Half shaft failure (3 new ones in a row)

[myclone]

I was out taking the front end off myclone and noticed ANOTHER boot had torn in the drivers side axle. This is the THIRD new one to do this.

First failure happened after ~2weeks of use.
Next one lasted maybe a month and now this one is busted after less than 6 months.. First one the outer boot failed and the last two the inner boot has failed. These are NAPA axles BTW.. Im just glad its a bud who warranties em and gives me a new one for free. I am, however, getting a little weary of tearing the front suspension off every few months. Know what I mean?

WTF??? Anyone elses truck eating drivers side axle boots like they are vitamins?????

 

[Daron]

Yes, I recall Ben-D-Banana ( or someone) having this problem. Cant recall if a broken tranny mount, or a broken engine mount was the culprit. At first we all kinda suspected it was because Andrew's Ty was so low, but then he fixed one of the above and the half shaft breakage stopped(or something). Maybe Sean M. can help out my poor memory here?
Daron

 

[Tydriver]

Did that side myself last year... Half shaft was from Napa also.. Never had a problem and its been fine for 14+mos. Due to a welding incident :wink: I have to change the passenger side. (caught the boot on fire by mistake lol).

Anyhow I would say that you may want to check and see what the culprit is. I dont think its a NORMAL situation.

 

[myclone]

Hmmm.. Dunno about a trans/eng mount being able to cause axle/cv joint probs... Not trying to be a wise ass or nothing but are we talking about prop shafts or front axles here?? I can see the front drive shaft being an issue but not a front axle.

FWIW the trans mount is new and Ive got a "lumpys special" tie down on the eng (cheap ratchet strap from harbor freight) :grin: ..

maybe I just need to go get a better axle. If the truth was know the NAPA axles are prolly made by the same ppl that rebuild autozone/advanced ones too..

Anyone else got a truck thats hungry for axles??

 

[myclone]

On 2002-02-26 17:44, 92Typhoon wrote:
Due to a welding incident :wink: I have to change the passenger side. (caught the boot on fire by mistake lol).

Even I havent been able to do that...... :grin: yet. :roll:

 

[Qwikgmc]

What about the transfer case
Could it somehow be sending more than the 35% to the front?

BTW. My brother got 2 axles in a row from
Autozone that were defective,
maybe your new axles were on there way out when you got them.

Connor

 

[4C FED]

I think that the boot failure would be due to poor quality of material used for the boot or possibly the boot is the incorrect size causing it to rub against itself to much. Of course if the boot is not installed on the shaft correctly, to short or long installed length, this could cause a failure also.

If there was mechanically something wrong/broke somewhere in the driveline mounts, I would expect the joint itself to fail.

One thing you can due to prolong boot life is, keep them clean and lube the outsides after you clean them with a silicone spray, let it soak in, then wipe the excess off.

 

[myclone]

Im with you on the boot being the prob. Each one has developed a split in the boot. Once installed the boots just "look" too big and bunched up to me also. The first one that failed did so on the outer boot right at the clamp but the last two have split right in the middle of the inner joint.

Hmm. Looks like I may hafta just try to find a diff supplier of axles..

 

[tyndago]

Andrew kept breaking axles.... his truck would turn left hard...

If you have ever seen video when he had his truck out at the nationals - he pointed at the wall on a launch...

We never figured out what was wrong with it before he broke it...

My Syclone had a broken front diff mount that made me break propshafts.... after my 3rd one - I figured it out....

Is your truck lowered ? This has been an issue in the past.... put it back to stock height - then let the axles "break in" then put it back down...

 

[protosy]

the other thing that can cause boot failure is the use of the wrong type of grease for that boot/application. some greases will eat certain boot materials, and certain greases may not hold up to the torque in our application.

chad

 

[Daron]

On 2002-03-09 17:45, tyndago wrote:
Andrew kept breaking axles.... his truck would turn left hard...

If you have ever seen video when he had his truck out at the nationals - he pointed at the wall on a launch...

We never figured out what was wrong with it before he broke it...

My Syclone had a broken front diff mount that made me break propshafts.... after my 3rd one - I figured it out....

Is your truck lowered ? This has been an issue in the past.... put it back to stock height - then let the axles "break in" then put it back down...

Differencial mount.. that what I was trying to recall. Thanks for the clarification Sean.

 

[Bradleyb]

I’m also having a boot problem. Do they make a updated part for the boot? Also does anyone have a picture of the original boot?

 

[DaveP's Ghost]

This thread is a blast from the past. All prominent members from the Golden days of .net. RIP myclone, aka Dave Welsh.

It took years after this thread was initiated to come up with the cause of the torn boots. The V-clutch in the T-case is locked.

 

[Bradleyb]

So what’s the fix and is it a costly one?