Blew my driveshaft in half

[Gary's Hemi]

I had a fairly quick little 77 Ford regular cab shortbox in high school,one night after some beverages had been consumed I did a neutral drop at about 4,000 rpm,you couldn't of sheared the pinion off any cleaner then that neutral drop did,lol. The worst of it was the little truck had dual fuel tanks,and the driveshaft thrashing around underneath decided to vent the tank,and that was the tank that was full,lol.Needless to say,i've never done another neutral drop,lol. Everybody has been young once,and done something stupid at one point in time,that probably should of killed them,but didn't,so give the young guy a break.Nobody got killed,and hopefully he's learned he can't drive it that fast with out issues

Hahahahaha. Oh man that is funny. Those times are horrible when your going through them but when you look back yrs later you cant help but laugh.

 

[rocket]

I had a fairly quick little 77 Ford regular cab shortbox in high school,one night after some beverages had been consumed I did a neutral drop at about 4,000 rpm,you couldn't of sheared the pinion off any cleaner then that neutral drop did,lol. The worst of it was the little truck had dual fuel tanks,and the driveshaft thrashing around underneath decided to vent the tank,and that was the tank that was full,lol.Needless to say,i've never done another neutral drop,lol. Everybody has been young once,and done something stupid at one point in time,that probably should of killed them,but didn't,so give the young guy a break.Nobody got killed,and hopefully he's learned he can't drive it that fast with out issues

well said, kudos kind sir!!

 

[Wild one]

Hahahahaha. Oh man that is funny. Those times are horrible when your going through them but when you look back yrs later you cant help but laugh.

My Dad wasn't impressed as it was his fuel in the tank,lol. I had a buddy with a healthy 454 LS6 Chevelle,we're roaring down an unknown back road at probably 90 mph ,come flying over a hill and be dammed if the road didn't make a turn around a small slew,well the old Chevelle wasn't making that turn at 90 mph,we probably made about 3 skips across the water,before we hit the other shore,he pinned the living **** out of it,and that old Chevelle managed to chew itself through the mud and up the other bank,and away we went right back up to 90 mph,lol. We still talk about that night whenever we get together,lol. All I can say is,i'm damn glad there was no smart phones in those days,as there's a few stupid things I've been involved in,that would probably go viral now-a-days,lol.Glad I grew up in the 70's,lol.

 

[crackerjack1957]

My Dad wasn't impressed as it was his fuel in the tank,lol. I had a buddy with a healthy 454 LS6 Chevelle,we're roaring down an unknown back road at probably 90 mph ,come flying over a hill and be dammed if the road didn't make a turn around a small slew,well the old Chevelle wasn't making that turn at 90 mph,we probably made about 3 skips across the water,before we hit the other shore,he pinned the living **** out of it,and that old Chevelle managed to chew itself through the mud and up the other bank,and away we went right back up to 90 mph,lol. We still talk about that night whenever we get together,lol. All I can say is,i'm damn glad there was no smart phones in those days,as there's a few stupid things I've been involved in,that would probably go viral now-a-days,lol.Glad I grew up in the 70's,lol.

Ya giving away your age.....lol

 

[ramdriver2018]

My Dad wasn't impressed as it was his fuel in the tank,lol. I had a buddy with a healthy 454 LS6 Chevelle,we're roaring down an unknown back road at probably 90 mph ,come flying over a hill and be dammed if the road didn't make a turn around a small slew,well the old Chevelle wasn't making that turn at 90 mph,we probably made about 3 skips across the water,before we hit the other shore,he pinned the living **** out of it,and that old Chevelle managed to chew itself through the mud and up the other bank,and away we went right back up to 90 mph,lol. We still talk about that night whenever we get together,lol. All I can say is,i'm damn glad there was no smart phones in those days,as there's a few stupid things I've been involved in,that would probably go viral now-a-days,lol.Glad I grew up in the 70's,lol.

You guys all live up to your last name that’s for sure.

 

[sbarron]

Cool story bro

Your repeated use of "Bro" sounds somewhat appropriate.

 

[sbarron]

FCA doesn't need to come up with a different driveshaft as all these "issues" occur FAR outside normal designed operating parameters.

 

[Wild one]

FCA doesn't need to come up with a different driveshaft as all these "issues" occur FAR outside normal designed operating parameters.

Not really,there's been the odd stock truck lose the driveshaft at 80 mph,which isn't an uncommon speed on a freeway.It's a **** poor design as far as driveshafts go.The shaft should have a slip yoke into the transmission,or else use a steady bearing mount and have the slip yoke at the steady bearing.Give it up Sbarron,you've been on the young guys case enough already, the rest of us are getting tired of your comments. Go find another soapbox to stand on ,enoughs enough already.

 

[sbarron]

Not really,there's been the odd stock truck lose the driveshaft at 80 mph,which isn't an uncommon speed on a freeway.It's a **** poor design as far as driveshafts go.The shaft should have a slip yoke into the transmission,or else use a steady bearing mount and have the slip yoke at the steady bearing.Give it up Sbarron,you've been on the young guys case enough already, the rest of us are getting tired of your comments. Go find another soapbox to stand on ,enoughs enough already.

Not my soapbox, but I'm gonna call someone out for irresponsible, reckless behavior any chance I get. I know it won't make any difference but I call 'em like I see 'em.

 

[Wild one]

Not my soapbox, but I'm gonna call someone out for irresponsible, reckless behavior any chance I get. I know it won't make any difference but I call 'em like I see 'em.

********,you're just hassling the kid now.As if you never did anything stupid in your younger days. Give it up,you're starting to get really tiring to listen to. You're the a-hole who's constantly stirring this pot,so get over yourself. I'm trying to lighten the mood here,and you come along and just stir the pot some more,give your head a shake and back off.

 

[sbarron]

Sure, I did all manner of stupid **** when I was younger... AND... was always told it was stupid **** by people who had lived through it.

Not sure what you mean by "You're the a-hole who's constantly stirring this pot"... i post constructive, informative posts often as well, but again, I'm gonna call out stupidity any chance I get.

 

[Wild one]

Sure, I did all manner of stupid **** when I was younger... AND... was always told it was stupid **** by people who had lived through it.

Not sure what you mean by "You're the a-hole who's constantly stirring this pot"... i post constructive, informative posts often as well, but again, I'm gonna call out stupidity any chance I get.

Maybe look in the mirror. Give it a rest motor mouth,i think a few of us are getting tired of your rant. You've went way beyond what's necessary at this point,now you're just stirring the pot.Think I've noticed that before with you though,you don't know when to shut up

 

[sbarron]

Maybe look in the mirror. Give it a rest motor mouth,i think a few of us are getting tired of your rant. You've went way beyond what's necessary at this point,now you're just stirring the pot.Think I've noticed that before with you though,you don't know when to shut up

I apologize. The saying is correct, you can't argue with stupid, they'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

Back to the original topic...

No way is this failure a FCA problem at the given parameters. To go that fast in a pickup "safely" means spending a bit of dough to mitigate the failure of components not designed to that level of performance. OP, good luck with your search for safe speed.

 

[Ramnewbie]

We were all young and dumb and did stupid **** from time to time. That's not the issue. The issue is doing this stupid **** and then blaming someone else because you're truck broke. I've tore up my share of stuff, but never went to the manufacturer and said it was their fault. I either just replaced the parts and didn't do that again or upgraded so it wouldn't happen again. By the way if OP wants to keep running 130 mph he needed to check into some "H" rated tires. Blowing a tire at that speed ain't gonna end pretty.

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[Wild one]

We were all young and dumb and did stupid **** from time to time. That's not the issue. The issue is doing this stupid **** and then blaming someone else because you're truck broke. I've tore up my share of stuff, but never went to the manufacturer and said it was their fault. I either just replaced the parts and didn't do that again or upgraded so it wouldn't happen again. By the way if OP wants to keep running 130 mph he needed to check into some "H" rated tires. Blowing a tire at that speed ain't gonna end pretty.

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It would be a different story if his experiences were a "one off" experience,but you go on any Ram facebook page and you'll find lots of guys who've had the driveshafts go to hell on their regular cab shortbox trucks with the 8 speed and 3.92 gears.FCA knows about the problem,why do you think they're replacing the shafts under warrenty.FCA will deny warrenty at the drop of a hat on anything else,but they've been replacing these driveshafts pretty well across the board under warrenty,no questions asked.Which leads me to think,yes it is a manufacturing issue,and FCA should be held accountable.What happens when the shaft falls out at freeway speeds,goes through a windshield and kills somebody,who would you hold responsible then. It's a issue of how long the shaft will stay in the trucks before it's had enough and comes out from under the truck and kills somebody.Sure he exceeded the stock parameters,but there's guys who've never exceeded the stock parameters and have had the shafts come out from under the trucks. It's definitely a manufacturing defect that FCA needs to address before it kills somebody.You guys are burying your heads in the sand if you think it's not FCA's fault for designing something that'll self destruct under normal circunstances.Little tidbit of info for you,FCA has replaced enough of the driveshafts under warrenty,they are now on back order,that should get the message across that they fail fairly often,lol.

 

[misuracaf10]

I’ve heard this things can snap around 120mph, so I’ve never taken mine over 110/115 because of this


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[sbarron]

It would be a different story if his experiences were a "one off" experience,but you go on any Ram facebook page and you'll find lots of guys who've had the driveshafts go to hell on their regular cab shortbox trucks with the 8 speed and 3.92 gears.FCA knows about the problem,why do you think they're replacing the shafts under warrenty.FCA will deny warrenty at the drop of a hat on anything else,but they've been replacing these driveshafts pretty well across the board under warrenty,no questions asked.Which leads me to think,yes it is a manufacturing issue,and FCA should be held accountable.What happens when the shaft falls out at freeway speeds,goes through a windshield and kills somebody,who would you hold responsible then. It's a issue of how long the shaft will stay in the trucks before it's had enough and comes out from under the truck and kills somebody.Sure he exceeded the stock parameters,but there's guys who've never exceeded the stock parameters and have had the shafts come out from under the trucks. It's definitely a manufacturing defect that FCA needs to address before it kills somebody.You guys are burying your heads in the sand if you think it's not FCA's fault for designing something that'll self destruct under normal circunstances.Little tidbit of info for you,FCA has replaced enough of the driveshafts under warrenty,they are now on back order,that should get the message across that they fail fairly often,lol.

Agreed 100% "under normal conditions". That said.. IF, I as FCA, could in any way prove that the vehicle was operated outside of "normal conditions", I wouldn't pay for squat. I would guess that if it came down to brass tacks, in the case you mention above, where there is a huge lawsuit pending, that FCA would be able to download all kinds of data that could either prove or disprove how the truck was operated.

 

[Wild one]

Agreed 100% "under normal conditions". That said.. IF, I as FCA, could in any way prove that the vehicle was operated outside of "normal conditions", I wouldn't pay for squat. I would guess that if it came down to brass tacks, in the case you mention above, where there is a huge lawsuit pending, that FCA would be able to download all kinds of data that could either prove or disprove how the truck was operated.

There's an owner on one of the facebook pages with a bone stock truck who just had his go to hell on his new truck. It's not a matter of if it'll fail,it's a matter of when,and where it'll end up when it does go to hell.FCA can download all the info they want,but the shafts are failing on unabused stock trucks,so unless they fabricate the info they've downloaded out of the stock trucks they're gonna be sol when it comes down to who's liable.Find yourself a shortbox 8 speed truck,crawl under it and look at the driveshaft,it's a royal *************,that should never have been installed in the trucks in the first place.Prime example of the bean counters over ruling the engineers,lol. Who fills a driveshaft with foam in the hopes it'll keep the harmonics down to a level that the driveshafts won't fail,instead of designing a proper driveshaft,lol.

 

[69GWC]

We should hit the bean counters with one of the broken shafts.

 

[Ramnewbie]

The problem here is everyone is taking everyone's statements on this forum, Facebook, Twitter, or wherever as gospel. I'm an old fart, and from time to time I may or may not have let my Hemi stretch it's legs. Would I ever admit that if I was trying to get something covered under warranty? Hell no. Now if FCA was involved in a million dollar lawsuit sure they are going to do everything they can, however just replacing a driveshaft, not worth the hassle. I believe the downloaded info out of you're computer would carry more weight in a court than just no judge, I never did anything wrong.

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