Broken RCV Pics/Video

[NewRob]

I waited to post until I had a chance to talk to RCV. It appears I have the unique honor of being the first to break a new style Dana 44 RCV. The rep I talked to says he knows of one other break. A JL that broke at the joint, but I’m the first he’s heard of breaking an actual shaft. When he saw the pic of the shaft he said “Woooooowwww that should NOOOT have happened! I mean even if...no there’s nothing you could do where that should happen!”
It’s being sent back to them so they can do some testing it but initial thoughts are a problem with the heat treat.
This is in no way a shot at them. They’re taking care of it for me and my dealings with them have been fantastic. Stuff happens in manufacturing and they’re standing behind their product and their word on the warranty. As long as everything goes as it has I wouldn’t hesitate to buy from them again.
It took about 90 minutes to swap back to the stock axle and get back out on the trail. Most of that time was spent trying to dislodge the shards

Sponsored

 

[bastage]

Wow.. Short side even it looks like. Glad to hear they are taking care of it.

 

[NewRob]

Wow.. Short side even it looks like. Glad to hear they are taking care of it.

Yeah it’s outer, wheel side of the passenger side 2 piece.

 

[bastage]

Yeah it’s outer, wheel side of the passenger side 2 piece.

Oh.. Then it should of been the FAD bearing that broke. I talked to RCV & they said it was about 5% weaker then the rest of the shaft. I need to order the Max Tow one they have, but have been putting it off knowing I would be spending 1400 bucks on something I wouldn't receive for 2.5 months.

 

[NewRob]

They’re planning to test it and figure out exactly what went wrong.
You’re on point about the weak point but it should not have happened at all.
I was tempted to ask if they would bump me up to the 300m if I paid the difference.

 

[bastage]

They’re planning to test it and figure out exactly what went wrong.
You’re on point about the weak point but it should not have happened at all.
I was tempted to ask if they would bump me up to the 300m if I paid the difference.

I would have asked about that. The 300m isnt even an option for me based on their product listings. Then again I am sure they would do it if I asked. Before that though since I am in a Max Tow I would of gone 35 spline. The only reason I didnt is so I can use my stock shafts since they are so backlogged.. My rear 35 spline shafts were less then 10 days to manufacture & be ready for me to pickup. So the front being 10 weeks is kind of a slap.

 

[Brfertig [HACKED ACCOUNT]]

I am with Bastage, I have the 35 rear spline shafts for peace of mind but the fronts i left alone. The fronts tend to twist rather than snap if they are carbon steel. For the offroading I do, I am not sure I am going to upgrade at the moment. BUT I LOVE those cv style ball joints. Those are the best part of those axles in my opinion.

Thank you for being up front and sharing with us about the axles. That little bit of off road action in the video is really surprising. I cant believe they snapped like that. RCV is an awesome company, glad they are taking care of it.

 

[WillysJeepGladiator]

I waited to post until I had a chance to talk to RCV. It appears I have the unique honor of being the first to break a new style Dana 44 RCV. The rep I talked to says he knows of one other break. A JL that broke at the joint, but I’m the first he’s heard of breaking an actual shaft. When he saw the pic of the shaft he said “Woooooowwww that should NOOOT have happened! I mean even if...no there’s nothing you could do where that should happen!”
It’s being sent back to them so they can do some testing it but initial thoughts are a problem with the heat treat.
This is in no way a shot at them. They’re taking care of it for me and my dealings with them have been fantastic. Stuff happens in manufacturing and they’re standing behind their product and their word on the warranty. As long as everything goes as it has I wouldn’t hesitate to buy from them again.
It took about 90 minutes to swap back to the stock axle and get back out on the trail. Most of that time was spent trying to dislodge the shards

Thanks for sharing What size tires are you running? How hard were you getting after it when it snapped? Just curious, I’m about to install these myself

 

[WillysJeepGladiator]

I waited to post until I had a chance to talk to RCV. It appears I have the unique honor of being the first to break a new style Dana 44 RCV. The rep I talked to says he knows of one other break. A JL that broke at the joint, but I’m the first he’s heard of breaking an actual shaft. When he saw the pic of the shaft he said “Woooooowwww that should NOOOT have happened! I mean even if...no there’s nothing you could do where that should happen!”
It’s being sent back to them so they can do some testing it but initial thoughts are a problem with the heat treat.
This is in no way a shot at them. They’re taking care of it for me and my dealings with them have been fantastic. Stuff happens in manufacturing and they’re standing behind their product and their word on the warranty. As long as everything goes as it has I wouldn’t hesitate to buy from them again.
It took about 90 minutes to swap back to the stock axle and get back out on the trail. Most of that time was spent trying to dislodge the shards

And when did you receive those axles? I received mine mid-October, I’m curious whether mine came from the same batch as yours....

 

[NewRob]

37s. I was not beating on it at all. It was a steep hill but I was barely getting started.
I ordered mine from Northridge in late October.
New set showed up Friday. Itching to get them installed. Then I have to take them back for another shot at that hill!

 

[Gladman]

While I realize I am basing an opinion based on pics, every time I see metal shafts broken with discolouration in the break area it is due to impurities in the metal - could be a carbon deposit, could be any number of other metal inclusions depending on the foundry.
It is possible it is only this one piece of shafting, or there could be many feet in a particular run of production. Hopefully the former.

 

[Harold0819]

Wow...very interesting. Glad it all worked out. I'm getting ready to install a set in my JTR but will be going with one piece shafts and deleting my FAD.

 

[Gren71]

The fella at the end of the video "well that's not good" made me laugh. Glad the company is standing by their product.

Sponsored