Found it and cleared it out. I didn't realize I've been collecting them for years. It should be empty now...

 

I just sent you a test message. I see you've been a member for 10 years, but still listed as a new member.

 

Sounds like they swapped the left and right axles. Sucks they won't step up and take care of the problem.

 

So what happened the truck wouldn't go? Grinding? Seems to me if the axle is still in there why wouldn't the truck drive..Did it destroy the diff also? Probably. maybe it broke on an angle and is wedged...How about a slide hammer..porta power..

Good luck for sure..

 

Yes, it was weird. Was on the highway doing about 65 MPH towing a 7K lb. 5th wheel. We heard a clunk from the rear end, but nothing else. Pulled over, checked everything out and saw nothing. Continued on down the road for another 30-40 miles and all of a sudden it was like the clutch starting slipping (if it were a manual transmission, which it is not). Had to rev the engine much higher then normal to maintain a certain speed. Kept getting worse and worst until I was on the shoulder of the road crawling along. As long as I just idled I could keep it moving forward at a crawl but if I tried to give it any more gas it just started slipping. I initially thought I had blown a u-joint or something with the driveshaft because when I did rev the engine there was a lot of wobbling underneath.


Anyway, got it off the highway and then it finally did just stop on me. I couldn't get it to move at all. The engine would start and run fine but if I revved it it was, again, like the transmission was stuck in neutral. Would still experience the "wobble" from underneath.


Finally got it towed out of the middle of the road. When the wrecker towed me off to the side of the road the left rear wheel wouldn't turn. Wore flat spots in both of my left rear tires.


Now that it is back at the shop and the cover is off the differential you would not suspect anything is wrong by just looking at it. The ring, pinion and carrier all seem to be in perfect condition. No metal in the housing, clean oil, etc. It's just that they cannot get the left axle out of the housing and we don't know if it's hung up in the housing or if it's hung up in the carrier. We suspect the carrier since they took the bearing caps off an could not get it out (the right axle came out no problem).


That's where I stand. Again, am being told $3-4K - additional - to get a used rear end and take whatever parts (hoping we can salvage the ring and pinion by cutting the axle housing once we get a new one) but my expectations are that the carrier is going to be toast.

 

The wobble you are experiencing when putting it in gear and trying to drive is the broken axle shaft spinning in the axle housing. The bearings melted in the left hub, locking it up. The axle broke when the bearings melted causing the axle to rub against the spindle. I have seen this way too many time. I know what I'm talking about.

 

As I said before, the bearings failed because someone put it together without putting oil in the hub, or they used grease and put too much on the outer bearings not allowing the oil to flow through it to get to the inner bearing.

If you put a 1000 miles or so on it, then something may have happened on your part like abusive driving or such. I'm going to guess you didn't put that many miles on it. Probably less than 100.

 

That being the case they should be able to take the bolts out of the end of the axle and the outer broken half should come off. Then it would be a matter of getting the inner broken half out far enough to pull the carrier.

 

I definitely did not put 1,000 miles on it. Probably more like in the neighborhood of 300-400 (I was trying to get to 500 before I pulled the 5th wheel but wasn't able to quite get there - we had a previous commitment that required the 5th wheel to be pulled about 500 miles round trip).


I was not abusing it. As a matter of fact, in the approx. 120 miles I had pulled the 5th wheel that day before it failed I had pulled over twice already to let things settle down. I know that with a new rear end it's a good idea to run it for a while, try not to stay at one consistent speed all the time, don't abuse it (i.e. romp on it, go excessively fast, etc.) and stop every so often and let things cool down. All things I was consciously doing...


I guess they really need to beat on the axle then to get it out. They have used a long bar going in from the other side but the hammer he was using (a smallish metal mallet - definitely not a sledge hammer with a long handle) seemed kinda on the small side to me but I also believe he is trying to get it out with the minimum force required so as not to do anymore damage. I'm afraid we may be past that though since they have given up trying to get the axle out.


Assuming the bearings melted in the hub - and I trust you guys, the knowledge level in this forum is quite impressive - the bearings are shot and it sounds like the spindle's going to be shot. Is the hub toast also do you think? Should the axle housing itself be OK?


Thanks again for all the help. I really appreciate it.

 

This is a full floating axle correct? There should be 8 bolt on the flange on the outside of the axle. I have broken many of these axles and have just unbolted it and slid it out. the bearings are on the hub with the brake assembly.

 

The hub will be toast for sure. Axle Surgeons can replace the spindle. I do it all the time, it's my job. Obviously an axle shaft will also be needed. Since the company will be eating this, (they better be eating this) it would be up to them to choose what route they want to go. Dually pickup truck housing can be found more reasonably then Cab and Chasis housings. Given the damage and cost to replace, a good used differential may be the best option. To get the axle out of the hub that is locked up, I would remove the bolts from the axle shaft and whale the hell out of it. You can't mess it up any more than it already is. I tell people that all the time.

 

This may be a better picture....

 

the axle is full floating. It is unbolted now and the brake rotor assembly (and/including hub???) will turn. I'm not sure if the axle turns with it or not. Would need to check again.


Assuming the bearings locked up I think I'm looking at replacing: hub; bearings, axle, spindle... Do you think the differential/carrier will need to be replaced? What about the ring and pinion (they look OK with the cover off but I am certainly no expert).


I'm assuming that if I put the wheels back on they will turn and I can get it towed to another shop.


CampSpringsJohn I assume when you say wail the hell out of it you are talking with a big bar and sledge going in from the other side, right? Again, they tried this but I'm not sure they wailed the hell out of it though.

 

If the hub/rotor turns, is it binding or spinning freely?

As for beating the hell out of it, I was referring to hitting the end of the axle right there at the hub. But, if by some chance the hub is still good, then I'd be a little more careful about that.

Does the hub look like it has been hot? Any discoloration to it?

 

My firtst question is what prompted the need to replace the guts of your axle to begin with?

The D80 is one hellva an axle set. As for having a twisted axle shaft in your posi spool, yea I have seen that before. Back in my drag racing days we used to chalk or paint our axle shafts with a long line of white WhiteOut or chalk and we would inspect them for twisting. My guess is if they used your OLD shafts when they rebuilt your axle then what you had was a twisted axle shaft already and they should have done an inspection for twist. Seems to me if you had spent that much money to have that much stuff replaced and they did not inspect or just threw in the old shafts then that is what occurred.

These folks have a lot of axles, and I could not find a D 80 over about $2k you might just want to do a search. I personally think $4500 for what they did was WAY to much money IMO.

https://www.heavytruckparts.net/search.php

You can expect to pay about $2,800 for a basic Dana 80 rear axle with a factory-type limited-slip differential.