Dana 44 went BOOM

[fierodude]

Well it looks like bad's not the only one blowing up front end parts in peoples back yards I was at a buddy's on Sunday fixing his mom's car, when I was done I went to play in the back 40 but there was a snow bank from the driveway blocking it off and me being the dumbass I am I figure a 4 foot snow bank is nothing for the K-5 so as soon as I get on top of it a floor it and sink right down to the frame here's a pic of when I had it half dug out



As I was trying to get out I here the nice familiar snap crackle pop of busted drivetrain so after a fun extraction and a long drive home I pull the diff cover off to find I wrecked everything it looks like the roll pin holding the cross pin just fell out cause it was in mint shape floating around in the diff but that part of the cross pin is snapped into pieces and from there the spiders are wiped out, to top it all off the cross pin got pushed out and ground up the end of the pinion its not too bad but it wont last and the best part ,after hitting the pinion it got pushed into the carrier and cracked it so its all junk now



Here’s the real kicker I have all the replacement parts but there for the 4:10 gears and the 14 bolt ain’t done and I still need to rebuild the front 3/4 ton hubs so it looks like i'm boned

I'm thinking of pulling out the welder tomorrow and going ape sh*t on the whole diff and making it solid it may not last long but i'll have 4wd back (i'll just hope and pray it can last a month or 2 with very light use) but if I do this i'll wana spool the rear to so I may be looking for a set of 12 bolt spider gears and swap the welded for un-welded for street and visa-versa for offroad kinda like a selectable locker that takes a half hour to engage or dis-engage

[lowrad]

Carnage is cool....lol...well not really...lol...ya need to upload your pics in a bigger size....I'm freakin blind...need bigger pics..lol

[lostzuk]

Its a 44 thing man, they are not as strong as people think, time for a 60 up there!

[fierodude]

i'd love to put a 60 under there but i'd never be able to afford one they cost an arm and a leg

low if my computer didn't blow goats i would load bigger pics but it does so i dont (get glasses...lol)

[lostzuk]

I hear you, I am searching for one for a guy now.

[fierodude]

Well I welded basically anything to everything in the front end first I welded the small crack then I welded the cross shaft to the carrier then the spider gears to the side gears then I was thinking i'm never use this carrier again so I welded the side gears directly to the carrier

And........

It works..............but my turning radius has gone strait to hell it kinda veers instead of turns its ok'ish on dirt. In 2wd with the hobs locked its a little better but barley

To test if I could break it I drove it around a paved parking lot and it basically refuses to turn but its got a ridiculous amount of traction now I never knew my front end spun that much but its like a night and day difference ya gota love traction

Ok so I wouldn’t recommend it, a locker would be far better but if you blow up what you have and your too cheap (or poor) to fix it I’d say go for it but keep in mind your gona have 1 hub unlocked to be able to turn down the trail until you get into the ruff stuff then lock it and you'll go any ware

and lostzuk if you find a 60 in mint condition for 5 dollars call me i think i can afford that..............if i dont buy coffie for a week

[fierodude]

oh ya another stupid move by me i forgot to take pics of the weld job on the front end, it was pretty funny it was literly everything to anything