Differential Destruction

[TxCowgirlInCo]

Hey y’all. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Wanted to get thoughts on where to start looking for possible causes of recent carnage found in the rear diff of one of the big ones. This guy has the 5.5” Stupidlift with SuperRunner Steering, .456 gears and has ARB air lockers front and rear. He’s the only auto we’ve got, running the A4LD and electric shift 1354.

Noticed last year that one of the bolts on the drivers side carrier bearing strap in the diff had loosened itself. Chad tightened it and decided we’d keep an eye on it. Well, it cut loose on Thanksgiving day, splitting the case and creating total carnage with the ring gear. The bolts that had loosened itself last year, sheared off and honestly not sure if the other bolt loosened itself, but the strap fell out in the diff cover .

Has anyone seen this and if so, what was the cause? Any advice would be much appreciated! Thank you.

Oh, posted pictures in an album on here. They can be seen

 

[imp]

Hey y’all. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Wanted to get thoughts on where to start looking for possible causes of recent carnage found in the rear diff of one of the big ones. This guy has the 5.5” Stupidlift with SuperRunner Steering, .456 gears and has ARB air lockers front and rear. He’s the only auto we’ve got, running the A4LD and electric shift 1354.

Noticed last year that one of the bolts on the drivers side carrier bearing strap in the diff had loosened itself. Chad tightened it and decided we’d keep an eye on it. Well, it cut loose on Thanksgiving day, splitting the case and creating total carnage with the ring gear. The bolts that had loosened itself last year, sheared off and honestly not sure if the other bolt loosened itself, but the strap fell out in the diff cover .

Has anyone seen this and if so, what was the cause? Any advice would be much appreciated! Thank you.

Oh, posted pictures in an album on here. They can be seen

View attachment 324967

Cause cannot be determined with certainty. Wiring the diff support bolts of the replacement will remove concern for loosening: (most bolts in aircraft applications are wired, I wonder why?).

 

[1991 sploder]

Vibration

 

[TxCowgirlInCo]

Here’s a hypothetical, do you think a slight offset in the front and rear axles parallelism could be the culprit? I.e. axles riding like this |—\ Seems like a strong candidate ESP got one sided loosening. Thanks for your input.

 

[imp]

Here’s a hypothetical, do you think a slight offset in the front and rear axles parallelism could be the culprit? I.e. axles riding like this |—\ Seems like a strong candidate ESP got one sided loosening. Thanks for your input.

We used to call that "dog-tracking". Often caused by a bent frame. Seems unlikely to cause the issue shown in this thread.

 

[1991 sploder]

Probably those big tires and worn bearings.