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Longfield failure rate

3K views 34 replies 29 participants last post by  crashinaz 
#1 ·
Bobby Long called me yesterday. We were talking about how many failures he had soo far and what the failures were.
He said he has sold 1400 Longfields to date and has warrentied 12 soo far. THAT IS LESS THAN 1% FAILURE RATE :eek: (.0086% to be exact). He said that 2 had twisted the stub shaft off of the bell and 10 failures were a result of the balls binding on the welded ring because of improper steering stop adjustment.
Also, he said that Marlin Crawler is going to start selling Longfields. You can still buy them from Bobby, but if you want to pay with credit card you can buy them from Marlin.
 
#3 ·
desertoy said:
10 failures were a result of the balls binding on the welded ring because of improper steering stop adjustment.
I talked to a guy that was responsible for 2 of those on the trail a few weeks ago. He fully admits that he didn't adjust the stops correctly. Also he mentioned something about new ones being heat treated differently????

BensonMN's are making some clicking sound, but he hasn't tore it down to check it out.

Good stuff, I've seen 'em take a beating :beer:
 
#4 ·
Have had a set since March. Put in the short side but left the long side with a stock birfield.

Exploded the long side birf this weekend in the box. Now both sides are longfields. :D

So whats the deal on adjusting the steering stops? Do I have to do something special?
 
#5 ·
1400?!?!:eek: Daaaayyumm that's a lot of Longfields!

Finally got to see one the other day. I noticed all the innards were very tight but he said that was expected. I assume they still come apart normally, just with a little more difficulty?
 
#7 ·
Love it!!!
Any comparisons with the AP superstrong inners yet?
 
#10 ·
85TrailToy said:
1400?!?!:eek: Daaaayyumm that's a lot of Longfields!

Finally got to see one the other day. I noticed all the innards were very tight but he said that was expected. I assume they still come apart normally, just with a little more difficulty?
Did you spend some $$ and buy some Frank ? You still need to buy a winch. :flipoff2:
 
#12 ·
RawkPunx4x4 said:
glad to hear that they hold up so well. ill be getting some over the winter. what size tires are most people running using the longfields? i was looking into 37 or 38.
I'm running 37's :D .
 
#15 ·
85TrailToy said:
1400?!?!:eek: Daaaayyumm that's a lot of Longfields!

I assume they still come apart normally, just with a little more difficulty?
Nope, the welded ring prevents them from being taken apart. When the buggae blew a short side inner, the remaining piece of the shaft was so distorted that we had to pull the nub out of the birfield with a porta power.
 
#17 ·
Guilty........

I am part of the problem! I removed my steering stops and have returned 2 Longs to Bobby. He took care of them, and warned me (for the 4th time or so) to put the stops back on and use them.

I do NOT expect him to warranty my misuse/abuse of his product so don't interpret this as a complaint in any way. These are the best mod for a solid axle mini or Cruiser out there, period!

I am using them for comp rock crawling, stubbornly keeping my Cruiser axle with mini outers. Since January when I bought my first pair (I have since bought 6 pair, I think, and resold them to my broke down buddies) I have broken 2 long side inners, and 7 short sides. This is a combination of trail riding with 38" swampers, rock crawling with both 37" MTR's and 35" BFG's. The 35"s are the limit in Legends,and all the comps were on them and that where half of the inners where broken. A pair of the inners where spendy 4340's from Dutchman, they broke too! Late this summer I chopped 500 lbs or so off my Cruiser and have not broken any axle parts since, and have competed in 2 events, the SuperCrawl and the season finals at Erocc, which I won!

Both of my broken/abused/damaged Longfields didn't actually break and stop progress, the inner cage split and they either stopped turning or started clicking and popping. They never left me in 3 wheel drive!

Bobby and I have communicated often, so I am sure he references my abuse and his warning when someone asks. If you want long term life from your Longs, adjust the stops to factory which is near 30 deg and they will last! If you buy Longs, pick up some spare inners, at least the short side.

His newest mods include treating the ball cage which was the point of most damage. I ran them in the last 2 events and have no clicking so I'm convinced it was an improvement. I do suggest buying a spare, mostly because if you snap an inner it may require additional hassles to pull the stub outta the birf cage. I've had to weld a rod/bolt to 3 of mine to extract the stub. This is not an option in comp where every minute counts against you.

I could be his HAPPIEST customer...................................
 
#21 ·
I WANT LONGFIELDS BAD!!!

BUT I can't afford them right now. When I can, I will be swapping mine out also because I don't want to deal with this again! And this is only my first broken Birf.



How many people have broken Aisin Hubs with the Lonfields? I finally got myself a spare.

Does Bobby Long have a detailed description of how to adjust the stops and how to do the Martack? I remember seeing a FAQ on POR a few weeks ago, I think. Can someone write a tech article on these on get it put in the Tech section so this information doesn't get lost?
 
#23 ·
4RnrRick said:
I WANT LONGFIELDS BAD!!!

BUT I can't afford them right now. When I can, I will be swapping mine out also because I don't want to deal with this again! And this is only my first broken Birf.

I just broke my first birf also and my second at the same time. the short side shattered the bell and cage the other just the bell cracked. so I went to bobbys and picked some up. Nice guy.
 
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