Is this supposed to be loose?

[AV.NINE]

Went wheelin, now my jeep doesnt run properly, movement in steering, loud noises, banging, what do you think? Here's some pics to figure this one out..












37's+stock axles = Chromoly time.

[SwampSinger]

Rip the joint right out the knuckle... did you hit something?

come on...  give us the story...

PS: you muffler bearing was loose... that's what happened..right? 

[w squared]

You done broke that but good.  

Cromo axle shaft time fer sure. You thinking about C gussets as well?

[AV.NINE]

You done broke that but good.  

Cromo axle shaft time fer sure. You thinking about C gussets as well?

Might as well while im chromoing it.

No real story, I was rippin around in the snow broke the axle somewhere along the line then the axle took out the bottom ball joint and thats when the tire tried to get away from the jeep.

We had to take the tire off because the stub shaft was binding with the axle and the tire wouldnt spin.

She's sitting out in rocky now.

[w squared]

I guess it's all part of the fun when you're running 37's on a stock Dana 44. Well, here's the bright side (as I see it)

#1. You didn't get stranded out in the backcountry in freezing weather.

#2. You obviously got the rig onto a flatdeck to get it in for repairs.

#3. You've got the right attitude about it - it's a good reason to upgrade some parts 

By the way, I'm more than a little envious of your 37's

[Vinman]

Normal

[w squared]

Normal

Yeach...I guess when you have a jeep, you can't expect the razor-sharp handling that comes with Rack and Peanut steering.

[hps4evr]

ok, you didnt hear this from me. you wont get warranty, but, for all you JK owners. keep an eye on your front axle u joints. we've had 2 in our shop allreayd where the front axle u-joint cap has come right out without warning. whe nthis happens it kinda tears the shaft apart and then it goes downhill from there. the first one we saw was in for an oil change, and we noticed a ujoint cap missing. thought it was weird. we changed the ujoint and all was well. second was much worse. they were driving down the highway when they switched to 4wd and heard a bang about 20 minutes later. the shaft came right apart and needed some serious work. we did warranty it for them as they were just driving along and they are good customers. we also noticed that they both had a lot of up-and-down play in the ball joints, but, apparently they were in spec. changed em anyways, warranty work is better then no work i say.
so, keep an eye on these things. both jeeps i saw with this problem were un-modified stockers.

[morerpmfred]

The ear streches and then the ujoint cap falls out and then the ear rides over the other ear and then the balljoint falls out. I do not carry spare shafts with me but i do bring a cordless sawzall with me to lob of the ears so i can drive home. Spare batteries and 18 volt car charger are in the tool kit.

[BlackYJ]

Sorry about the carnage.  In the future, you are better off to remove the inner axle because if you remove the outer, the inner has no support and it will flop all over the place.  I busted my front axle once and I removed the inner and stuffed the tube with shop towels to try and prevent the oil from leaking out.  I left the outer in because I was told with the unit bearings, they need the shaft in place or they can fall apart.

[hps4evr]

yes scott! very important to put the outer back in to hold the unit bearing together. a buddy of mine back home did not do this when he blew and axle u joint. on the drive home the hub bearing seized and blew apart sending the wheel off into the ditch and him rolling his jeep into the other ditch. the aftermath? a written off rubicon with long arm lift tube fenders, 37" pitbulls and an overall very good jeep.
although, autopac did give him a nice chunk of change for it so his new jeep will be pretty wild;)

[AV.NINE]

Thanks, but it all happen pretty much at 1 time. Loud bang and it was over.

[Mudhawg]

ya i was with him it snapped the shaft and dropped the balljoint all within seconds  :'(

[AV.NINE]

No go on the warranty. Ill try 1 more dodge dealership. Interesting though dodge said they could order in the chromoly axles and install.....

Wierd!

[AV.NINE]

Strange turn of events.... DODGE IS ACTUALLY WARANTYING IT NOW!

I talked to my dealership and they said bring it on over, so I called the dealership where I left it, told them I was taking it to the place where I bought it and BAM!

The guy said that typically they wouldnt but they will do it anyways. There was something said about if it happens again theres a chance I could be blacklisted.... or something... but oh well! Free axles!