Good trip gone crappy.....

[snowdad]

MM,
Good luck on your repair. I just read this thread. I can't get a grasp on what happened. How can the lack of a gasket have caused your damage? I am assuming the flange gasket at the hub is the one you are referencing. I will definately be pulling my axles and checking. I may be way off, but i would be looking at a bent axle shaft housing tube to be causing this problem. Sorry if I misunderstand.
Phillip

[Monkey Man]

G'day Philip.....
Tibus axles are good gear but being 35mm in diameter and running in a stub axle tube with a 36mm diameter correct alignment is required to make sure all is ok........
The failure appears to have been caused by.....
1 - Me leaving out the differential to axle housing gasket.
2 - The axle then rubs on the differential end of the stub axle tube as the alignment is not out as the result of the 1mm gasket missing from the diff.
3 - I can only guess the axle rubbed until it peened, fragmented and then friction welded itself (squeaking loudly) into the tube with the result of breaking the axle into 3 pieces.

Lesson learned.....
Always run correct gaskets
Tis better to get it right than fix it later.
Old lessons I know but we all remind ourselves now and then of what we have forgotten.

MM

[Monkey Man]

Update.....
OK, the piece that has welded itself into the stub axle has basically rendered it useless, I will be removing the axle assembly complete, cutting the end off it close to the brake flange, remove the section of axle holding the diff in place and start fitting my spare housing and modding it for the disc brake mounts. I will then refit the diff with a new home-made gasket, reassemble the hubs and brakes and put some flanges on the outside of the axle hubs to keep it sealed up so when I get new axles it's simply a matter of slipping them in and I am underway....
Sounds easy when you say it like that, I am just glad I had a spare diff housing or I would be screwed at this point.
I just hope from this folks other than myself learn something, by the time I am finished the repair will have cost me plenty of money, time and stress and all because of a gasket being left out, component clearances being very fine and not knowing any better. This whole exercise sucks but I'll be fitting NOS axles so clearances won't be a worry, a gasket to keep things in line, repacking hubs and re-checking all seals and going over the replacement housing carefully to make sure it is free of defects. I was told the 4140 axles from VPW were good, I messaged them about cost etc. but no reply, John Bizal has NOS units at a good price so I'll go with him I think as he is the only one so far that seems prepared to make the effort sell anything to me(Thanks John, I'll order just as soon as I have the spare funds)
More pics to follow of the deconstruction and reassembly process....

MM

[RMS]

good to hear you got a spare housing and dont have to swap in a different rearend or incur the cost of shipping a housing.

looking forward to the pic's

cheers
Robyn

[Monkey Man]

The reason I am going this way is after removing the hub I saw the heat banding and promptly wrote the housing off, got a second opinion from a top machinist and he agreed, anything that has been this hot has likely lost it's hardening so best to cut my losses trying to recover it and risk a catastrophic failure on the road, some faults get worse with every step you take, this one is one of those...

MM

[Monkey Man]

Been a bit busy with the truck, Diff is out and progress made...
I am starting to prep the replacement housing for installation, I will also replace a couple of suspension bushes while I am in there.

MM

Diff OUT!!



Squeamish M37 owners may want to look away for this bit



Oops, the end "Fell Off"



Axle housing is more than adequate thickness



The friction weld was all the way through



Melted inner axle section



Another "truck" repair, what is it about My little boy, toys and water?? (an exercise in drying out electronics)

[T. Highway]

MM,

Nice progress on the axle project, I guess you need to explain to your son the importance of fording prep.

Bert

[Monkey Man]

I made good progress in the last 2 weeks, installed the diff into the axle housing, installed the axle housing under the truck, refitted the left hand hub assembly and brakes and bought the bearings and seal for the right hand hub ($200 Aud ) and fitted all that up, wheels back on, made up dummy hubs from an old broken axle and the recent broken axle
Interesting point, the stock axle took about 30 seconds to cut through with a 1800 watt cutoff wheel, the Tibus axle took a full 10 minutes, I think if I had not stuffed the axle with the internal friction on the housing I would never have broken them, damned fine job Daniel, they are great axles (if installed correctly that is).
I adjusted the clutch, replaced a broken exhaust mount and took the truck for a run, it's a bit of a bear to steer in front wheel drive but it felt good to drive it again. I now have to replace the pinion seal on the rear diff while it's empty, fill it with oil, fit the rear tailshaft and when I get axles it will only be a 20 minute job per side to fit them up. The main thing is I will have the truck mobile for the Anzac day parade to take part and show the well deserved respect that I have for all whom have given their lives for freedom.

Lest We Forget....

MM

[vtdeucedriver]

WOW,
I was not squeemish at all on cutting of the axle. Maybe over there were there are so few M-37s but here, I got 2 sets of axles just laying around and are actually in my way some days. I should have the scrap man take em but I am a closet hoarder and so here they sit.

[Monkey Man]

So.....what's your address, I'll sneak around and steal the axle shafts.....and anything else M37 related left out unattended

MM

[Elwood]

Good repair job, MM.

You seem to have the two parts not listed in the SNL, but needed in infinite quantity with any M-37 that's used: patience and persistence.

[Monkey Man]

I FINALLY ordered my axles from John Bizal, I ordered them on the 29th of July and it's only the 6th of August they have arrived already, amazing stuff and GREAT service John
So........ I had better get my butt into gear and get the pinion seal replaced, slip the axles and tail shaft in and put some good quality oil and friction additive in there so I get a long term trouble free run from the rear axle.
I'll keep posting as to my progress.

MM

[Carter]

I'll keep posting as to my progress.MM

Looking forward to that Tony...