Epic front end failure

[NCJeepin]

All I can say is wow.

A while back, I cracked the housing on my first trip offroad.

I was shocked by the extent of the damage.

I knew it was all shot, and I have a full replacement ready, but damn.

 

[Marlon_JB2]

Gotta have a login!

 

[NCJeepin]

not anymore!

 

[Marlon_JB2]

Oh (censored)!

Whoa!

 

[NCJeepin]

Keep in mind, the only thing I did in order to take the housing apart, was remove a bracket and the diff cover.. It litterally fell apart on the work bench

 

[osufans]

dang...what were you doing when that happened?

 

[Powerslave]

Was that one of those front wheel was up, spun, then came down, gripped and CRACK? Are these Jeeps really that weak?

 

[NCJeepin]

Powerslave, you hit the nail on the head... I was rock crawling, trying to get up a bad spot, and BAM

Honestly, I think it was a casting issue this time.. The jeep only has 40K miles.

 

[tjkj2002]

Are these Jeeps really that weak?

No,I wheeled the s%^t out of mine and never broke a front diff,no collar either,I however did grenade the L/F outer CV joint but the diff lived.I did have a DTT up front and learned how to use it.Driving skill(and lockers) is key to rock crawling.

 

[NCJeepin]

I've wheeled for over 10 years, from CJs to YJs to WJs and XJs, it wasn't due to driver error, I think the housing was doomed from the get go.. this is my second KJ and never had any offroad issues with my previous one, and wheeled with the LOST carolinas folks a few times, and was no where near as ******* my stuff as they are, just wasn't in the cards for this front end

 

[Marlon_JB2]

I agree about the casting issue, this doesn't look like your normal / typical diff crack.

 

[paullgj]

What kind of trail?

Ouch! What kind of trail were you on that caused this? Forest service? 10 rated Jeep trail?
Creek bed? 4 LO steep grade? I need to know as to not suffer the same fate!

Thanks. And, yes, I can identify with you situation. Bummer!

 

[tjkj2002]

I agree about the casting issue, this doesn't look like your normal / typical diff crack.

I'd disagree,those pics show how the pinion gear "walked" and cracked the housing,just like the others.

 

[ThunderbirdJunkie]

Ouch! What kind of trail were you on that caused this? Forest service? 10 rated Jeep trail?
Creek bed? 4 LO steep grade? I need to know as to not suffer the same fate!

Thanks. And, yes, I can identify with you situation. Bummer!

All you gotta do is keep wheelspin to a minimum and lay off the throttle

 

[Marlon_JB2]

I'd disagree,those pics show how the pinion gear "walked" and cracked the housing,just like the others.

I'm well aware of that. I know how it happens, but the HOW it cracked (the lines, places, pieces, etc) is what also makes me believe a casting issue.

It just doesn't look like the other cracked diffs I've seen.

 

[jnaut]

You know I was watching a documentary called "Steep" where these Ski mountaneers do crazy stuff on skis. They're all expert mountain climbers, world's top skiers etc.

One of the guys died before the film was even finished.

Anyhoo, they were interviewing one of the world leaders of this sport called Ski Mountaineering, and he said, the first time a friend dies, you think "well, there were these set of foreseeable circumstances..." then the next time a friend dies, he figured "yeah well, there were some errors made here on this trip, we can avoid that" then the next one dies who didn't seem to make any real errors, then the next one dies, then the next one dies, and so on and so forth. Eventually, you realize that there's only so much you can attribute to error, and you just have to accept that the mountain is bigger than you, and sometimes it wins.

 

[NCJeepin]

it shouldn't of happened where it happened. Granted I did raise a wheel and come back down spinning.. The terrain wasnt all that bad, it was a decent incline, in a curve, and had some very un even rocky formation in that curve, thats what made me pick the tire up, I've got a photo of the jeep in the area, but honestly it doesnt do it justice. That being said, it was no where near as bad as I would have expected for a breakage like this to occur.

 

[rockymountain]

You know I was watching a documentary called "Steep" where these Ski mountaneers do crazy stuff on skis. They're all expert mountain climbers, world's top skiers etc.

One of the guys died before the film was even finished.

Anyhoo, they were interviewing one of the world leaders of this sport called Ski Mountaineering, and he said, the first time a friend dies, you think "well, there were these set of foreseeable circumstances..." then the next time a friend dies, he figured "yeah well, there were some errors made here on this trip, we can avoid that" then the next one dies who didn't seem to make any real errors, then the next one dies, then the next one dies, and so on and so forth. Eventually, you realize that there's only so much you can attribute to error, and you just have to accept that the mountain is bigger than you, and sometimes it wins.

this is one thing I totally agree with. You think like I do jnaut. If you wheel you're gonna break...
I'm staying away from rocks fo sho.
At least you had fun doing it.

 

[Powerslave]

Powerslave, you hit the nail on the head... I was rock crawling, trying to get up a bad spot, and BAM

Honestly, I think it was a casting issue this time.. The jeep only has 40K miles.

Then this is a common casting issue, there is another person here that the same thing happened.

tjkj2002, yeah, you have a DDT locker? Yeah, you won't get the wheel spin with one wheel up like you would with the stock OPEN diff. So, your diff survived because you have the locker, as that's how they are supposed to work, right? Someone else here had the same thing happen to them, so, it's not an isolated incident. I then should have said "Are the stock front diffs really this weak." Ok?

NCJeepin: This can (and apparently does) happen any time you raise one front wheel and it spins. When it comes down and grips the pavement, that's when the shock occurs, and causes the torque to shift to inside the diff, causing the pinion gear to "walk" as they say. This is not the first time this has happened with stock front OPEN differential. Your 2005 doesn't have the ESP system...

 

[ridenby]

Interesting read,good pics,was wondering what had become of you.