Build Project - SS Cherokee

mucovich

mucovich

Till Valhalla!
total destruction!

All right, been wheelin the crap out of this thing this summer after all that's why i built it. Had a few issues but nothing too major (except for maybe an unexpected dunk in a swamp). So, got out to the gorge this weekend and had a great time with a great turnout. So, get to the end of the trail and attempt to climb the "gorge" and after bouncing off the rev limiter alittle snap! At first i thought a broke the ring and pinion - ok sure but then we realized I probably only snapped an axle shaft.

No big deal, that can be fixed in about an hour and i got a load of spare stockers. Soooo, take it all apart this morning,

bent the backing plate so i had quite a mess of gear oil on the trailer! this of course resulting in the shaft (which of course i knew most likely broke at the splines at the spool) wobbling around as i limped it off the trail...



So, pulled the shaft - yup it broke...







Then i pulled the 3rd (beauty of a 9 inch is the 3rd member which of course is a 1 piece unit!) hoping that the ring gear escaped any carnage - should have prayed to the 4x4 gods more i guess...







ring gear wasn't too bad considering, only had a few damaged teeth - pinion was mangled...



and all the bling i found floating around inside the housing...

 
mucovich

mucovich

Till Valhalla!
Pulled the broken end of the shaft out of the spool - there where many smaller pieces, the other side was good, no twisting or anything. you can see the twist before it failed...





I'm not sure (my eyes may have been in carnage overload) but i think the housing is bent too!

hmmmm, decisions, decisions.
 
Kunker

Kunker

Administrator
Club Member
Holy s%!t...that's a hell of a lot of damage. Making me re-think going 9" in the rear. Stock 3rd member, or aftermarket?
 
mucovich

mucovich

Till Valhalla!
it's all stock. I am starting to think (you can see the shaft bent before it shattered) that the shock load broke the bearing caps as the carrier twisted from the force. Broken bearing caps are not an uncommon break for 9 inchs as there are a ton of posts on pirate about bearing caps breaking and of course taking the ring and pinion with it. I have a feeling, as the 3rd is a stocker, that perhaps the age of the metal played a part but i'm not sure. Oh, and i also believe that the housing is bent too! I should rename this thread "rear end destruction"

I could surely rebuild this bad boy with stock parts and maybe relive this later down the road (and this is my 2nd 9" total destruction in 2 years), or build a super strong after market 9 but pay ALOT of dough but i'm starting to lean towards builds tons as putting the 14 bolt in would be thousands cheaper than building a built 9. Of course going tons requires new wheels ect. ect. the fun never ends!
 
Last edited:
C

CJMunky

Guest
Maybe you should just step the engine down to a 2.5L, they just stall out when things get stuck. not enough power to break a glass 9" :p

And I love that cage and tire carrier.
 
Last edited:
D

Dirk

Guest
Major carnage. Fawk
Didn't expect that from a 9" behind a 4.0

If you are considering a 14 bolt, there's one under that Chev van at the lot.
 
mucovich

mucovich

Till Valhalla!
already have the 14 bolt, in fact i've already cut the stock brackets off and started to clean it up.



i ordered '85 chevy 3/4 ton rotors and calipers today to convert over from drums. I never thought i'd have this problem with the 9 inch either, 2nd one that 've destroyed in 2 years so it's time to just go big. Unfortunately i won't be wheelin till spring. Now i just have to find a ford high pinion 60 for the front...
 
mucovich

mucovich

Till Valhalla!
Ok, did some tinkering after work today. Pulled the shafts to remove the drum brakes off the hubs - man i HATE drum brakes...





70 lbs lighter, i sure do love sending drum brakes to the scrap yard!



i'm going to finish cleaning it up tomorrow and then convert it to diskd with these goodies...



should be getting the caliper brackets (and the 4 link truss) on thursday!
 
aweber

aweber

This thread is :rainbow:
Staff member
Club Member
Those drums are fawking heavy! :) PS - Mike has the file for cutting the brake brackets. That is where I got mine. :beer:
 
I

Impact

Well-known member
mucovich said:
maybe it's a good thing that this is sitting off to the side of the garage :D...

Click to expand...

Bahahaha! I totally called this!

I'm surprised you weren't wheeling around with the 14B strapped down incase the 9" went :lmao:

Too bad you weren't interested in trading your 44 for my 60 :stir:
 
mucovich

mucovich

Till Valhalla!
Yes I know, I suppose it was inevitable. I am currently away with work for awhile so this will have to wait until I get back - next I'm hoping to be ready by spring (really ready) with the new axles and boatsided to include finishing the cage. Ah yes, it never ends.
 
mucovich

mucovich

Till Valhalla!
mucovich said:
Out of curriosity i priced out RCV's for this - holy cow are they expensive! Not sure if that's the way i'll go. I'm also on the fence about selectable hubs or slugs not sure which is the best way to go.
Click to expand...

Ran the cheap 35 spline upgrade with spicer (non greasable) u-joints and Poly drive slugs at rauch creek, beat on it more than usually as far as tire spin, with no issues so far. Not bad for ~$300.00

Seeing as your running a 4L, I would not go crazy on upgrading the shafts to RCV's :beer:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Cochise

Cochise

Well-known member
mucovich said:
Ran the cheap 35 spline upgrade with spicer (non greasable) u-joints and Poly drive slugs at rauch creek, beat on it more than usually as far as tire spin, with no issues so far. Not bad for ~$300.00

Seeing as your running a 4L, I would not go crazy on upgrading the shafts to RCV's :beer:
Click to expand...


You talkin' to yourself, or is Adrian posting for you as a sock puppet? :flipoff:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top