Broken Axle

[FSM06]

"This is Ford country... on a quiet night, you can hear a Chevy rust"

SHHHHH..........Wait.........I think I hear one!! Ha Ha!
Good info Mark and super glad to hear Ford's response was positive and in depth as to the cause of the concern.

FSM

 

[SuperRaptor]

When doing any kind of off-roading it is possible to break axles in my opinion. Especially doing highspeed maneuvering. The Raptor rear axle is pretty robust, especially for 1/2 ton running gear. I know a guy who broke a 10.5" (pretty strong axle IMO) in the back of a superduty off-roading. Just like someone else was mentioning shock loading is usually what breaks axles.

 

[FSM06]

When doing any kind of off-roading it is possible to break axles in my opinion. Especially doing highspeed maneuvering. The Raptor rear axle is pretty robust, especially for 1/2 ton running gear. I know a guy who broke a 10.5" (pretty strong axle IMO) in the back of a superduty off-roading. Just like someone else was mentioning shock loading is usually what breaks axles.

If I remember correctly from the description, Mark was not doing anything remotely close to that kind of shock loading. Maybe he can clarify?

FSM

 

[SuperRaptor]

If I remember correctly from the description, Mark was not doing anything remotely close to that kind of shock loading. Maybe he can clarify?

FSM

Yea I don't remember what he said when he broke his? Also could have been a manufacturing defect too, his truck was pretty low miles wasn't it? Sometimes you don't even realize you shockload the axle as you can be lightly spinning your tires in the dirt and catch something that damn near stops your tires.

 

[MarkT]

Didn't see this until now... I don't believe heavy shock loading was a factor. There was no "jerk" or bump that would indicate the tires hit a hidden obstacle. Add to that the fact that about six Raptors had just run through the same area in probably the exact tire tracks and it's unlikely that shock was a big factor. But not impossible. You can certainly hit a buried object in dirt and shock the drivetrain... but I don't that's what happened when my axle let go.

 

[MagicMtnDan]

Mark, I have a hunch that your axle failure had something to do with the locker being on at the time (and in those conditions: somewhat deep sand, turning a tight corner). What do you think?

 

[MarkT]

Mark, I have a hunch that your axle failure had something to do with the locker being on at the time (and in those conditions: somewhat deep sand, turning a tight corner). What do you think?

I was past the corner quite a bit and accelerating in a straight line when the axle let loose... so I doubt it.

I know there is a lot of "fear" information out there about driving on high traction surfaces like dry pavement with the axle locked. I'm not saying it's a great idea because for one it's a bitch to make a tight turn in a parking lot...

But I had two daily drivers - weekend race cars that I built to run PRO Rally back in the '80s. A Mazda and a Fiat. Neither had a reputation for strong axles, especially the Fiat. I welded up the spider gears on both (poor man's limited slip) and put thousands of miles on them... mostly street miles. Other than the handling at slower speeds and an annoying "chirp, chirp, chirp" when turning at low speeds, I never had an issue or breakage. And I drove those cars hard.

My biggest fear with running a locker is breaking the locker mechanism, not an axle... in fact I believe an open diff can contribute to axle breakage under the right conditions because it lets one axle "spin up" and if you hit some traction, POW!

My first love with the Raptor was driving in 2WD with the axle locked... I love the way you can steer with the throttle. Reminds me of the race car days except for the 5000 lbs or so of extra weight.. It's what I'm used to.

But B made a comment about sliding in 4WD high at speed... and I tried it. I really like it! The Raptor hangs out the rear end just a little and does great drifts in 4WD!

If the conditions allow either 2WD or 4WD, my current preference is 2WD axle locked for the slower speed stuff and 4WD high without locked axle for the higher speed runs.

(When I raced short course in the Superlite class, I ran a spool. But when I raced the desert, I found an open diff worked much better. Believe it or not, the car was much easier to control at high speeds through the rough stuff in the desert with an open diff !)

 

[whtrapta]

Bump. Has this happened to anyone else?