View Full Version : Holy flat towing disaster Batman!!!
IndyXJ
07-06-2005, 07:18 PM
http://www.jeeps-offroad.com/showthread.php?t=15970
Yeah, speaking from someone WITH c-clips...this is scary.
mawardjr
07-06-2005, 09:12 PM
whoa ... that would stink!
Marlon_JBT
07-06-2005, 09:34 PM
Moral of the story:
The Dana 35 just sucks when you go beyond its limits.
8.25, D44 > D35 :D
Landon
07-06-2005, 10:06 PM
Wow...what a story...scurry.
I have flat towed a CJ-7 a few times around town a little and I can promise you that I'll never flat tow again.... flat towing is a reason I purchased a trailer. I always thought that I might flat tow again, IF my tow vehicle out weighed the vehicle being towed by 10 to 1 or more. After reading this, I may adjust my thinking.
Accident could have been so much worse.
Paul E
07-07-2005, 10:08 AM
I know that area where it happened well. Fortunately I35W between Denton and Ft. Worth is rather straight and fairly flat with slightly rolling hills. Visibility of oncoming traffic is usually a couple of miles, so the guy that got hit by the axle at least saw it coming and was able to avoid it as much as possible.
TMS reference is Texas Motor Speedway. Alliance Gateway is a reference to the Alliance airport north of Ft. Worth.
SOMETHING had to be up to cause that kind of situation to have happened. I really hate knowing that only a c-clip holds in my axle shaft.
mawardjr
07-07-2005, 10:20 AM
How well do you all think a c-clipped D35 with disk brakes would have done in this situation?
My guess is that the calipers would have helped in keeping it together. Not sure though on how long that assistance would have lasted in this type of situation though.
IndyXJ
07-07-2005, 11:08 AM
Slightly offtopic, but I wonder if there will be a D35 replacement in the 07 Wrangler aside from the D44 option. With all the busincess with American Axle, I wouldn't be surprised. Both of my Ram axles are AA. Rear one is 9.25, the 2500's have 10.25
When the C clip fails in a Dana 35, exactly how much damage is done to the diff and to the axle(s). Since I have never seen a "Trail fix" other than the log fix, I assume there isn't a trail fix.
IndyXJ
07-07-2005, 12:05 PM
Depends on what you mean by fix. The log thing is just a way to get off the trail and to a trailer or more hospitable place to work on it. A "fix" is replacing the axle shaft. This happens so much, there are lots of write ups out there I'm discovering. Morale of the story is have spares on hand, so even if you can't fix it, surely someone in the area might. I carry diff fluid with me as well for me or whoever. I should pick up a magnet too.
Depends on what you mean by fix. The log thing is just a way to get off the trail and to a trailer or more hospitable place to work on it. A "fix" is replacing the axle shaft. This happens so much, there are lots of write ups out there I'm discovering. Morale of the story is have spares on hand, so even if you can't fix it, surely someone in the area might. I carry diff fluid with me as well for me or whoever. I should pick up a magnet too.
I understand the log trick....
My thinking is, could you just carry a spare axle shaft(s), a couple C clips, etc. and do a trail fix, or like you said, use log trick to get to friendly ground and then do proper fix. Is a single D35 axle usable on either side, or is there a left and right axle? How hard is it to replace the C clips in a working D35? I was thinking it might be a good idea to change them now and hopefully prolong a failure. I must admitt that I have studied this problem so I maybe asking some silly questions.
scrambled
07-07-2005, 01:14 PM
I flat towed my Scrambler with a ZJ form Louisville to Minneapolis. Worked great.
I flat towed my Scrambler with a ZJ form Louisville to Minneapolis. Worked great.
I have no idea what you did differently. However, when I flat towed, the WJ (tow vehicle) would start into a 90 degree turn and the CJ (vehicle being towed) would be slow in starting to make the turn.... then the WJ would finish turn (want to go straight), and the CJ would be slow in correcting itself.... when it did, it would put a nasty whip on the rear end of the WJ. Turns had to be well prepared for and my speed had to be near stop. I never got upto highway sppeds with this rig as a quick lane change would have been deadly.
IndyXJ
07-07-2005, 01:44 PM
I don't know about the D35 if they are asymetrical for each side, the 8.25 shafts are the same for each side. Don-I don't think your axle wears out with age per se, just the single occurence that causes the break. In other words, I don't know if they become fatigued over time,etc. Anyone?
PS-they have updated that thread with new pics by the way!!!!
mawardjr
07-07-2005, 03:15 PM
Driver and passenger side D35 shafts are different lengths.
scrambled
07-07-2005, 04:23 PM
I have no idea what you did differently?
I dont know but it's actually not that bad. I just drove like I was flat towing a CJ-8 behind a ZJ.
mawardjr
07-07-2005, 06:35 PM
If you keep an eye out while out on the road, you'll notice 100's of Jeeps behind RV's. I don't think flat towing was what caused the axle to explode.
My guess would be there was something already screwed up with that rear end. From the pics it looked like a trail rig.
Just a guess ....
Dave Taylor
07-08-2005, 10:09 AM
Man, that gives me a great idea!
I've read that the Ford 8.8 axle can be shaved almost an inch; and alot of folks do it.
I have wondered how, now I know the easiest method.
1) Take my Jeep to a big parking lot
2) Remove the rear tires/rims
3) let it sit on its pumpkin
4) Mark the underside of the pumpkin with a half-way line and a stop-line
5) Start driving it forward, in increments of 100 yards or so...until I shave it down to almost the half-way line
6) Turn it around, and drive it back to the tires/rims
7) Remount the tires/rims
8) Let it cool down and repaint the bottom and ....
Wa-la....a one-inch shaved pumpkin.
Maybe we can talk MikeA into trying this mod for the Dana44 folks....
Any takers from the Dana 35 side?
Changing axle shafts for a D35 on the trail would not be difficult, pending on whta and where broke. Like said earlier all you need to do is remove cover cener pin, spider gears, push axleshafts in C-Clip falls out, remove shafts, change, put c clips on replace spiders gears, replace center pin, cover, then new fluid! Pretty easy, unless the breakage jams something up inside. Still I'd say a 2-3 hour job.
As long as you're loading up Bill, a roll of shop towels a small bucket, and carb or brake clean to make sure you get all the pieces out. As far as a magnet, cut a broom stick down to the length of an axle, and tape the magnet to that.This way you can "scroll" down the axle tube, and catch it all
Dave, make sure you go to a lot with cement. its quicker that way
DPSahara
09-16-2005, 11:19 PM
Since nobody's answered your question yet, an axle with discs wouldn't have come out of the tube. The caliper brackets would have kept the shafts in place. That's just another reason why the 8.8 is an attractive swap, coupled with 31 spline shafts and very little difference in width, if you do lose a C-clip, you're not losing a shaft. Plus the 8.8's C-clips are about twice as thick as the 35's.
How well do you all think a c-clipped D35 with disk brakes would have done in this situation?
My guess is that the calipers would have helped in keeping it together. Not sure though on how long that assistance would have lasted in this type of situation though.
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