is my axle broken?

[sevenslats]

Last week I developed a leak. +It happened after I took my TJ to the car wash. +It had been parked outside, and I sprayed down the axle with a pressure washer. +I lost all my fluid in less than 2 hours.
I finally tore into it today. +Put more fluid into it to trace the leak. +turned out to be a torn gasket. +no big deal. +I just won't wash my axles in the cold anymore.
Well, +while wiping out the old fluid on the inside, I found some metal shavings. +Chunks, actually. +See 1st pic. +So I looked harder. +Noted some marks on the carrier. +Seems to be caused by the pinion gear. +See 2nd pic. +Okay, that sucks, but it gets worse. +I didn't think the metal pieces in the bottom of the diff housing were from that, so I continued looking. +That's when I found the crack.
How bad is this? +Can I still drive it? +What would have caused it?
I know the story, it's a dana 35, get out of it while you can... +PLease don't remind me. +I just want to know if I can drive it to the I/M station, since it's due this week and DMV never sent a notice.
http://www.arcticoffroad.com/albums/album107/IM003827w.jpg
http://www.arcticoffroad.com/albums/album107/IM003822w.jpg

[FixIt]

i wouldnt drive it geoff . thats your arb aint it ? if so its un uasual with your tire size to break especially there . call arb see if they can help ..usually great service from factory .

but because of the loads on freeway and the speeds it turns in there .better to be safe than sorry my friend .

[FixIt]

looking at the bottom pic looks like the teeth are not contacting right and the pinion is gouging the diff . like your pinion is loose or set up way off do you have the crush washers or the sleeve on the pinion for set up ?

[naturalbornmudder]

Fix It is right IMO.

[LawsonEOD]

If the Dana 35 housing is cracked, junk it. If the pinion moves far enough forward to conact the ARB housing do not drive it. ONLY a matter of time before it hits something that does not give and it totally destroys itself.

IMHO, Sell the ARB and gears to someone else that can use it and upgrade to a 8.8 or 44.

Edit: Geoff you and me both have been pushing the Dana 35 to the limit for sometime now. I know mine can not last much longer.

[AlaskaToy]

yep. the pinon has gone for a walk. Dont run it anymore until you resetup your gears. The pinion nut is probably less than finger tight right now.

[KodiakDodge]

I had the same thing happen to me with one of my vehicles. The Pinion Bearing wore out and it squashed the Pinion crush sleeve. In return it messed up the backlash and cause scoring on the carrier.
I find it hard to believe that the scoring from the Pinion riding on the carrier caused the crack. I would call ARB and talk to them and explain the situation before you ditch the ARB.
The scoring alone is not a big deal and wouldn't effect the opperation of the locker or other components. When my situation happened I reset the pinion and ran her and never had any issues. Mind you my gouges were way deeper and ran all the way around the carrier. Yours look like the Pinion barely made contact with the Pinion. Another reason I feel that this is not the reason for the crack in the ARB. Just looked ugly every time I opened the diff to change the fluid.

[sevenslats]

Okay. carrier is junk. understood. I'll part the axle out, and upgrade the TJ.
But you don't recommend even limping it to the IM station?

Keep in mind, I'm leaving for 4 months in 10 days, so I would prefer to get the I/M test done now.

[naturalbornmudder]

screw it, I'd limp it to the IM station. Make sure you go slow. The one in North Pole at the windshield repair shop. If it breaks on the way there, call me and I'll wrap a srtap to ya and drag ya in there or you can go in 2wd. If getting IM'ed is the more important part of it, I'd do it. But only to NP at a slow pace. Ya know?

[naturalbornmudder]

also, if the ARB and/or air compressor isnt crapped out, give me a price of what you want for it.

[akdsmer]

I was driving behind a Jeep that locked up the rear end (9 inch currie). It spun the center housing around a couple times, dropped the driveshaft (obviously) and sent him from ditch to ditch a couple times. Not the best road conditions for any kind of rear end malfunctions......

[LawsonEOD]

Pull the rear drive shaft and drive it to the station in FWD. It will be spinning still but not under power. Even better you got the Dana 300 so just shift it into front wheel drive and go that route. If you pull the driveshaft you may be able to tighten the pinion before you make the trip for a little insurance.

[AlaskaToy]

But you don't recommend even limping it to the IM station?

Keep in mind, I'm leaving for 4 months in 10 days, so I would prefer to get the I/M test done now.

Drop the rear shaft and roll to IM in front drive...or are you still sporting a slip yoke?

Edit: I just read Lawson's post. Front drive.

[naturalbornmudder]

ya, what Lawson and AJ said. When I said 2wd, I meant FWD. Watch out, Nate's drinkign again. :ROL:

[AKJeeper]

Geoff -

I'm not sure if it's just me, but I can't seem to see the pics...