So on our way home today from helping a friend work on his celica, we were cruising at 45 mph when all of the sudden there was a jolt, and Tippy tipped driver side and we heard massive grinding. Troy was driving and he did a great job keeping Tippy in line while we coasted to a stop thinking at first we had a blow out... that is until we saw my rear driver side tire go flying past us with the 2 foot axle shaft sticking out of it. Once it got about 20 feet in front of us it hit a divot and careened across the front of us only to bounce into a Hyndai show lot. We were so lucky that:

A) We didn't get hurt
B) Another driver near us didn't get hit
c) The tire with 2 foot axle shaft didn't hit any of the new cars.

We had no for-warning. At this point we don't know what failed. Was it the detroit locker? Did the wheel bearing fail? I had slashed a tire 3 weeks ago and got a new spare but it was at 25% tread vs my newer 75% tread tires. Did running one tire on the rear with lower tread ultimately cause it? I am baffled. I had thought that Toyota's might have a rear axle shaft break, but I have never heard of the wheel coming loose and out of the axle housing.

Here she is after we came to a rest and retrieved the wayward tire.


The Tire


You can see the splines are stripped.


Inside the axle housing. Note the damage around the sides.


Poor Tippy! At least Troy and I managed a smile...


What a crazy day!

****
Update... After grinding the last 2 days I got the rear axle and suspention out



Here is the rear axle:


Look at how bent is is. Not sure if it was that bent before she lost the tire - but it might have been which would have weakened the bearing.

 

i had that happen to me in my sandrail going about 30....it really is a weird feeling when you see your own rear tire fly past you....

 

WOW im sry man! are u ok? What happened?

 

Yeah, we're OK, got off the side of the road dragging the rear dustshield and spilling diff fluid along the way

 

This happened to my friend in his Tahoe after getting new axle shafts installed... NTB forgot to install some C-clips, and the axles stayed in for about 50 miles before they both dropped out and sped past the truck at about 40mph

 

Full floater time...

 

I thought the rears WERE full floating ... that the axle couldn't come out like that if you broke an axle shaft....

 

No, sir they are not. D60 are full floaters, FROR conversion is a Full Floater. But, the stock axles are not Full Floaters.

 

You broke something or almost broke it last time wheeling...it just decided to go then.

Time for full floater for sure...best mod I've done besides lockers and gears.

 

that sucks molly

 

Basically, a full floating axle shaft doesn't carry the weight of the vehicle. The wheel would be held to the axle assembly, regardless of the condition of the axle shaft. I could be wrong, but I thought only Land Cruisers had full floaters

I can't explain it so well, but try this link.

http://www.off-roadweb.com/tech/0112...loating_axles/

 

http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/reviews/fullfloater/

 

haha my uncle had that happen on a jeep with 38 iroks the whee/tire/axle combo stuck into a ladies passenger side window

 

looking at the pics again, it appears the inside of your axle tube is boogered up as well. Looks like its time for a D60 axle. Then you'll have a Full Floater, and lots of beef..

 

...not to mention the width that tippy needs to umm...become untippy?


crappy deal on the axle...good thing nobody got hurt!

 

If my axle ever went through someones window I'd be out on 3 wheels so fast it wouldnt even be funny

 

The rear is a semi-floater.....you didn't even break an axle...the splines tell the story.

What happened is somebody did not press the bearing assembly on right. They left off the safety sleeve and/or clip that prevents the bearing from walking off the shaft. As it starts to walk off, the spline engagement on the axle ends becomes "less" and the result is the spline damage you have there. The wheel comes off all the way when the bearing walks all the way off the surface. You had better remove the other side and check for the pressed on sleeve/clip.

 

Any chances you have a pic of said sleeve/clip?

 

Is nobody seeing the irony here that she broke down right in front of a Toyota dealership? Sorry Molly I find humorouis.

James

 

Good ole Zuk, that is why majority of the members here send you the work and nobody else. Your the man!

James