Show & Tell........Who else broke something?

[Deleted member 3577]

Spridget (Elva) right axle failure.
Notice that it cracked around where the splines ENGAGED while the axle actually broke near the END of the splines.......In between it twisted.....Interesting!

Another view. (the pen marks the end of the area where force is applied)

The left axle got me home (I'm liking my clutch pack LSD more & more)

 

[Nunyas]

didn't Scottie yell at ya about "givin' it all she's got Capt'n"?!?

while interesting ... I'd hate to wake up to that... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cryin.gif

 

[Deleted member 3577]

[ QUOTE ]
didn't Scottie yell at ya about "givin' it all she's got Capt'n"?!?

[/ QUOTE ]
Odd thing about the failure is that I wasn't Auto-Xing at the time....

This happened just after backing out of a driveway & pulling away in 1st.
(I have to come to a complete stop before I can go from reverse to 1st)

The week before, I was dumping the clutch at 3500 rpms..........Strange!

From what the Spridget guys say.....This sort of thing usually happens when you already have it in first & the car is rolling backwards when you take off.

 

[Bugeye58]

The last time that happened to me it was on a gentle 1-2 upshift. Go figure!
Jeff

 

[tony barnhill]

Wonder if the auto-xing exaccerbated the condition over time & she finally just gave way?

 

[Matthew E. Herd]

That's the most likely cause. It could have already been fatigued terminally, and it just took a little bit to get the crack to complete the job.

 

[Deleted member 3577]

I intend to do some product testing on a new set of Winner's Circle axles shortly.......

Whereby I'll be driving around in a maniacal frenzy, committing heinous acts of exacerbation. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

So you guys think the axle twisted little by little until it broke?

Diabolic or heinous.....What do you like more??
(I kinda like both)

 

[Taz]

I was into drag raceing for many years. When setting up rear end one of the things that I would do is paint a line the lenth of the axle. every couple of weeks I would pull axle and check. You would be suprised how much they twist. after so much twist they would break usually on the spline, that is the weakest point. After switching to Aftermarket axles this became much less a problem. But I still would check a couple of times a season.

 

[MGAdams]

My axle broke at the hub end. Had a great day of hard racing, first place in two of them, and the car was running so well that in the evening I decided to let my crew use it for an autocross at the end of the track. Just a little reward for all their hard work. They drove it down to the end of the straight, were first up for the autocross, and thought the clutch had broken on their first launch. The LSD moved them along a bit, so they brought it back to me at the trailer. It was the same side that smacked the wall at the Mosport race ... just took its time to finally break.
I like the painted line idea to monitor the twist.
Back to racing ... and you can hardly tell it had been crashed.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/savewave.gif

 

[tony barnhill]

Have you seen the article in the new <u>Grassroots Motorsports</u> magazine about checking for cracks at home?

 

[aeronca65t]

Dave: I'm pretty sure *all* my axles have that wear in the spline....but as you may recall, mine all break at the other end.


Anyway, here's some stuff I've broken in the last three years:

Upper tube shock mount at bumpy Lime Rock (before I reinforced it).

1500 connecting rod bearing (this was when I decided I needed a separate shift light)

After an enthusiastic entry onto the main straight at Watkins Glen (thank goodness for Safer-Barriers)

An emergency vise-grip repair after a carb stud broke (this held up nicely for about two hours of track time).

1500 piston after the upper ring land failed.

And if no one says Japanese cars break, this con rod escaped from a Celica during one of our Time Trials....I was flagging and found it trackside. The darn Celica kept going and made it almost all the way back to the pits.

 

[Deleted member 3577]

Aronca 65.....I saw your catastrophic rim failure at BeaveRun.....Impressive!!!

A collective gasp, from the corner workers......Followed buy wild applause.

I also saw pics. of Michael Oritts' exploded engine...
(Horribly depressing....But, last I heard...It is back together & he is back racing.)

I think Michael has the "most significant/depressing/expensive mechanical failure of the year award, while I'd have to award the most spectacular wipe-out title to Aronca for the "death spiral".

 

[Hap Waldrop]

While you getting WC axles, you might also consider thier double bearing hubs. Most Spridget axle failure occur when they experience a jolt of some type. I twisted my splines on my racing axles when I grabbed first gear to quick entering Charlotte Motor Speedway's turn one, I spun the gears off the pinion gear in the process. Another axle story, while crewing for a vintage Spridget in the vintage enduro, the driver ran off course while in the lead with only a couple of lapes remaining and under full throttle came across a curb upon re-entry to the track, the entire back of the car went off the ground with the rear wheels spinning a kazillion miles per hour , I though to myself at the time, hmmm, that's not good for the axles. The driver soon after reported on the radio that the car was now loose and seem to have more power and that he was leaving black marks when exiting the corners, I told him you're on the last lap, you've broken a axle on the inboard side, you have a big lead, take it down a notch and bring the car to the finish line. He did and won the race, we then pulled the axles out and sure enough he had broken both of them.

 

[Deleted member 3577]

Double bearing hubs are on my list....
No more Auto-X this year...It's all road racing from here on out. (Pinto stuff)

I hope I can at least drive around on the new axles & old hubs without breaking anything.

(Trading my helmet for a tweed cap & string-backs) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

 

[aeronca65t]

[ QUOTE ]
.....I saw your catastrophic rim failure at BeaveRun.....Impressive!!!

A collective gasp, from the corner workers......Followed buy wild applause.

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh, yeah, how could I forget about the multi-pirouette, "death-spiral" after the cracked wheel?

Wheel failure from that day.

Backplate (post crash)

Shackle (post crash)

Never found the brake drum....I think it ended up in Ohio.

 

[Deleted member 3577]

That's what I'm talking about....Broken stuff show & tell.

I'll log that into my memory bank....40 year old rims & new sticky Hoosiers may not work well together.

As they say..."Some thing's gotta go"
There are hundreds of parts on a vintage LBC.
It's kinda nice having some idea what to expect after you;

1) Triple the hp
2) Double the stopping power
3) Try & pull the suspension apart w/ one G or more

 

[Michael Oritt]

[ QUOTE ]
I also saw pics. of Michael Oritts' exploded engine...(Horribly depressing....But, last I heard...It is back together & he is back racing.)I think Michael has the "most significant/depressing/expensive mechanical failure of the year award

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks for the kudos Dave. I picked up the old block at Clifford's shop thinking it might make a nice base for a coffee table or something--See photo of it attached. The head was salvageable--the pistons and three of the connecting rods might be reuseable.

Best--Michael

 

[RobSelina]

[ QUOTE ]
Spridget (Elva) right axle failure.
Notice that it cracked around where the splines ENGAGED while the axle actually broke near the END of the splines.......In between it twisted.....Interesting!

Another view. (the pen marks the end of the area where force is applied)

The left axle got me home (I'm liking my clutch pack LSD more & more)

[/ QUOTE ]

Two thoughts:

1 - my spridget axles have the same marks where the splines enter the spider gears.
2 - the twist before failure at the splines is common failure mode. I pull the shafts on the jeep every once in a while and look to see if the splines aren't straight. Once they start to twist they go fast. It's basically too much torque to the wheel that will cause it, as oposed to lateral loads that with break the axle at the flange.

Anyway, let us know how the upgrades go.