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Problem solving... not fixed yet. Rear axles breaking!


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My ea81 wagon keeps breaking rear axles... been researching and found that GD posted a thread that he swaps on the ea82 cups onto the outer?, brake/tire side of the ea81 axles, so when they are extended all the way it dont snap. Going to try this, think the axles that were with the car when i bought it were this way.... hmm. also that if my torsion bar is bad/not cranked up all the way would make a difference. Going to try messing with that, have an extra torsion bar, myabe just swap it out... Thanks for reading, pleasr reply with any info/exp you have on this subject. Have welded diff but took it out to see if that was the problem, not it. If i fix it i mite put the welded diff back in.

 

Do I swap both ends of the cups or just the brake/tire side? THanks again.

 

Setup is ea81, 1982 gl waon, 6'', 6 lug, 28'' s.s. on 14 chevy rims, 5sp mt d/r, rear disc, front kyb gr2, factory brush guard/winch mount.

Edited by Urabus-84HBDR
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how are you breaking axles?are you breaking cups?those axles were ea82 hybrids...Oneeye built them at evens for me when i broke my axles.

 

the torsion bar can be clocked,, but you will lose articulation....

 

i'd like to know the circumstances involved with breaking the axles.....

brian

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Yes the cups are what breaking ovaling kind of, and cracked in two/three places. the bearings are gone too after this usually. well like first post says, ive swapped out the welded diff for the one you gave with the car... So i could run 4wd w/out throwing the stub in when needed... Mite put it back in, (welded diff.) Bought two new axles from napa- too much. first they gave me the wrong axles, they were too long. weird. got the right ones and they slid right in. I forgot that they were the hybrid axles... occured to me yesterday when i was reading GDs post about how to do that... Oops, im retarded. So, i have extras ea82 axles laying around, going to swap the cups out. Both ends right? or just the outside one? not real clear on that. The trail i was on isnt that gnarly either, they are just overextending and popping, felt it everytime theyve broke...

 

Would cranking up the torsion bar bring my diff up so the axle stubs on the diff are higher then the stubs on the hub/brakes? Would my handling be any different?

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Axle joint breakage is a function of angle AND speed. The steeper the angle they are at, the slower your can safely spin them without failure.

 

My guess (and my experience is the same) is that you are breaking them when the suspension is hanging at full downward articulation - possibly with the wheel free-spinning in the air?

 

This is partially a problem with the way you are driving it - don't spin the wheels real fast like that when one is hanging down - it's doesn't usually help anyway and often just digs holes. 10% wheel-spin gives the best traction. The other thing that can help is to add limiting straps to keep the suspension from dropping down so far. This really doesn't hurt your off-road much since if the wheel is hanging down like that there is no weight on it and it really can't propel you forward anyway - no weight = no traction.

 

The EA82 cups help with over-extension - I've had problems with the joints actually pulling so far out of the cup that they walk over the retaining ring and in the process split the cup open. The EA82 cups will allow farther downward travel safely. You may have broken your set with EA82 cups using the welded rear and are now having problems with over-extension because you aren't using the right cups anymore.

 

DO NOT drive on dry-pavement with a welded rear, both rear axles in place, and huge tires. You will break the axles every time if you make even a mild turn into a driveway, etc. This is simply a lose situation - just don't do it. No matter how it's setup the axles aren't strong enough to handle that kind of abuse.

 

GD

Edited by GeneralDisorder
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i am betting over extension as well......i am an axle breaker....and after those were built , i had them in for about 2 months before you got it and did not break them......soo

 

light on the skinny pedal,not stretched out.......your already finding the limits of the car. thats good........

 

oh, if you come down this way today, i will be inthe garage.bring those pieces with you.cheers, brian

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Axles break due to spinning in the air then coming in contact with the ground. Better lines and less gas will relieve most of your breakage issues. The hybrids allow a little more travel. But the reason for breakage is poor driving habits!

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DO NOT drive on dry-pavement with a welded rear, both rear axles in place, and huge tires. You will break the axles every time if you make even a mild turn into a driveway, etc. This is simply a lose situation - just don't do it. No matter how it's setup the axles aren't strong enough to handle that kind of abuse.

 

GD

 

our gen 2's with welded rears run around on pavement all day without problems. same for gen 3's. i doubt that's the issue

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