D25; Is this bad?

For some strange reason, I thought my front axle would look better without an inch of road grime on it. By mis-using all sorts of tools I pulled the bulk of it off. Then I thought it would look even better with black paint. I wasn't prepared for this though. the diff cover has what looks like a shotgun pattern on it, but isn't the end of the world, I can get a new one. The bulging crack on the diff housing bothers me. The crack on the bump can be seen on the inside of the housing, so it goes through. Is this housing ready to be re-used or recycled? The photo isn't as clear as I would like, if the photo made it. the bulge is roughly the size of half a marble.

 

Is that beer foam??











Might be time for a new diff cover.

 

No that's cast iron. That's my crappy picture of the bulge and crack on the diff housing just aft of the drain plug. the picture of the diff cover didn't make it.

 

Oh, so it's the housing itself. That might be bad. How the heck did you do that?

 

Silly me, I bought it. The ring and pinion are new(I'll bet) because it works. When I was looking to buy it I drove it around and it did go into 4WD and up a crazy steep bank. At some point this axle had a catastrophic(sp?) failure. Must be someones war story somewhere. Maybe the same guy who hide it with bondo.

 

Does it leak?

 

Is the crack worth filling, there is other damage to the axle here and there. Everything else is ignorable.

 

If it isn't bad, and I didn't have a replacement, I might be inclined to smear some JB weld on it and go. If not, you probably need to replace it.

 

I think you’ve already got your answer then.
Something must’ve broken and got between the ring gear and housing to cause an expansion like that.
Sounds like a good excuse to put a better front axle in, like at least a Dana 30.

 

If all it does is leak out and everything inside looks fine I'd just weld the hole up. Pretty sure you need to use nickel rod with a stick welder on cast stuff, but some JB weld would prob also work. But if it appears other damage is in the housing I'd replace the whole thing. They can be had for fairly reasonable.

 

I was lookinng for an excuse to buy another axle, thanks guys. Now I have to convince my wife. Or keep it secret, hmmm.

 

Just to show what a bad break looks like, heres a cover off a d44 I had that the spider gears went caput in...

 

OK OK here's my diff cover. Maybe a quarter of these dents go through.

 

the Dana 25 cover is interchangable with the 27/27a and I think the 30 as well.

 

The whole 'new axle' thing is just me being silly. I'll be opening it up and spilling it's guts to see if I can still use it. I wonder if this damage will weaken the axle to the point it's not safe or reliable off road. Will these cracks weaken the housing and cause or promote more damage? The D25 is all I need. I intend on fun dirt trail riding, nothing crazy like 4x4 magazines. there are many unimproved and unmaintained roads around so the occasional berm or fallen tree, washed out road what have you.
as for the swapping of another dana number, I don't want to modify much at all. It costs money and time I could be using for something else like gas. The steering conversion is something I want to avoid. Just a basic, no frills, fart around the woods Jeep. and I really want to have a Jeep instead of the collection of Jeep parts I have right now.

 

Wow, is that the spider gear stick out through the cover?
That’s some impressive carnage.

 

Keep it, drive it like it is. But look for a cheap replacement D25 housing someone out there has one laying around. Then stop driving it and change it out. That will keep you on the trails. Just my $.02

 

I can’t really tell where the crack is from your pictures, but if it isn’t too long I’d just JB weld it and go for now at least.
Ultimately I think that’s up to you, do you really wanna take some anonymous board members word for it? It is your safety as stake here.