Driveshaft fell out!!

[yallopa]

Hi im new to this forum but i have been lurking for awhile. Ton of great info on here and all.

So...
Driveshaft fell out of explorer today. 97 xlt and it was the rear one that goes into the rear differential. caps came off of two of the u joint ends and the straps are still on. So i put it in nuetral to give it a shove and no movement. 3 other people pulled over in a truck and helped out to no avail. Seems that the rear diffy is seized up. Just wondering if thats a possobilty, is there anyway to get it home (im a poor college student) without a massive tow bill, and how much other stuff could be affected by the shaft dropping out?


Just trying to decide if its worth the repair. (ill be doing all of it myself unless i have to rebuild the tranny)

Thanks ahead of time and hello again

 

[2TimingTom]

If the driveshaft is disconnected and the rear tires still don't move- sounds like something broke internal to the diff. I guess it's possible that it could be rear brake or wheel bearing related- but I highly doubt it.

 

[Turdle]

Well, when the drive shaft broke--park no longer held the truck so I assume you applied the emergency brake--

Did you release it?

( Hey, I have done dumber things--)

Even if you did release it the shoes themselves could be hung up and holding the rear axle in place.


Going deeper, if the pinion was vibrating for a long time, then yes there could be broken gears inside due to pinion deflection from the bad u joint.

 

[yallopa]

Well, when the drive shaft broke--park no longer held the truck so I assume you applied the emergency brake--

Did you release it?

( Hey, I have done dumber things--)

Even if you did release it the shoes themselves could be hung up and holding the rear axle in place.

Not sure i follow.

The truck was moving. Some screaching tires (rear) and lurching forward and she stopped dead cold. Didnt need to apply any brakes to stop. I put it into nuetral and gave it a little gas and all sounded okay. Put it into drive again and it "seems" like it wants to move forward but the rear end is keeping it in place. Not sure if that helps at all

oh and when i stepped out of the truck the driveshaft was directly below where it should have been mounted

 

[Spdrcer34]

broken rear end. buy a new one on craigslist for $250....and put it in....

Ryan

 

[Fifty150]

But it still sounds like you're going to have to tow it back home.

 

[yallopa]

yay! Thanks for the help guys. Any idea how i can find the gear ratio? no tag on axle and i cant count rotations of wheel/axle if its seized



Edit: nvm found it on another site. Ill keep you guys informed on the swap. probably gonna happen this weekend

 

[ericautopart]

broken rear end. buy a used one on craigslist for $250....and put it in....

Ryan

Fixed. :

 

[yallopa]

Fixed. :

lol if it were only soooo simple.

well one plus is i found an axle at local JY for 125. Gonna check it out tomorrow and see if its a PoS or not