# Rear axle breaking



## deadman inc (Jul 2, 2010)

Alright well i posted something not to long ago that im done with my brute but my mind is changing the more i look at pictures on here lmao. Maybe im doing something wrong here. I use to have a 6" Gorilla lift on and went back down to a 2" inch. Never had a problem with axle's breaking on my 6" but i have Gorilla axles in back and stock in front on my 2". I have broke three axles in the back since i have had it. I broke 2 with the bar broke in the cup on the out side and 1 bar broke in the inside cup. I have highlifter springs and i have the shocks all the down. A arm bushings are good. Diff is good and solid. I gotta be missing something. Now im looking into buying some RHINO axles. I have heard those are better than Gorilla. Now before i put them in im going to figure out what the :thinking::thinking::thinking: is breaking my axles....


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## deadman inc (Jul 2, 2010)

Ok i guess im on my own on this one...

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## wcs61 (Jun 7, 2011)

Never having a 6" lift I have to ask, Are the axle's for the 6" lift longer than axles for a 2" lift?


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## Polaris425 (Dec 16, 2004)

^ Oh yes. The only lift that uses stock LENGTH axles is the 4" CATVOS, BUT, that's a stock _length_ gorilla, turner, etc... The stock axle/cup itself can't handle it.


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## bruterider27 (Apr 29, 2010)

I'm running rhinos on the rear axles of my bike and there holding up good IV never had gorilla axles but I have had sti before and they didn't hold up to Jack crap.


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## wcs61 (Jun 7, 2011)

Polaris425 said:


> ^ Oh yes. The only lift that uses stock LENGTH axles is the 4" CATVOS, BUT, that's a stock _length_ gorilla, turner, etc... The stock axle/cup itself can't handle it.


So he can't have the 6" axles in the rear now?

I have A gorilla axle in the rear of mine and no issue's.


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## Polaris425 (Dec 16, 2004)

^ I wouldnt think so.. Seems like they would be way to long, and wouldnt fit.


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## hp488 (Sep 23, 2009)

Might of got some bad axels. I went through 3 axels on the front of my wife's Honda never could figure out what caused it other than bad axels, on all three of them it was on the outer cup.
Needless to say it is 2wd now,if I decide to sell it I will put some new ones back in it.


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## drtj (May 3, 2009)

with it having the 2in lift plus the HL springs, is it possible that there is to much stress on the axles?


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## Polaris425 (Dec 16, 2004)

^ Yes. That combination def. needs to be run on full soft (shocks all the way down), if you are going to pair them.


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## LM83 (Jul 23, 2010)

I'm running the same setup, shocks all the way up, stock axles on 31s. No problems. Not to say I WILL one day tho. 


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## Polaris425 (Dec 16, 2004)

Yeah give it time. lol


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## deadman inc (Jul 2, 2010)

Yes the 6" axles were long than the stock axles. I went back down to stock a arms and etc to get away from the 6" lift so i would quit breaking stuff lol. Well i succeeded in a way cause i havent broke anything else other than the back axles. I dont know i blew up cause i spent all day working on my bike to get it ready for the Halloween ride and i get out there and then 2 back axles break. It just messes with your head sometimes you. Every Brute owner should know lol. To be honest im really thinking hard on buying RHINO axles and see what happens. Just the back 2 for now. I do like the boot design on the RHINO's. I do have to shocks down i think. I will have to look.


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## LM83 (Jul 23, 2010)

Polaris425 said:


> Yeah give it time. lol


Plenty has broken. Just no axles yet. 5 motors, 2 front diffs, fuel pump, rear diff, couple knuckles. Lol. I learned to NEVER pull the yellow lever the hard way. 

On a different note, how hot are the rear CVs getting??? Mine get VERY hot pretty quick due to the angle. A lot of your problem could be heat related. 


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## 2010Bruterider (Jun 20, 2010)

Knock on wood. Im running that set up with 31's on stock axles too. I don't think i baby mine either. I know one day I'll need axles, but for now...hit it slow an easy. Like lovin.

I wish i was riding.


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## LM83 (Jul 23, 2010)

2010Bruterider said:


> Knock on wood. Im running that set up with 31's on stock axles too. I don't think i baby mine either. I know one day I'll need axles, but for now...hit it slow an easy. Like lovin.
> 
> I wish i was riding.


Fa sho. 


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## Butch (Aug 29, 2009)

your thumb is the problem! lol:rockn:
No I'm just kiding although your thumb does factor in. I'm running the same set up and never broke an axle until i had about 500 miles then I broke 2 rears the same week. I was wondering if maybe they get metal fatigue over time. I switched to Gorilla and have had no problems in the past 400 miles. The heat theory sounds like it could be it since you are breaking cages more than shafts? Good Luck!


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## deadman inc (Jul 2, 2010)

LM83 said:


> Plenty has broken. Just no axles yet. 5 motors, 2 front diffs, fuel pump, rear diff, couple knuckles. Lol. I learned to NEVER pull the yellow lever the hard way.
> 
> On a different note, how hot are the rear CVs getting??? Mine get VERY hot pretty quick due to the angle. A lot of your problem could be heat related.
> 
> ...


For sore the heat will get you but the funny thing was. When my first GORILLA axle broke on the knuckle side. I was going through slushy mud and water. My right thumb and the beer in my left hand probably had something to do with it to lol. I love my 31" Laws. I go through stuff in 2wd drive when people are going through it in 4wd with there gorilla's. Thats what i love lol


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## filthyredneck (Feb 10, 2010)

Well bud as much hell as I had with my rear cv boots getting hot and ripping on my 6" Catvos still never had any axle/cv breaking issues....you know that, much as you rode with me lol. The only time I ever had cv probs was if I unknowingly tore a boot and continued to ride with it messed up.....it'd let me know once it got good and packed with that Crosby sand/mud by making a loud pop and then binding up lol. I've seen your axle angles and I don't think you are by any means over stressing the axles because of angle....LOOK AT MINE (and I havn't had any issues). I havn't really thought about it too much till now when I saw this thread, but is it possible that since you have never had to work on the Gorilla axle that broke first that maybe a band was a bit loose or something and some water worked its way in or something? Maybe it did find something to bite on to in that slop while you were in 2wd....especially if monkey tires had to be used in 4wd....just a thought. The 2nd axle you broke...you said it was stock right? Would it be possible that it was just bad luck that got ya? Maybe it was the 31s.... would it be possible that it just couldn't handle the torque beside the Gorilla axle that was on the other side and that made it a weak link? (not sure on any of this bro, just thinkin out loud) ....also if you got it from Randall, how old was it?...even if it was a new out of the box axle, how long did it sit on the shelf?....dunno if that'd make any difference. Also, while I know your angles are fine for a Gorilla, do you think maybe it was just too much for a stocker?


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## rmax (Nov 21, 2009)

i havent broke a axle yet , but i take them apart an clean ,an grease when i hear 1 pop. i use the mobil 1 synethic grease to repack, i do not know if this has any bearing on the no breaking issue, all axles are stock 2in hl lift, 29.5 laws, hl springs turned up, an heavey thumb


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## LM83 (Jul 23, 2010)

IMO gorilla axles are overrated. Granted, they will handle extreme angles better than stock. 


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## Righteous (Mar 12, 2011)

I have broken 2 sets of Gorilla axles in the rear and 1 Rhino axle in the rear. Rhino and Gorilla are about the same...

2" lift 30" zillas and a hell of a lot of throttle.


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## deadman inc (Jul 2, 2010)

filthyredneck said:


> Well bud as much hell as I had with my rear cv boots getting hot and ripping on my 6" Catvos still never had any axle/cv breaking issues....you know that, much as you rode with me lol. The only time I ever had cv probs was if I unknowingly tore a boot and continued to ride with it messed up.....it'd let me know once it got good and packed with that Crosby sand/mud by making a loud pop and then binding up lol. I've seen your axle angles and I don't think you are by any means over stressing the axles because of angle....LOOK AT MINE (and I havn't had any issues). I havn't really thought about it too much till now when I saw this thread, but is it possible that since you have never had to work on the Gorilla axle that broke first that maybe a band was a bit loose or something and some water worked its way in or something? Maybe it did find something to bite on to in that slop while you were in 2wd....especially if monkey tires had to be used in 4wd....just a thought. The 2nd axle you broke...you said it was stock right? Would it be possible that it was just bad luck that got ya? Maybe it was the 31s.... would it be possible that it just couldn't handle the torque beside the Gorilla axle that was on the other side and that made it a weak link? (not sure on any of this bro, just thinkin out loud) ....also if you got it from Randall, how old was it?...even if it was a new out of the box axle, how long did it sit on the shelf?....dunno if that'd make any difference. Also, while I know your angles are fine for a Gorilla, do you think maybe it was just too much for a stocker?


The stock axle i had Danielle go get for me saturday didnt last even 2 hours. Now that you say something. The stock axle probably couldnt of held up to my angle or stress or something but you have a point. The Gorilla i actually got cheaper than the stock axle from Leah. There is no telling how long its been sitting cause you have seen it out there where all the parts sit. It isnt climate controlled lol. So the humid and the weather could have a lot to do with it with the boot possibly being ripped or a hole in it and i didnt know it. Who knows but im definitely going to fix it though... I think it was just my turn cause i havent really had anything break in a while. My bike has actually been running pretty good lol. Im just sayin.....lol


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## deadman inc (Jul 2, 2010)

LM83 said:


> IMO gorilla axles are overrated. Granted, they will handle extreme angles better than stock.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Im not buying anymore gorillas and especially new. I will put the bike back down stock and put stock axles back in it before i spend that price lol. So being rated and not to get off the subject should i run RHINO's ???


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## muddigger360 (Dec 22, 2010)

Does the Highlifter shocks lift the bike? What if you just ran the shocks and took the lift off?


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## filthyredneck (Feb 10, 2010)

^the HL's claim to lift...but really all they do is eliminate spring sag. And then, once you add the other half and the ice chest into the equation you are right back where you started to begin with lol. If anything he'd be better off taking the shocks off and running the lift if he wanted to keep any ground clearance....but since there are 31" tires involved its kinda hard to give up either one without gaining some bad rubbing issues. This bike doesn't normally break when we all go ride, like he said, maybe it was just his turn.


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## LM83 (Jul 23, 2010)

deadman inc said:


> Im not buying anymore gorillas and especially new. I will put the bike back down stock and put stock axles back in it before i spend that price lol. So being rated and not to get off the subject should i run RHINO's ???


Turners FTW!!!


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## deadman inc (Jul 2, 2010)

filthyredneck said:


> ^the HL's claim to lift...but really all they do is eliminate spring sag. And then, once you add the other half and the ice chest into the equation you are right back where you started to begin with lol. If anything he'd be better off taking the shocks off and running the lift if he wanted to keep any ground clearance....but since there are 31" tires involved its kinda hard to give up either one without gaining some bad rubbing issues. This bike doesn't normally break when we all go ride, like he said, maybe it was just his turn.


Yeah i believe it was filthy as you seen today.


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## rmax (Nov 21, 2009)

rmax said:


> i havent broke a axle yet , but i take them apart an clean ,an grease when i hear 1 pop. i use the mobil 1 synethic grease to repack, i do not know if this has any bearing on the no breaking issue, all axles are stock 2in hl lift, 29.5 laws, hl springs turned up, an heavey thumb


 well i guess i will have to eat crow now broke left front axle sat at red creek, i think it happened pulling a razor out of a bad hole he had broke both rear axles, an the guys he was with had already broken their winches +the 1 on the raz, luckly i had a snatch block,an another brute to tie to mine, we got him out ,but it cost 1 axle 1 tie rod


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