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Got me Thinking - Bent Balls

984 views 7 replies 7 participants last post by  De Ranged 
#1 ·
The 30spline thread got me thinking - what are the consequences of a housing with bent balls? Would that just kill axles really quick? or could you still wheel it without knowing?
 
#3 · (Edited)
Ive been running a housing bent on the passenger side at the ball for a few years now with no big issues. I bent it jumping the truck at Silver Lake sand dunes, i did not know that there was a dip and another ridge at the top of one dune, and my passenger side front took the whole landing force.

I had to clearance the inside of the ball to make room for the longfields, but other than that no other breakage, i gusseted up the axle and am just going to run it till it breaks, or i bend it further and have to cut my birf's out of the housing. Unless the stress from the 42's is to much for the rest of the axle, then ill just go with a 60.

Granted this is a pretty much a trail only truck, but it does see some street time every once in a while. Im sure i would have tire wear issues, but it still handles fine and tracks perfect down the road.
 
#4 ·
Are you talking about bent housings or the knuckle balls at the end of the axle physically bending (the ball where the trunnion bearings sit)?

I'd think if you bent your balls :D you'd start getting loose steering. Any slop up there would probably start to tear apart the trunnion bearings.

I know bobby was talking about fabricating new axle ends, and trail-gear is supposedly going to build new ones for affset tubes. But if you are running a stock 79-85 axle housing, wouldn't you completely thrash the housing, long before you bent the axle balls? I'd think the kind of force it would take to bend the ends, would most definently bend the stock tubes.
 
#5 ·
I think people are talking about bending the housing at the very end where the ball inserts. Having the ball offset at a slight angle from the housing.
 
#6 ·
yeah - bending something where the balls join the housing. I don't have braces on there yet...
sometimes I look at my rig (samurai, 35s, Toys) and think to myself that the tires look like they are tipped out on top - course if something was bent, I'd suspect they'd point inward, not outward (just rebuilt so all the bearings and such are good)
just-a-wondering
 
#8 ·
Heres my 10c what I've found from working on alot of lux's... (have a semi-comercal shop)
Only ever seen one housing that has bent outboard from the spring perches, and this wasn't at the narrow piont on the ball... this was about where the ball insert finished inside the axle, so if you do brace it carry your bracing up to your spring plate on top
For the books this one was bent when it landed hard after being launched out the top of a near vertical bank :laughing: oh and was wearing 35"

The interesting bit... I have three other housings left from jobs, all bent back next to the diff, where its flairing.... none enough to stop the axle turning but all of them are bad enough to tighten up the diff and in one case I couldn't turn the diff with the bent side axle locked :eek: and all of these were done on standard trucks wearing nothing bigger than 31"s
Oh had to replace the diff center gears (along with housing) on 2 of them becouse of angle loading
Since revised where I'll brace any more axles

Cheers Reece
 
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