. That, in turn, creates a stress riser, and it's all over but the cryin'. That is why the ears break off, and we all see the pics of the aftermath. If anyone is bent on rebuilding a stock traction lock, it would be in one's best interest to radius the corner of the diff case where it digs into the clutch ears. That would be a little preventative maintenance. However, IMHO, the stock traction lock is still waaaaaay weak. You'd simply be "polishing a turd".
Whew. Tired of typing now! Hope that helps somebody.
Later!
I believe that the problem lies in the weight of the truck, great traction, and an engineering blunder of the diff itself. Weight plus big tires enables good traction, and thus all of the speed differentiating from side to side is done by that diff. No tire slip. That generates heat. Heat is bad. Add lots of engine torque and the diff has a tougher time keeping up. You can guess what it generates.....more heat. Note that the ribs on the bottom of the axle housing are specifically there to dissipate heat. And ever wonder why 75W-140 full synthetic is required? Heat. I've burned 75W-90 in my truck one time when I put it in by accident. Now, the engineering blunder.....most likely a manufacturing thing. If you ever disassemble your stock traction lock, take a look where the clutch "ears" align into the diff case. Especially note where the base of the ears fall. The base of the ears are generally radiused to the outer circumference of the clutch disc. Now, note that the diff case has a sharp edge that will dig into the base of that clutch ear. Over time when the clutches loosen up, the clutches tend to move around. In the movement process, the radius at the base of the ears whack into the sharp edge of the case, causing small "dents" into the clutch ear material. That, in turn, creates a stress riser, and it's all over but the cryin'. That is why the ears break off, and we all see the pics of the aftermath. If anyone is bent on rebuilding a stock traction lock, it would be in one's best interest to radius the corner of the diff case where it digs into the clutch ears. That would be a little preventative maintenance. However, IMHO, the stock traction lock is still waaaaaay weak. You'd simply be "polishing a turd".
Whew. Tired of typing now! Hope that helps somebody.
Later!
Last edited:
