Sheared differential bolt....

[stoli]

Pulling away from a light the other day I fell a 'thud' from the rear that fell like something rolling in the trunk against the rear. Since I did had a bunch of stuff in there I didn't think much of it. Today, I went out after having removed everything and the 'thud' was still there. Cue heart sinking...

One of the bolts on the front side of the rear diff has sheared off. Hopefully there is enough left to weld on a nut and back it out.

I don't drag race, I don't launch hard... It's just fatigue.

Big thanks to Kelly ([MENTION=9985]BMR Tech[/MENTION]) for offering up a replacement bolt. While it's 'just a bolt' I suspect it would be a hassle to get from Ford.

Passenger Side:

Untitled by Stoli-v, on Flickr

Drivers Side:

Untitled by Stoli-v, on Flickr

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[IvanCRF]

Are you thinking of going to solid aluminum diff mounts?

I remember at least one other instance of something similar to this happening:

http://www.mustang6g.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52917

 

[wildcatgoal]

Whhhaaat theee ffuuuuuuuuuu?! That's ridiculous.

Although stands to reason. None a single one of my diff bolts had a similar TQ.

 

[ForTehNguyen]

is your half shaft boot ripped, got some slinged grease there

 

[GTBOB]

is your half shaft boot ripped, got some slinged grease there

This ^^^ You have grease flung up from both sides of your diff! Check your boots.

 

[stoli]

is your half shaft boot ripped, got some slinged grease there

That's from the DSS half shafts and the bolts backing out repeatedly. DSS just did a rebuild on them for me; stock ones are on the car now.

 

[Dominant1]

Sorry to hear this but it is easily fixed, dss half shafts, dump them and get ford racing half shafts, dss's are known to be having issues!

 

[stoli]

Sorry to hear this but it is easily fixed, dss half shafts, dump them and get ford racing half shafts, dss's are known to be having issues!

This issue has nothing to do with the half shafts. The unrelated issue with the half shafts was taken care of for free by DSS after putting 30,000 miles on them, so I have no problems there.

 

[Road Dog]

Pulling that remnant out of the mount is going to be a real bear. Need any help?

 

[stoli]

Pulling that remnant out of the mount is going to be a real bear. Need any help?

I'm taking it to the shop I normally use here in Lakeland, Detroit Muscle. It appears there is about 1/16" - 1/8" of the bolt still protruding so the initial plan is welding a nut on to back it out. If that doesn't work, well, hopefully it will work. lol

Thank you for the offer - it's much appreciated.

 

[stoli]

Well I got luck. After dropping the diff there was enough of the bolt protruding to get ahold of it with a pliers and remove it w/out too much effort.

Then a short trip up to BMR and [MENTION=9985]BMR Tech[/MENTION] set me up with some new bolts to replace the oem (Thanks Kelly!). The new ones have a little longer and thicker shank that fits into the bushing whereas the oem thread came to the edge of the bushing. Hopefully this will be a little stronger and less likely to shear...

OEM, sheared and new bolt.

Untitled by Stoli-v, on Flickr

Cut a slot in the new bolt just in case it were to break again and need removing, ;)

Untitled by Stoli-v, on Flickr

Near perfect fit. Washer could be a tad smaller in diameter, but no negative impact

Untitled by Stoli-v, on Flickr

And done:

Untitled by Stoli-v, on Flickr

 

[BMR Tech]

Glad I could offer some help my friend.

Good seeing you today. Hope this doesnt happen again!

 

[wildcatgoal]

I want to know HOW this happened. I mean... HOW in the heck? :(

 

[stoli]

I want to know HOW this happened. I mean... HOW in the heck? :(

I wish I could say it was from 800lbs of torque. lol

 

[Dominant1]

The bolt must have had some kind of flaw that was exposed under pressure, these bolts dont usually break unless we are talking big hp and torque!

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