scooper - keep in mind that the mini spool did not break that axle. a full spool would have done the same thing as would a ratchet type locker. too much torque on an oem axle while using an equal drive device broke the axle. i did the same thing on an oem axle with a 351 & a det locker. i realize that if i increase my hp much more, i need to go to aftermartket axles. meanwhile i keep an eye on the splines for twist. the push comes when you take off from a light with another quick car and just after the 1-2 shift under full power, the road makes a gentle turn. the car will try to go straight & climb the curb. just keep it in mind. by the way, stay away from those 429s with blown head gaskets. they can be expensive, too. (just kidding.)
I have heard that some of the locking limited slips are harder on axles than the spool, since the one axle will spin, then the second one will lock up when forced, and will snap the second axle. Either way, it cost me $50 to do the spool. I have a line scribed on my axles for checking. And my tires break loose long before my axle is stressed.
You guys are both correct,i shoulden't have blamed the axle failure entirely on the mini spool and i'm sure the 4000 lb total weight of my 64 f100 didn't help either.Scooper,the white line on the axle idea is great if you peiodically check the axles, i've caught more than one twisted axle that way,just beware of sticky tires and hard launches :ie clutch dumps.Derek.
Actually, I took a straight-edge and scratched a permanent line into both of my axles from end to end when I did the rear end rebuild. Just in case of this kind of issue. I have a new set of rear axle bearings that I need to put in (someday) so I figured when I have the patience to cut the old ones off, I will pull the axles and check out the line. If I find any twist, I will stop hard launches until I get heavier axles. I definitely don't want to have to go through a broken axle during a race (or any other time)! Speaking of which, what keeps the car from not acting like an open rear when one of the axles break...do they bind in the axle housing? I figured it would just rattle around in there and the other wheel would still drive. Obviously, I have never seen or had this happen, so just wanted to learn from someone else's experience. (After all this discussion and pictures...I wonder if Todd is still thinking of adding a spool :confused: )
the car will try to make a sudden turn toward the broken axle because the good side is doing ALL the pushing. i went directly toward the xmas tree when mine went, but lifted in time. basically, you are installing a sleeve which makes the 2 axles into 1, & eliminates the spider gears which "split" the torque to the axle with the least resistance. by the way, i may notice the "torque steer" a bit more since i have skinny tires on the front.
So, even with an "open rear" you will get a little torque going to the "dead" wheel making it even out a bit? Interesting...I always figured that the one wheel that got the power got ALL the power, but now that I think about how the spiders are set up, it makes sense that the "live" wheel gets all the power only when you DON'T want it to (when you are stuck in the mud or sand!). I guess even then, there is a slight bit of torque going to the dead tire, just not much. So, if both front tires are firmly planted on the ground when/if an axle breaks, would it just "pull" to the side, or "jump" to the side? I would gues if you had 110HP, you might not even notice it, but if you had 300+ you would... Would it damage the axle housing/differential to have all the power transferred to only one side, even if for just a short time? Like would it break a spring or shackle? Just asking...curious
if both wheels have traction, both drive. if one spins, all power goes there. when mine broke, it was a pretty sharp turn. didnt damage anything else. its all about traction & weight on the rear tires. in the good old days, many people ran open rear ends in fast classes. jack the rf of the car up & maybe an air bag over the rt rear; play with the weights until you can leave at your rpm without wheelspin. the rt rear spins first because the twist of the pinion gear plants the lft rear & lifts the rt rear. thats what you must offset. once spent 2 weekends many years ago with a friend trying to get his d/mp 56 chevy to leave without wheelspin. 4spd, 5.43 rears, 7" wide slicks (class requirement), no water burnouts. oh what fun. look at stockers & ss cars from the 60s & early 70s. usually nose down, rt side higher than left side. when they launched, the rear bumper would be about level.
When I broke my axle (at the track w/slicks) with a mini spool the car went straight spinning the one tire at will. My car weighs right at 3000lbs with me in it, has a 4 speed, 10 ta 1 compression 306, factory 302 iron heads, shorty headers (at the time), solid lifter cam, Performer RPM, 650 DP, 4:11's with 26x9 Hoosiers. With that said I was leaving the line @ 5000 RPM and did dry hops till they stopped me . I think if my car carried the front wheels I would have been looking straight at the "tree". I'm kind'a afraid to mention it but I have double shimed the side gears with some success, ("poor mans posie") you just want to be real careful not to spin one tire like a squirrel ! Has anyone else tried this? ("poor mans posie" we've all been a squirrel at least once in our life) __________________________Rocky
i have an 8" posi that i used in my 64 fairlane. had it shimmed up. wasn't too happy with it. may have been okay for the street but couldn't do much of a burnout. so i went with the mini spool. was cheaper. called nhra tech. told them i had a 64 fairlane, mild 302, mini spool and stock axles. he said you don't make enough power to break the axles. just go and have some fun. nhra regs say that if you have a locked rear end you must use aftermarket axles.
Had to bring the spool back up... I put on new tires (255/60r15 BFG T/As, for anyone who has not been keeping up with my escapades!) and, even though they are wider, they don't chirp AT ALL. I felt a small bump/slip making a very tight full-chock turn into my driveway, but otherwise, no noise on the road or on turns at intersections. I don't know if it is because the old tires were bald down to slick, and there was more rubber on the ground, or if fresher rubber is quieter... Just thought someone might like to know...
Summer, South Texas...no rain. I have driven rain with the old tires. Not too bad. The only problem is if you gun it during a turn. It WILL let loose and cut around beside you. Which is cool, if you know when and what it will do... Once you know it will come around to meet you, it can be fun, but you need to practice and get used to how it reacts to the pedal. My suggestion...if you put in a spool, practice in a safe place...you know...mall parking lots on Sunday night... Get used to how it reacts to the power. The power is applied to the inside tire, unlike going to the outside tire in a slip/limited slip differential. I have not noticed the "push" that some have mentioned. I am getting ready to convert to manual steering...maybe then I will feel it. All I get is a little bit of "hop" on the outside tire on sharp turns. This is what most call the "chirp" as the outside tire is hopping to make up for the less rotation it needs to keep up with the inside tire. This hop also causes a little bit more wear on your tires, but not a substantial wear. Much less than mis-alligned or unbalanced tires.
