I recently broke a birf and replaced them with Longfields and 4340 inners. I figured i had fixed the problem until i tried locking the hubs to test the 4wd to make sure everything was smooth. When i put it to the test, the front wheels werent pulling at all and there seemed to be a ratcheting sound. It sounds to me like the recoil from the birf grenaded the detroit. I havent taken apart the third to see the damage, but if this is true, what is the best choice of locker to put in with the longs and 4340's? Will a Detroit be more proned to break with the longs and inners, or will they help eliminate the grenading of the locker? Ive researched but cant come to a conclusion

I have heard tons of times that the Detroit will usually take a shit when the shafts go. But birfs, I dont think they can effect the locker. I would check your lockouts as well.

i have read that when longs let go they sometimes damage Detroits. it seems alot of people use ARB's to not have this problem. If you search i think it was like a couple months ago that i saw the post.

hth

I know the longs are good b/c i just installed them and everything was smooth, and it may be the lockouts. Im pretty new at this and all i know is that the front drive shaft is spinning, but no action in the front when locked except for a lot of ratcheting. I guess ill find out when i take it apart

If I were you, before you start breaking shit down, take out your rear driveshaft, put it in 4wd, jack up the front end, and then do the test again. listen to where you are getting the ratcheting. If it sounds like the diff, good bye Detroit.

May want to check your R&P.

The front drive shaft is spinning when in 4wd and there was no noise when i manually spun the front wheels when they were locked. It seemed too smooth to be a r&p, but im no expert. I dont know if that means anything but wouldnt the r&p make noise if broken?

Derek, this is not something you figure out by logically deducing it. Get your tools, throw on your overalls, grab your John Deer hat, and tear the fawker apart!

I plan on doing just that

Originally posted by KC_JoNeS
Derek, this is not something you figure out by logically deducing it. Get your tools, throw on your overalls, grab your John Deer hat, and tear the fawker apart!

Could not have said it better myself:D

Would longs and 4340's transfer the stress inward causing detroits to break more or would they help eliminate grenading

the shock load of breaking axles or birfs is what kills the powdered metal parts in your detroit.

take it apart and you will understand

Originally posted by camo
the shock load of breaking axles or birfs is what kills the powdered metal parts in your detroit.

take it apart and you will understand

do all lockers tend to break easily with the shock load or is it more common for the detroit?

Could it be that your hubs are not assembled correctly?

I installed a locker and didn't pay any attention to the hubs orientiation and they didn't work correctly, It may be worth a shot b4 breaking the entire axle down, although I am not sure that they would cause a ratcheting noise, unless only one side is actually locked and you are constantly ratching as if you are always turning.......make sense?

when u take it apart it should look like this. if these little tabs are broke off u are screwed.

Originally posted by 412unner
Could it be that your hubs are not assembled correctly?

I installed a locker and didn't pay any attention to the hubs orientiation and they didn't work correctly, It may be worth a shot b4 breaking the entire axle down, although I am not sure that they would cause a ratcheting noise, unless only one side is actually locked and you are constantly ratching as if you are always turning.......make sense?

Would the hubs not being assembled correctly cause the whole front end to not pull. NO wheels are pulling in the front and that is what i dont understand. :confused:

yes. that could cause it. take the hubs off and then make teh front end spin. see if the axles turn.

Thanks for that suggestion, its alot better than taking apart the whole front end again. I think you are right b/c when i was installing the inners, i spun the front drive shaft to see if the r&p was still smooth and the axles were both spinning

take the face off the hub, make sure the toothed portion is snug against the dial when its in free and moves out when in locked. my wifes friend couldnt get her toy into 4wd cause her hubs were put together wrong by a goofy toy mechanic that replaced the seals in the front end...

if it turns out that the hubs are assembled correctly, could the locker effect the front end not pulling???

When i did the locker install, I rotated the face of one of my hubs(the part with the dial and spring) and it wouldn't unlock, its possible that both of yours are rotated the oppisite of mine and are not locking at all. If you take them apart and play with the operation it should be clear what booger and I mean......

Thanks for the advice, ill give it a try and see how it goes

if all else fails it could be your axle housing. i had a loud ass ratcheting noise after i replaced my birf so i also replaced the quicklock and it still made the noise. it would ratchet when one tire goes under load and neither tire would spin. the last thing i can think of is a bent axle housing so that could be your problem. i doubt it but its possible

Well, what was it?

Did you take it apart yet and find out?

I havent had time to, but i plan to either tomorrow or this weekend
... ill post the results when i figure them out

I believe i have found the problem. I jacked my truck up and tested my hubs to see if they were assembled properly and when i locked them and manually spun a tire, both rotated and so did the drive shaft. Then i worked my way in. i pulled the third out and noticed that the r&p was still in tact and not broken. I also noticed a lot of square metal pieces about 1/4" broken in the diff. Im pretty sure they were from the locker but i havent disassembled it yet.

my front detrioit has survived about 15 broken axles also.:flipoff2: