Rear end bent....I need a new one.
 

I pull in my driveway this afternoon and I see gear oil running out the rear end of my truck.. So I put it up on the rack and find that the left side axel tube is coming out the the housing and appears bent? I'm not sure how this could have happened because this truck is used as if it were a Prius. I don't know if this is common or not, but I'm wondering if an aftermarket company makes something stronger? I don't want to buy a new "stock" housing just to have it fall apart again!

Truck is 2007 f150 4x4 5.4L 101k miles.

Based on my time here and the posts I've seen, I can say you are maybe the 3rd person with this problem who has posted here.

And the others were off-roading iirc.

IMO you can buy a used stocker and be fine. Of course, you should check the chassis for big rock marks, bashed jounce bumpers, broken springs and spring hangers etc etc. People do overload and overdrive, but most should be good.

Good luck with it. :-drink

Has you truck been jacked up under the pumpkin? I've never seen it, but some claim that jacking up the rear end by the pumpkin will cause this.

jr105 you get a gold star. Jacking up a truck by the diff. housing is the worst thing you can do. All that boss is supposed to carry is the weight of the housing. It doesn't even carry torque. Oh, I know guys have been getting away with it for ages, but if you look under a lot of older trucks you'll see them seeping gear lube around the axle bosses and that's exactly the reason why ( or SERIOUS off-roading). Typically they are pressed in and then secured with two spot/rosette welds. Its easy to overstress them by improper lifting, and I absolutely cringe at how many supposedly professional tire shops don't seem to know this.

X2!

I can recall my dad getting irate at a tire shop once when the guy started to jack the rear of the car like that to swap on snow tires in the early 60s ..... never forgot it. The guy stopped too.

I recall many times over the years telling guys not to do that or let someone do it to their car, and here on the internet guys will come back and tell you that you are wrong .... but you are so right.

Anyone who doubts it hasn't looked at the weight of the vehicle and the long leverage provided by the axle tubes and the short "insert" length that they are pressed into. You can make it some stronger by welding a good bead around the tubes where they enter the center .... best done with rear apart out of vehicle with no oil in it and then a good check for straightness is in order.

I have to say I learned something today I've been doing it wrong for years. I have a new truck and I'm glad I saw this

Is it okay to :

Both wheels off ground and jackstand on each side under tube between diff and leaf spring pad?

And jack up one wheel under the leaf spring pad?:-huh

The closer the jack & jack stands are placed to the spring pad or wheel, the better. One jack in center places an enormous load on the rear axle picking up the weight of the vehicle out at the ends .... think of "leverage". Placing the jack just half way between the center and the spring will cut the leverage factor at that joint of axle tube-center to fully half.

I learned something new. Glad I read this.

Check out Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market. It's a salvage yard database, and you can search for a used axle and compare prices by location.