| So much for Warn alloy axles being able to survive a broken cross! Even though the upper ear is out of focus you can see how it's been stretched into an ellipsoid... |  |
| ...by the shattered Spicer x-297. This one failed in two different modes; the bearing surface snapped off the cross and the cap on another arm of the cross shattered as well. |  |
| In hopes of preventing the weak Spicer joints from taking out any more spendy Warn shafts, I'm going to try CTM's forged 300m u-joints. You can see from these pictures that the CTM dwarfs the Spicer in every way. |  |
| The body is thicker, the arms are thicker, the caps are thicker and use a greasable bronze bushing rather than rollers, and both the caps and body are made out of 300m with the body being forged. These bad boys aren't cheap, but then neither is the growing pile of mangled Spicer joints and shafts, and lately Warn shafts, out in my garage! |  |
| In these pics shamelessly ganked from CTM's web site and a review from the Pirate board you can see the minor changes from the CNC versions to the forged version above. I'm still waiting on my replacement Warn shaft before I can run these things but reports from the competitive rock crawling front are promising. I'll update with installation tips and performance results as things progress... |   |
| The installation of the CTM u-joints has an extra wrinkle, but these instructions should cover the install of standard Spicer type joints as well. The wrinkle is that because of the massive center section on the cross, it only fits into the yoke a certain way. In this pic you can see how the notch in the cross above the logo accepts the ear of the yoke and the snap ring allowing you to thread the joint into the yoke. (Notice that you first pull the caps off before threading the joint into the yoke.) You'll also notice that the opposite trunion is resting on the ear of the yoke. It must be tapped past the yoke with a brass drift. (On a standard u-joint you can thread it in any which-a-way, once you pull the caps, and you probably won't have to coerce it into place.) |  |
| This is another view of the trunion being tapped past the yoke. |  |
| A slightly fuzzy pic of the cross after it drops into place. The instructions state to put the snap rings on first and the o-rings on next, as shown here. I had better luck putting the o-rings on first so I didn't have to move the snap ring over the o-ring to seat it on the cap. (If you're using standard joints with the C-clips and integrated seals you don't have to worry about the seals or snap rings. |  |
| Now put the caps on the cross through the ears of the yoke and press, or beat, them into place while being careful that the cross stays lined up so the caps go onto the trunions. A hammer and socket the same size as the cap works well, but a press gives you a little more control over the process. As the cap clears the inside edge of the yoke take the snap ring and move it past the seal onto the shoulder of the cap. Keep pressing the cap into the yoke until the snap ring can be seated in the groove. At that point I flip the axle to press on the other cap and repeat the snap ring installation process. You can see that the snap ring on the left is already seated. |  |
| If you are using standard u-joints you push the caps into the yoke until you can snap on the c-clips. Next you need to move the caps back out slightly to seat the snap rings or c-clips against the inside of the yoke. I use a piece of 2x6 that has a notch cut in it just big enough cradle the yoke and support the bearing caps. Then using a socket large enough for the cap to fit in, drive down on the yoke until the snap ring or clip seats. Check to make sure you can't rotate the clip with a punch or small screwdriver. If you can spin it in the groove repeat the above procedure until both snap rings or clips seat. |  |
| With the u-joint installed in the stub axle, pop the caps off the remaining trunion and thread it through the axle shaft. On the CMTs there is another notch that allows the ear of the yoke to nest far enough to almost thread the other end through. Repeating the step above, drive the trunion past the yoke with a brass drift or piece of wood. |  |
| In this pic you can see that I wised up and put the snap rings outside the seals to make it easier to get them up on the shoulder of the cap. Again drive the caps in far enough that the rings can be seated in the grooves. |  |
| Repeat the process of seating the rings against the inside of the yoke. Notice that the CTM caps are set-up for needle type grease fittings. When I attempted to install the axles with the grease fittings in place the joint wouldn't pass through the knuckle. I had to install the axle and then put the grease fitings on... Now slap them puppies in and go wheeling! |  |
| UPDATE: On a recent run I got a rock bar wedged under an overhang, winched the front tire hard into the limestone, cranked the wheel to that side, and threw it in 217:1. The perfect recipe for carnage! |  |
| This is the shattered stub axle with the spindle removed. We had to take turns wailing on the shattered stub axle with a BFH/drift to get it out of the spindle. |  |
| Since it broke at the shaft, Warn warranteed it! |  |
| The inner shaft was undamaged and the CTM joint didn't even break a sweat... CTMs and alloy shafts are the cost effective solution to Dana 44 front axle breakage. They may be a little spendy up front, but they are much cheaper and far less hassle than a growing pile of shattered and deformed Spicer components. |  |