Broken axle: How can I drive home on it?

AMS417

AMS417

"The Ayatollah of rock and rolla"
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Folks,

Broke my drivers side front outer axle today. Wheeled all day without trouble. Drove 6 hours on the highway no issue. It decided to give up at my buddies lake house 50 miles from my house crossing a ditch.

Upgrades are planned, my question for now is can I remove the inner shaft from the broken side and drive home on just the outer? I’ve searched but get mixed signals. It’s a 2005 Rubi. Give me the dirt please.

D14AC2E8-E3C1-4147-B8F6-6BEB4D7A08F5.jpeg
 
Here is a really old post from @Jerry Bransford:

"No noises inside the front axle when you drive? It's hard to say if it's safe or not, or what to do for the trip home since you don't know what's broken yet.

One thing to know, the front driveshaft is always rotating since it is driven by the axle no matter what position the tcase shifter is in.

If it's an axle shaft that is broken, you're going to have to remove the inner axle shaft. Make sure NOT (!!!) to pull the outer stub shaft which is what holds the unit bearing hub together. One of my club members died on the highway after his front hub came apart after he removed the outer stub axle shaft after breaking the inner shaft.

If it's the ring & pinion that is busted up, you need to pull both inner axle shafts.

The bottom line is you're going to have to somehow figure out what broke to figure out the way to get home. Odds are nearly 100% you'll be able to drive on it by having done something to isolate the broken component."
 
Yeah I may have worded that wrong above. I was going to pull the inner shaft out and leave the outer in the unit bearing. May have to cut the rest of the ears off. They are mangled. Diff didn’t make any noise coming back down the road. It was bound up pretty good though. If it was going to break here is better than 3 hours away where we were beating on it a little today.
 
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I misread that. You're fine to drive with the inner removed and the outer in place.

If you have some duct tape, cover the tube end so you don't get dirt in the differential
 
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Thanks, thought so but wanted to confirm. I’ll order chromo inner and outer tonight and new joints both sides. Always fun to break a new Jeep first trip out. Shit happens.
 
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Steel City 06 said:
Here is a really old post from @Jerry Bransford:

"No noises inside the front axle when you drive? It's hard to say if it's safe or not, or what to do for the trip home since you don't know what's broken yet.

One thing to know, the front driveshaft is always rotating since it is driven by the axle no matter what position the tcase shifter is in.

If it's an axle shaft that is broken, you're going to have to remove the inner axle shaft. Make sure NOT (!!!) to pull the outer stub shaft which is what holds the unit bearing hub together. One of my club members died on the highway after his front hub came apart after he removed the outer stub axle shaft after breaking the inner shaft.

If it's the ring & pinion that is busted up, you need to pull both inner axle shafts.

The bottom line is you're going to have to somehow figure out what broke to figure out the way to get home. Odds are nearly 100% you'll be able to drive on it by having done something to isolate the broken component."
Click to expand...
That IS old, wow!
 
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toximus said:
You're going to want to put something in further so the gear oil doesn't all end up in that tube.
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When I broke mine a few years back I took a rag and put it in a plastic bag and shoved it in all the way. When I went to fix it, I took a rod and taped a wire bent like a corkscrew and was able to grab the bag and pull it out.
 
hosejockey61 said:
When I broke mine a few years back I took a rag and put it in a plastic bag and shoved it in all the way. When I went to fix it, I took a rod and taped a wire bent like a corkscrew and was able to grab the bag and pull it out.
Click to expand...

I broke the short side. Should be easier to get out. Thanks for the idea.
 
Well it’s back together but a test drive up and down the gravel road has me wanting to go get the trailer. It’s got a growl in it someplace that does not sound good. Can’t pinpoint. To much road noise. I pulled the diff cover and checked the ring and pinion. No chunks, no missing teeth, spider gears are still in place. Unit bearing seemed fine but maybe we damaged something else in the process? I’ll trailer it home and see what’s up. Probably going to a diff shop for a checkout. Either that I’m buying some specialty tools and learning how to setup gears. Either way.
 
Try putting it in 4WD and see if that eliminates the growl. Since you still have one shaft in, one side of the carrier is still attempting to spin. If the driveshaft doesn't spin, all of that motion is going to go through the spider gears, which aren't meant to be spun very fast. By forcing the carrier itself to spin at near the rate of the remaining axle shaft, the spider gears won't be spinning nearly as fast.

Alternatively, if you have a front locker, lock it to prevent the spider gears from turning at all.

Alternatively, remove the other inner axle shaft and keep it in 2WD so nothing spins at all. This is probably the safest option, but is quite a bit more work.

If you suspect it is the wheel bearing, then I would recommend not driving on it.

Edit: Spider gears not pinion gears
 
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Got it home and torn down, as far as I can for now, need the axle socket still. Seems like the growl may have in fact been the spiders turning without having the shaft in place. I was not able without the axle socket to pull the other side, so the trailer was the best logical option. Going to pull the carrier and inspect bearings, replace inner seals, and the unit bearings while I am there. Also noticed I popped a clamp on the tie rod sleeve. Will fix that when I take it back for alignment after I install a stock pitman arm in place of the drop it has and does not need.

Bought these axles. Seems like a great Amazon find if anyone else wants a Dana 44 Chromo upgrade. I know its not US made but for 33's it should be better than stock. Right?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003TQ9PI0/?tag=wranglerorg-20
 
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AMS417 said:
Got it home and torn down, as far as I can for now, need the axle socket still. Seems like the growl may have in fact been the spiders turning without having the shaft in place. I was not able without the axle socket to pull the other side, so the trailer was the best logical option. Going to pull the carrier and inspect bearings, replace inner seals, and the unit bearings while I am there. Also noticed I popped a clamp on the tie rod sleeve. Will fix that when I take it back for alignment after I install a stock pitman arm in place of the drop it has and does not need.

Bought these axles. Seems like a great Amazon find if anyone else wants a Dana 44 Chromo upgrade. I know its not US made but for 33's it should be better than stock. Right?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003TQ9PI0/?tag=wranglerorg-20
Click to expand...
That looks like a good deal!
 
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