TheSamba.com :: View topic

Tue Jan 05, 2010 1:58 pm

I sheared the side gear shaft on my Thing this weekend. I'd like to blame this on the fact that it was a free used transmission that formerly lived in a sand rail, but I want to know if there is anything I need to do to keep this from happening again.

My rear suspension uses stock geometry, and during assembly, I cycled the arrms without torsion bars installed; everything moved fine with no binding in the CV's, bump stops limit travel to stockish limits, etc.

I had just finished up a 10-mile trail full of sandy ATV whoops and decided to try some Jumps. I only did 4 or 5 small (12"-18") jumps when the shaft broke. Granted, this might have been a little rough on the car, but this is not a failure point I've seen before.

I'm running a mild 1776, so I'm sure it's not massive power that caused this. Would driveline shock from the whoops/jumps cause this, or was the shaft already damaged before I ran it?

Tue Jan 05, 2010 2:02 pm

don't land your jumps with your foot on the gas!

Tue Jan 05, 2010 4:30 pm

or your foot on the brake.....when i jump my rail i try to clutch it when landing, so it takes the load off the drivetrain... its the sudden change of speed that does it..its pretty much the same thing as reving the motor up and dumping the clutch, sooner or later you break it

Tue Jan 05, 2010 6:56 pm

Well heck, I wanted to blame something besides my driving. I guess I'll need to be more careful. :D

Tue Jan 05, 2010 7:19 pm

They are right. Try to get the clutch in while airborne. I know its tricky till you get the hang of it.

Tue Jan 05, 2010 9:11 pm

Don't Blame this on anything. The unit is 30+ years old. It service has been great, it won't last forever... same as with Ford or Chevys being used off road they break.

aftermarket performance parts Break, often on there first day out..How many weddle gear units have 30+ yrs of use and 100,000 miles on them and still usable ?

Tue Jan 05, 2010 9:23 pm

What size CV's was the previous owner running? Type 1 Stubs are worked when you add a bigger CV to them, something to think about when your re-building your transaxle, if your going with anything bigger than a type 2 you should buy the beefier Stubs.