Tell your broken axle stories

[thixon]

Just how weak are rover axles in everyones opinion? I've never broken one, but I know others have. What were the circumstances when you broke it? If you've converted to something else, what was it, and how are they working out? Just curious/wanted to start a new thread.

[Eric W S]

Merc Jim did a study on the 10 splines and the LR axles are good. It appears as if the diameter is the weak link, not the construction or material.

[BackInA88]

Let my 17 year old daughter drive my truck for the first time.
She backed out of the drive, put it in 1st, let out the clutch and BANG!!
Right at the bottom of the drive!

Engage the hubs, put in it in 4x4 and pulled it back in the garage.
Short first trip for her.:D

[Mercedesrover]

I sent an original Land Rover axle out for composition analysis and destructive testing a year or two ago. I wrote something up about it on this board I thought but can't find it. Anyway, as said, these shafts are pretty decent, all things considered. The weakness comes from being a relatively hard shaft with the combination of a small diameter. Failures occur from work hardening and in the end all original Land Rover shafts will succomb to this. They're a good shaft, and good enough for people with small tires that don't off-road too much. Even so, the shafts should be changed every 20k-30k miles and a spare set should be carried along.

With bigger tires or moderate to heavy off-road use you're best off to upgrade to something stronger. Here's what I use:

http://seriestrek.com/axle/shafts2.jpg

http://seriestrek.com/axle/shafts3.jpg

[yorker]

They aren't just small in diameter- the coarse splines concentrate stress at the bottom of the spline. They are made of a good material as per Jim's analysis but they are just too small for the work that is asked of them. What is the closest US axle design? Dana 30? Heck even the Dana 30 has more splines...

They are somewhat similar to US 1/4 ton Jeep axles from the '40s and '50s.

Somewhere I have a bunch of these axles that have broken or are close to breaking, when I get a chance this summer I'll but up some comparative photos.


They often will start to twist when you apply a lot of torque- like when offroading but won't break right away- you'll find they'll pop at a stoplight on the way home or some other inconvenient time. I'd check them at every oil change and after ever serious offroading event.

[leafsprung]

They are comparable to a samurai axle which is 1.09 but finer spline. (and the sammurai guys swap those out)

[Tim Smith]

My most recent breakage was about 6 months ago (uh oh, has it been that long already?) while on my way to work.

I was taking a little side road that exits at a steep angle onto a steep hill. There must have been 3 or 4 cars behind me. As I proceeded away from the stop sign, I got about 10 feet forward and *BANG*. I knew what it was and immediately started laughing to myself as I held the truck on the brakes.

Unfortunately I had the front hubs unlocked and couldn't do anything but roll back wards. So I waved the franticly late driver behind me to go around and began my decent off the side of the road and into the woods adjoining it. Also unfortunate for me, there weren't any rocks or other decent obstacles to hold the truck against such that I could hop out and lock them. So further into the woods I rolled.

By the time I stopped (in someones woods about 30' from the road) there must have been at least 10 cars at the stop sign all gaping at me as if I had gone mad or had one too many before heading out the door that morning. Half of them were on their cell phones to what I can only presume were the cops.

I hopped out, locked the hubs, hopped in again and proceeded to exit back onto the road. The nice thing was, no one tried to cut me off. The bad thing was, I could now hear police sirens in the area.

:D :p :D

[yorker]

I'd be curious to see how they held up on Bobby Long's machine- anyone have any to send him to pop? Mine are all under 3' of snow and ice... Jim- you must have a spare front axleshaft and drive flange laying around from your 88 or current 109 project?

[JAy]

I had just gotten my truck, I was I think 19 years old. I had had the truck for about a month and I was at a party at a friends place. When we were leaving I backed onto his lawn, put it in first and dropped the clutch. But the wheels didn't move. I locked in the hubs and drove home, wondering what I had done to my new toy. It was easy enough to figure out, and I asked around to get some new shafts through the usual chain a newbie goes through (notes on trucks around town). About a week later and a bunch of notes and phone calls, someone I didn't know showed up at my door with a new set of rear axles. They were thicker than my old ones, they didn't reduce in diameter at the end of the plines like the ones I originally had in the truck. I ran them for about 5 years with no problems, lots of off roading, but with fairly small 30" tires. They are still in the truck, but it's been in my garage since then, having the motor rebuilt in my typical procrastinating fashion.

[Jeff Aronson]

The first time an axle shaft broke on me was in the early 90's, about 3 years after I bought the QE I, my '66 Series II-A 88" SW.

I sat at a traffic light in Springfield, VT, hundreds of miles from home in Maine, and when I started up the car would not go - no noise, just no go. I rolled the car back near a sidewalk, found a pay phone and called Rovers North. Lanny Clark told me to lock the front hubs. if that didn't do it, then I had a more serious problem in the transmission. The locked hubs/4 wheel drive lever did the trick. The next day, while I worked in Chester, VT, the shafts arrived and a local gas station helped put them in.

Later that decade, an axle broke with a more traditional bang, again on pavement. It took East Coast Rover to help me out because the shaft end seemed embedded into the differential. Then, in 2005, another one broke with a bang on a below zero morning, and 80 miles later, I was back home. Again, it would only come up with a lot of prodding at ECR.

What I've learned is that in virtually every instance, the axle gives you lots of hints that it is operating loosely in the axle tube. There's plenty of clunking on takeoff, so I was never surprised. The excess movement causes a lot of wear, compounded by the 400,000 + miles on the differentials.

On a few occasions in the 500,000 miles I've owned the car, I've actually taken the 10 minutes or so required to remove both axle sharts and look them over. If the splines are worn, I've replaced them before they break. Preventative maintenance can go a long way to reducing the likelihood of axle breakage.

But, of course, I will now suffer a broken axle - just for claiming otherwise :)

Jeff

[Tim Smith]

Sometimes it's not the axle at all.

I've had the hub connection plate thingy fail once. You know, it's the receiving end on the outer side of the axle. In that case, the truck kinda' wanted to go but of course wouldn't. That was perhaps the easiest one to fix. And for some strange reason I was actually carrying the part with me. :D

[Saxondog]

So has rover remedied this short coming on the later Disco , Rangie axles?

[yorker]

The RRC , Disco and D90 were full time 4wd so that reduced the stress on the 10 spline rear axle. Later they changed to 24 spline 1.24"(?) axles which were also stronger. The Series Rovers never benefited from this during their production but some were fitted with Salisbury rear axles which are essentially a 1.24": 24 spline Dana 60 or ENV axles which were related to Eaton axles and very HD.

[jp-]

My first (and only) experience with a broken axle (not really an axle break)was when my father was rolling down the driveway in the 109" and he accidentally let the clutch out. There was a great BANG. He locked the hubs and pulled back up the driveway. This was probably around 1992. A few years earlier, he and my uncle went in on 2 sets of custom rear axles. I don't know who made them, but they were guaranteed not to break.

When we tried to remove the axles (that we thought were broken) they would not come out. In fact, they were so tight, that we had to use an engine hoist, chained to the axle. The engine hoist was laid sideways and was pressing against the rear tire as it "jacked" out the axle. I wish I had a photo. It worked and the axles broke free. Neither axle was broken. Both were twisted about 20-30 degrees on each end at the splines. The differential was destroyed. A few days later my father ordered a Salisbury diff from RN. It is still under the 109" and is doing great. I also still have those twisted axles and the blown diff.

[jp-]

My most recent breakage was about 6 months ago (uh oh, has it been that long already?) while on my way to work.

I was taking a little side road that exits at a steep angle onto a steep hill. There must have been 3 or 4 cars behind me. As I proceeded away from the stop sign, I got about 10 feet forward and *BANG*. I knew what it was and immediately started laughing to myself as I held the truck on the brakes.

Unfortunately I had the front hubs unlocked and couldn't do anything but roll back wards. So I waved the franticly late driver behind me to go around and began my decent off the side of the road and into the woods adjoining it. Also unfortunate for me, there weren't any rocks or other decent obstacles to hold the truck against such that I could hop out and lock them. So further into the woods I rolled.

By the time I stopped (in someones woods about 30' from the road) there must have been at least 10 cars at the stop sign all gaping at me as if I had gone mad or had one too many before heading out the door that morning. Half of them were on their cell phones to what I can only presume were the cops.

I hopped out, locked the hubs, hopped in again and proceeded to exit back onto the road. The nice thing was, no one tried to cut me off. The bad thing was, I could now hear police sirens in the area.




Tim,

I'm just guessing here, but maybe you should have a look at your emergency brake?:D

[JAy]

The drive shaft e-brake won't work if your wheels aren't connected to your diff anymore.

[jp-]

The drive shaft e-brake won't work if your wheels aren't connected to your diff anymore.


DUH, hello! It's been one of those days...sorry:rolleyes:

[Tim Smith]

The drive shaft e-brake won't work if your wheels aren't connected to your diff anymore.
You are right there but JP might know more about my truck than he leads on. My ebrake hasn't worked properly in years.

[yorker]

you mean you travel around with a big rock to put under your tires too?

[Tim Smith]

you mean you travel around with a big rock to put under your tires too? You too, eh? :D

Looks like you and I just shifted gear on the forum. Hooray, now I'm in forth.

It apears you've got a 5 speed though. Hmph, show off! :p

[yorker]

You too, eh? :D

Looks like you and I just shifted gear on the forum. Hooray, now I'm in forth.

It apears you've got a 5 speed though. Hmph, show off! :p

5th gear?! I don't drive anythig with a 5 speed! ;)

My brake has been toast for a while- the backing plate got all screwed up last summer when I got high centered on a rock while fording a stream- Ike Goss really needs to make up some under body protection for the tranny/ transfer case...:thumb-up:

[scott]

I had PD for about two months. Driving her inspired Jeff to get the QM back on the road. Our first trip together in a pair of '64 IIa SWB hit the big dirt hill on the south side of nine-mile hill west of Albuquerque. Did some impressive climbing for a couple of old trucks but after the adrenalin rush that follows a successful run came that little voice saying try that one over there. Taking a diagonal run up a steepy that instead of a two track had 18" ruts about every four feet. These ruts caused PD to sort of teeter going up. left rear left the ground and with the accelerator fully depressed, the right rear buried and when the left returned to terra firm the might of those 72 screaming horse transferred to the buried right rear and bang!. Axle didn't break but did twist a bit. The spider gears however exploded into more pieces than we could count. Now I have a front wheel drive series that I can't get out of low range and the 10 mile trip home was done at a top speed of 20 mph. I now have new 10 splines and a Detroit TRUTRAK. When the money isn't so rare I'll move the TRUTRAK to the front and put a Detroit Locker w/ 24 splined axles on the rear.

[TeriAnn]

Font axles:

#1 snapped when going through deep snow.
#2 Pulled front axles to replce broken front R&P gears & discovered a twisted front axle which I replaced before it broke.

I currently have 24 spline front axles & stronger 4.75:1 R&P gears.


Rear axles:

#1 while dragging a chicken shed up a hill (4WD)
#2 dry level pavement making a left turn from a stop sign. (2WD)
#3 coming out of a rocky stream crossing (4WD)
#4 dry pavement making a turn (2WD)
#5 drive pavement making a turn from a stop (2WD)
#6 climbing a hill of loose stuff when a tyre suddenly found good traction (4WD)
#7 climbing a steep dirt driveway in my own back yard (2WD)

After #7 I swapped in a Salisbury and have not broken a rear axle in the last decade.

[LaneRover]

So far I have only broken a rear axle. I did it in 2wd turning into the alley behind my apartment in Ocean Beach part of San Diego. Luckily there was enough of a lip between the alley and the road so I didn't have to roll all the way back into the road to lock the front axle.

Brent

[printjunky]

At UMaine, and I had no reverse at the time (this was about '95 in my 2nd Ser. III), so I had to park in the distant lots along the Stillwater, so I'd be assured of being able to pull through and be facing out of the spot, and have a good exit.

I was showing the Rover off to a cute microbiology major (she wasn't that impressed) and upon takeoff, on the flat, dry pavement, got the dreaded loud clunk. Put the hubs in and drove off. The behind-the-barn-find Rover came with a ton of spares including a couple of spare shafts. Changed it within a few days, after class in that same parking lot, if I remember correctly.

Got the girl to take the lead in a play I was directing, but that's it.

[I Leak Oil]

I've taken out twisted axles before but never broke one. Went down past Hartford CT for a trail run a few years back. Upon entering the trail from the road I put it in lowrange, started to move out and heard a faint metalic "ping". Thought it was just a stone or stick kicked up underneath somewhere. Kept going but was getting frustrated because even the smallest ditches were presenting me problems. I remember one of the guys standing on the side of the trail saying "this guy is gonna break something" because I kept having to give the thing so much gas to get anywhere. So I'm thinking to myself that this guy doesn't know jack....About an hour later I come to a set of cross axle gullies that go up a slight hill, just about to the top and all of a sudden I lose all forward momentum and the engine starts racing....I go nowhere! Had to unlock the front hubs because the front end was locked solid. So the guy that owns Classic 4X4 tows me out of the woods with his RRC and I call a tow truck from the local DPW parking lot. I have AAA premium which covers 100 miles of towing per shot. It's 99 miles back to my house!
Well it was busted spider gears in the rear diff. and missing ring gear teeth in the front diff. This is the ONLY time in 14 years I haven't been able to drive my truck home under it's own power.
This was when I was much less experienced to know what that "ping" was. Today when I hear that type of sound I chalk it up to paranoia but tell my wife and friends it's "experience".
Jason T.

[pvkd]

I sent an original Land Rover axle out for composition analysis and destructive testing a year or two ago. I wrote something up about it on this board I thought but can't find it. Anyway, as said, these shafts are pretty decent, all things considered. The weakness comes from being a relatively hard shaft with the combination of a small diameter. Failures occur from work hardening and in the end all original Land Rover shafts will succomb to this. They're a good shaft, and good enough for people with small tires that don't off-road too much. Even so, the shafts should be changed every 20k-30k miles and a spare set should be carried along.

With bigger tires or moderate to heavy off-road use you're best off to upgrade to something stronger. Here's what I use:

http://seriestrek.com/axle/shafts2.jpg

http://seriestrek.com/axle/shafts3.jpg

Do you have any experience whit the robustness of a Salisbury in the rear and standand Rover in the front on a 109? I have a locker in the Salisbury but I am tempted to ut one in the front too.

What alternatives do you recomend for the front?

Thanks,


Paul

[Alaska Mike]

Check Mercedesrover's website for upgraded axle shafts. Combined with a coiler or Toyota (e-locker) 3rd member, it's a pretty beefy upgrade for the vast majority of Rover owners.

[CliftonRover]

I was in a mud pit and was stuck mildly in our stock 88 with 265/75 BFG all terrains. I was using the "drag a shoe" method to get my self free. This involves being in fist or second gear low range, just above idle, and you tap the break lightly and quickly. you will feel the steering wheel kick a little, this is the power being kicked back and forth from either wheel on the front axle. this works well if you are off camber, with wheels that have little weight on them. I then heard a small clunk and snapped a front axle.
At the time I was only 15 so I hurried back to the barn to get a truck to tow it out and then replace the axle before my father got home. th job was not finished in time but because I was doing the work it wasn't a big deal.
I decided that it must have been that axles time to go because it broke really easily. Later in our 109 with a 200 tdi I decided that the standard brakes weren't good enough and that if I accelerated hard i could snap an axle, so I fitted a set of discovery axle housings. these are a huge improvement, they took a little fab work but it was worth it.

[Momo]

TeriAnn, if you read the fine print in the owner's manual, it says specifically:

"Under no circumstances should hillclimb manouevers be attempted whilst dragging feed troughs, poultry coops or skiffs loaded with drunken Pipers. These practices may result in premature axle failure and will void your factory warranty".:o

[Jim-ME]

I guess that I've been just plain lucky but I have never broken an axle. I do have a spare ser of rear axles on hand which hopefully will mean that I'll never need them.
Jim

[Tim Smith]

I guess that I've been just plain lucky but I have never broken an axle. I do have a spare ser of rear axles on hand which hopefully will mean that I'll never need them.
Jim
Lucky? No.

You are being covered by the Murphy's Law policy. Once you sell the spare set of axles to a buddy or misplace them somehow, then your axle will snap.

It's science. :p

[yorker]

I guess that I've been just plain lucky but I have never broken an axle. I do have a spare ser of rear axles on hand which hopefully will mean that I'll never need them.
Jim

Check them for wear. I found that if the drive flange was a good tight fit to the axle shaft with less lash I got far less twisted axles- I assume the same would be true of wear within the differential but I wasn't able to check that.

My initial set of axle flanges were well worn and that was when I was having more issues.