Let me get this straight.
No bracing. No welds. And relocation brackets installed.
Hundreds of passes. 1.3 sixtys.
No failure?
I'm going to go one step further on the diagnosis of this picture and lay my head on the chopping block by claiming that the terrible welding is most likely the cause of the failure. On the axle tube as it comes from the factory, there is no inherent weak spot right where the pumpkin sleeves end. The tubes slip through and are pinned inside the sleeves. I think that not only did the welder not get penetration on the pumpkin with his crappy weld, but he also overheated the tubes creating a weak spot right where he was attempting to reinforce them. The break was right along the edge of his shitty weld and therefore I think having the axles welded improperly (as the images above show) does much more harm than good. I'm not 100% certain but my assumption is that the axle tube may not have failed at that point if it had not been weakened by the heat from the welder.
May hit you up in a few weeks when I can get under the car and measure the axle tubes. Not sure if the tubes on my 9 are the same diameter as the 8.8. They do look awfully handy. Tired of having to be a contortionist to strap the back of my car down.
Had my tubes welded today and shortened too.
How much did you take off? Im thinking about doing mine this winter if I can ever decide what wheels I want.
Had my tubes welded today and shortened too.
How much did you take off? Im thinking about doing mine this winter if I can ever decide what wheels I want.
1" per side. Diff build starts here:
http://www.s197forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=91539&page=21