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Pics of what happens to your transmission after a sudden driveline failure
So I finally got around to pulling the transmission after I broke the rear end yoke about a month or so ago. Just wanted to post up a pic of what damage it does to your tranny after you lose anything after the output shaft. Here's what I've learned from this experience, make the drivetrain as bullet proof as possible....to avoid this type of situation. Why is this posted in the FI Section? Because there are a few guys still running fairly factory/unfortified rear ends and suspension like myself. Just wanted to show the price that is paid when something fails in the drivetrain, as it WILL take out your transmission as well. This on the right is what came out of my transmission, on the left is what it SHOULD look like. And no, I didn't pull ANY rollers out for dramatic effect.... this is exactly how it came out.
Anyone using a rmvb in a th400 should pay close attention to this. That roller being destroyed is what causes trans to fly apart violently when the drum is overrun. Do some research. Good post. Anything comes apart after the trans, the trans comes apart as well.
Anyone using a rmvb in a th400 should pay close attention to this. That roller being destroyed is what causes trans to fly apart violently when the drum is overrun. Do some research. Good post. Anything comes apart after the trans, the trans comes apart as well.
Overrunning a drum is damn near a death warrant. It's like having a pipe bomb in your transmission tunnel.
Agreed. The “do some research” wasn’t for you. It was for those unfamiliar.
I knew what you meant. I posted this to show guys that when you have a rear end, or driveshaft let go.....you just killed your transmission as well. It's not a case of just fixing what failed, but now you just destroyed your low roller clutch, along with what failed in the drivetrain. I guess what I'm saying is, when something breaks (driveshaft/ rear end).... make it standard practice to go through the transmission and replace the low roller clutch, as it's likely done for. Don't even try to drive it.
I knew what you meant. I posted this to show guys that when you have a rear end, or driveshaft let go.....you just killed your transmission as well. It's not a case of just fixing what failed, but now you just destroyed your low roller clutch, along with what failed in the drivetrain. I guess what I'm saying is, when something breaks (driveshaft/ rear end).... make it standard practice to go through the transmission and replace the low roller clutch, as it's likely done for. Don't even try to drive it.
I knew what you meant. I posted this to show guys that when you have a rear end, or driveshaft let go.....you just killed your transmission as well. It's not a case of just fixing what failed, but now you just destroyed your low roller clutch, along with what failed in the drivetrain. I guess what I'm saying is, when something breaks (driveshaft/ rear end).... make it standard practice to go through the transmission and replace the low roller clutch, as it's likely done for. Don't even try to drive it.
And does that destruction happen to all autos ?
Does it only require a breakage, or could sudden traction loss give same sort of result ? Seems very fragile ?
Years ago a guy launched his car, but didn't move, blew the rear yoke, and one of the U joint caps went thru the floor, and exited out thru the roof.
If I wasn't there I wouldn't have believed it-1310 u joints don't go in race cars, lol
In my experience most nasty failures are a result of bad suspension set up. Wheel hop causes a lot of carnage. I've also had stick shifts eat up a LOT more parts than autos. I cant recall seeing any threads where an auto failed and the driver got hurt ( im sure its happened though ) but Taner lost a toe iirc when his twin disk mcleod grenaded.
Anyways over built chassis is a formula I approve of for many reasons. Reliable fun is the biggest, safety is also high on that list. When sloppy first got going with all those boosted sbe's in junk cars they chucked an axle out of an LTD going down the road and put the car in the ditch. No one hurt but that could have been verrrrry bad.
At very least any of you guys building performance cars need to ditch C-clips and get bolt in axle retention. Most important thing for safety is keep the wheels under the car
Sorry to hear about your carnage. What was the exact situation? I blew out my spider gears but the trans was fine. It was around the 60' mark still in first gear.
Does it only require a breakage, or could sudden traction loss give same sort of result ? Seems very fragile ?
Traction loss is hard on stock intermediate sprags/roller clutches.... But is not so much a problem with a higher capacity unit. Sudden breakage kills the low roller clutch because of the shock that goes through it, killing the retainer springs in the cage of the clutch. Th400s are by no means fragile, I know being from across the pond you guys swear by the manual transmission.... But id put a good 400 up against a stick any day.
Originally Posted by cam
Broken diff yoke? What diff?
In my experience most nasty failures are a result of bad suspension set up. Wheel hop causes a lot of carnage. I've also had stick shifts eat up a LOT more parts than autos. I cant recall seeing any threads where an auto failed and the driver got hurt ( im sure its happened though ) but Taner lost a toe iirc when his twin disk mcleod grenaded.
Anyways over built chassis is a formula I approve of for many reasons. Reliable fun is the biggest, safety is also high on that list. When sloppy first got going with all those boosted sbe's in junk cars they chucked an axle out of an LTD going down the road and put the car in the ditch. No one hurt but that could have been verrrrry bad.
At very least any of you guys building performance cars need to ditch C-clips and get bolt in axle retention. Most important thing for safety is keep the wheels under the car
Agreed, I think the flex of the stock lca is what killed my yoke.
Sorry to hear about your carnage. What was the exact situation? I blew out my spider gears but the trans was fine. It was around the 60' mark still in first gear.
Was at the track, and the prep was 2nd to none. Left around 1psi, was looking to skip 10s entirely and join the single digit club.... so I got greedy and didn't even try to ease it out before I matted it. Still on 10 bolt and rubber busted lca. You are very fortunate to not have killed your transmission.
I was a little kid when I was told... "when you build a car you start from the rear and work forward"
I just replaced all of my driveline parts with good stuff and did my entire rear suspension. I will add boost, fuel system, and a built trans next over this winter.
Years ago I broke the trans yoke. 1310 joints. I didn't know better way back then.
Broke the TH400 tail shaft off. Broke the bell housing in 3 pieces. And of course killed most of the trans guts.
It was quite violent. Car went about 10 feet.....
Video footage. If you pause at 0:43, you can see shims and various other rear end pieces from the car before me. 3 cars killed their rear end within 45 minutes......same lane. When my buddy helped me push it off the track he lost his shoe, track was killer that day....literally.
09-23-2017, 02:10 PM
Pics of what happens to your transmission after a sudden driveline failure 
