So while crawling on some rocks the other day I managed to blow up my rear dif (D44 5.13 gears) ... i.e. the pinion gear and carrier are now in many small pieces. My question for you technically savvy guys is, can I pull everything out of the pumpkin and drive it to the shop like that. I was gonna pull the axles and remove everything and then put the axles back in but I wasnt sure if this would be a smart idea. Any and all input would be greatly appreciated.

EDIT- upon further and more detailed inspection I believe the spider gear and carrier are the only damaged parts but I have yet to remove it all and see for sure. Hope this helps with your input.

 

I think you can pull/ disconnect your rear drive shaft and run it in 4x4 (front wheel drive for you) depending on how it broke up and assuming nothing is binding up.

 

rear DS is disconnected I just need to know if I can pull the carrier out and not put it back in so I can get it to the shop. Just getting it home there was a lot of grinding sounds after cleaning out all the shavings and chunks of spider gear. The carrier has some big cracks in it and I dont want it to fall completely apart as I go down the road ya know.

 

whats left of the carrier



spider gear

debris in the housing



is it ok to drive the JK like this?? As you can see there is no carrier to support the axle shafts in the pumpkin and this is my biggest concern.

 

come on ya'll gimme some help here, I dont wanna make this any more expensive than it already is.

 

Yeah thats what I figured would happen... FML this is gonna kill my wallet. Thanks for the input, I do appreciate a reality check every now and again and thank God I asked for it this time. I guess its time for an ARB Locker and some new 5.13's.

oh and Semper Fi back at ya buddy, 2000-2011 0311. Iraq, AFG and everywhere in between.

 

It was my stock carrier. I had 4.10's from the factory cause I have the tow package so the 5.13's fit on it without a swap.

 

Yeah I thought it was pretty nuts myself. Especially when it went Ka-boom on the rocks. Actually it was more like Crunch-PING-grind, quickly followed by no more forward motion. I couldnt believe that the carrier split in half like that though... But i guess weirder things have happened

 

Im gonna stay with the 5.13's but throw in an ARB locker and some Superior Chromoly shafts. Unless I can find a Rubi 44 on the cheap. If I can find one Ill go that way and sleeve and gusset it. Whatever I decide it needs to happen rapidly though, this puppys a daily driver as well.

Your avatar is sick BTW, where did you find it?

 

Another question... You may notice that there is a little bit of damage to the drain plug hole on the inside of the housing. it looks as if some of the peices of spider gear ground it down a little bit. Do any of you think this is criteria for not using the housing? I was going to just put new gears and ARB locker in but I wasnt sure about fitment and the possibility of that damage ruining my new pumpkin parts. Thoughts