Broke half shaft! Need opinions on what to buy so this don't happen again!

[03slaminator]

Well I was racing my buddies c6 vette last night. Went to shift into second gear and snapped the passenger side half shaft. So I'm here to take opinions on what to buy to keep this from happening agian.

I'm gonna have to pull a loan to do this. So I would like to get good parts but keep in mind I'm not a rich guy. This actually couldn't have happened at a worse time right now. (Wife's been having contractions so they have put her on bed rest until the baby is here) so with me being the only one working then money is super tight right now.

My diff has been leaking and I have the clunk and my rear end in the car howls/whines (factory irs if anyone's wondering). I'm looking to fix all this the same time I do half shafts. Should I stick with stock half shafts or upgraded shafts? If I stick with stock shafts would it be ok to just replace the one that broke? I would love to buy a full tilt bushing kit but can't really afford the complete kit. So I'm looking to just replace what I have to, to keep this from happening again. I guess my main question is,, what all is needed to prevent breaking stuff. Haha

Mods are in sig below and my power level right now is 473/526. In the future I am looking to reach 600-700hp. I very rarely get wheel hop but I did last night and I'm sure that's why it broke. So what can be done to prevent wheel hop? Any input on this would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks guys

 

[Zemedici]

you broke a half shaft on the street? I'd go with upgraded half shafts, and just do a mild rear end rebuild at the same time, or SRA swap it for cheap cheap.

 

[Rich'sTRsvt]

At a minimum you should get diff bushings and an frpp cover. Well the rear end is out you should replace bearings and seals being that you said it is whining. You could do the whole ftbr bushings for the cost of aftermarket half shafts.

 

[rattle_snake]

Pull the IRS unit, and diff cover to inspect. The clunk may be the undersized forward IRS subframe bolts. As mentioned, get a brace and diff mounts, which will likely increase whine/noise from gears. I would put a stock shaft in.

Tire type and tire pressure are the most important items to prevent wheel hop. Spend the $ on rubber not expensive half shafts.

 

[03slaminator]

you broke a half shaft on the street? I'd go with upgraded half shafts, and just do a mild rear end rebuild at the same time, or SRA swap it for cheap cheap.

Yes I broke it on the street... Level 2 half shafts from the drive shaft shop is 1044.99 for both. I'm not real sure but with my power level I'm starting to think I don't really need them. Iv been reading guys are in the 10s and are having no problems out of there factory half shafts.

At a minimum you should get diff bushings and an frpp cover. Well the rear end is out you should replace bearings and seals being that you said it is whining. You could do the whole ftbr bushings for the cost of aftermarket half shafts.

Should I get the frpp cover or would a billet flow irs brace work just fine? I have a person that's supposed to send me the brace today. I Don't know nothing about rear ends. Where is a good place to find a rebuild kit for the diff? And what's everyone's thought on possibly going to a 3.90 gear? Or should I just stick with 3.55's? If my gears are bad then what does everyone suggest I get?

Pull the IRS unit, and diff cover to inspect. The clunk may be the undersized forward IRS subframe bolts. As mentioned, get a brace and diff mounts, which will likely increase whine/noise from gears. I would put a stock shaft in.

Tire type and tire pressure are the most important items to prevent wheel hop. Spend the $ on rubber not expensive half shafts.

Ya I'm almost positive that the clunk is from the diff bushings being bad. I can lift the diff up and down a good solid 1-1 1/2 inches. Do you know where the cheapest factory half shafts are? The cheapest factory shaft I have found is 400 bucks! And as far as tires I have on my car, they are Nitto 555R 305/35-18s. I have 18-20lbs in them.

 

[JuStAkId]

I would like to add you should get flsc (full length sub frame connectors) if you dont already have them (helps with wheel hop)
If It was me I would get just a stock replacement half shaft and call it a day. Also if you dont have a diff brace I would get that or as said above a ford racing diff cover along with new diff bushings at the very least.
rattle_snake pretty much hit it on the head imo

 

[Rich'sTRsvt]

Tascaparts has half shafts for 355, but you may want to check availability. I think when I did my diff I got a ford kit with all the bearings and seals for around 100, but I can't recall which vendor, just make sure it comes with the little bearings and seals where the half shafts go in. You may want to do the front subframe bolts as well because they are cheap and easy. From what I have read it is not worth going to aftermarket half shafts unless you go to level 5's.

 

[Zemedici]

wait, you broke stock half shafts, but are saying you don't need upgraded half shafts?

Or am I missing something?

 

[Posi]

Easiest fix. Run the tallest Drag Radial as you can so it doesn't wheel hop. I'd bet it did on launch and damaged it some or the car did it on the shift. Or it's done it a lot in the past. Typically these never break during shifting but only at launch.

When it hops let out! It doesn't matter what IRS half shaft you put in there at all it'll still break.

 

[Fox-4]

wait, you broke stock half shafts, but are saying you don't need upgraded half shafts?

Or am I missing something?

Soft bushings and hard tires kill half shafts.

 

[BlckBox04]

dude just save yourself time and money if you're tired of dealing with half shafts and go solid. I've broken every stocker, level 2 level 5 level 1000000 whatever they have out now. they just aren't designed to keep up with our cars no matter how much people will argue about that. bushing kit springs yada, yada, yada...

I actually love my solid now. It's only bad on really harsh bumps but that can happen on any rear setup. Just buy soft springs and adjustable shocks and it rides like you would never know it's a solid. It's a piece of mind really

Wait until all these new 2015+ cars start having half shaft problems.....

 

[Zemedici]

Soft bushings and hard tires kill half shafts.

bingo but he's not doing anything about tires, nor bushings really. So the only option left is half shafts.

Or go solid as I said earlier and not worry about a single thing. Hell you can run IRS exhaust on SRA if that's a determining factor.

 

[Givens]

I would stick with the stock half shafts, the FTBR bushing kit will help with the wheel hop. What would help the most is upgrade tires, your not doing your self any favors running the 18" wheel but that's what you have.

There are people running in the high 9's on the IRS with stock shafts, there plenty strong they just cant handle slipping and griping which causes the wheel to hop. I would also stay with the 3.55, if you went 3.90's and later upgraded to 700hp I'm not sure you wouldn't run out of gear in the 1/4 and have to shift to 5Th. Just a thought...

 

[Oiljunkie]

Priorities. Do the minimum or hold out until you can afford more. Are you doing the work yourself?

 

[1Kona_Venom]

I would love to buy a full tilt bushing kit but can't really afford the complete kit. So I'm looking to just replace what I have to, to keep this from happening again. I guess my main question is,, what all is needed to prevent breaking stuff. Haha

Mods are in sig below and my power level right now is 473/526. In the future I am looking to reach 600-700hp. I very rarely get wheel hop but I did last night and I'm sure that's why it broke. So what can be done to prevent wheel hop? Any input on this would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks guys

Need to know what your budget is now.

 

[Bigggy]

-Stock Half-shaft, I think Bruce at FTBR has some.
-Front subframe bolt
-Diff Front Bushing
-FRPP or LPW cover or at least BF Brace for the Diff
-Diff rebuild kit from Ford and a guy that can adjust the backlash and pattern on your gear

If you're able to move up the diff by 1", there is a big problem there. If you have that much slack everywhere it will result in very bad Hop and HS will break no matter the strength.

 

[XCSEDAN]

Wait until all these new 2015+ cars start having half shaft problems.....

its all down to build quality, if ford uses a shit design like they did in the B series falcons over here, they'll be shit, if they use a better design like my old beamer had, they'll be sweet.

 

[03slaminator]

Tascaparts has half shafts for 355, but you may want to check availability. I think when I did my diff I got a ford kit with all the bearings and seals for around 100, but I can't recall which vendor, just make sure it comes with the little bearings and seals where the half shafts go in. You may want to do the front subframe bolts as well because they are cheap and easy. From what I have read it is not worth going to aftermarket half shafts unless you go to level 5's.

Iv never heard of tascaparts. Have you ordered from them?

wait, you broke stock half shafts, but are saying you don't need upgraded half shafts?

Or am I missing something?

Lol. Well yes I don't think I need upgraded shafts. I never had wheel hop until I took my stupid speaker box out of my trunk to race my buddy's full bolt on cammed/nitrous 05 gt. When I raced him I spun in 1st and 2nd. Hooked in third. And when i raced that vette my car was spinning. I should have just started to feather the pedal. I have the n2mb box so I was also in full boost when I shifted to second gear. And that's when it broke. When I fix this, I think I'll be putting my speaker back into my trunk. My car use to hook up really well on the streets in first gear with 17-20lbs in the dr's.

Easiest fix. Run the tallest Drag Radial as you can so it doesn't wheel hop. I'd bet it did on launch and damaged it some or the car did it on the shift. Or it's done it a lot in the past. Typically these never break during shifting but only at launch.

When it hops let out! It doesn't matter what IRS half shaft you put in there at all it'll still break.

It defiantly did it shifting into second gear. My car use to hook up on the streets. Until I took some wieght out of my trunk. Lol

dude just save yourself time and money if you're tired of dealing with half shafts and go solid. I've broken every stocker, level 2 level 5 level 1000000 whatever they have out now. they just aren't designed to keep up with our cars no matter how much people will argue about that. bushing kit springs yada, yada, yada...

I actually love my solid now. It's only bad on really harsh bumps but that can happen on any rear setup. Just buy soft springs and adjustable shocks and it rides like you would never know it's a solid. It's a piece of mind really

Wait until all these new 2015+ cars start having half shaft problems.....

I thought about going solid. But I love my car and just can't imagine changing anything about it.

bingo but he's not doing anything about tires, nor bushings really. So the only option left is half shafts.

Or go solid as I said earlier and not worry about a single thing. Hell you can run IRS exhaust on SRA if that's a determining factor.

Well, I think I'm going go ahead and buy as many bushings as possible or just go ahead and buy a complete bushing kit from ftrb. Also rebuild the diff. Buy full length subframe connectors. And buy a factory half shaft. So after all this I know I won't have the money to buy new wheels and better tires for the rear.

I would stick with the stock half shafts, the FTBR bushing kit will help with the wheel hop. What would help the most is upgrade tires, your not doing your self any favors running the 18" wheel but that's what you have.

There are people running in the high 9's on the IRS with stock shafts, there plenty strong they just cant handle slipping and griping which causes the wheel to hop. I would also stay with the 3.55, if you went 3.90's and later upgraded to 700hp I'm not sure you wouldn't run out of gear in the 1/4 and have to shift to 5Th. Just a thought...

Ok I'll definatly stick with 355 gears. Maybe sometime soon I can go with a 16 inch wheel in the rear with a decent tire. I just can't afford it right now.

Priorities. Do the minimum or hold out until you can afford more. Are you doing the work yourself?

Yes. I'll be doing it myself. But I might have someone set the diff when it's gets rebuilt.

Need to know what your budget is now.

I'm unsure on my budget. I'll probably pull a loan to do this. I'm thinking about asking for 2500 dollars.

-Stock Half-shaft, I think Bruce at FTBR has some.
-Front subframe bolt
-Diff Front Bushing
-FRPP or LPW cover or at least BF Brace for the Diff
-Diff rebuild kit from Ford and a guy that can adjust the backlash and pattern on your gear

If you're able to move up the diff by 1", there is a big problem there. If you have that much slack everywhere it will result in very bad Hop and HS will break no matter the strength.

Do you know what the backlash and everything is supposed to be set at?

 

[lowflyn]

I broke one on the 1-2 shift with a wot box as well. That was on street tires. It hopped just enough to let go. I also broke one launching on a 28" Dr at the track.

Just put a factory replacement in and as many bushings changed out as you can afford starting with diff. I had solid bushings at the diff when I broke both of mine.

 

[Rich'sTRsvt]

Iv never heard of tascaparts. Have you ordered from them?

Yes I have, a half shaft as a mater of fact, but this was a while ago and they were under 300. Tasca is a sponsor on here and if you have any questions you can ask Steve@tasca. They are a good source for ford parts.