Hydroplaned.....Did I bend/break an axle???

[Rock302]

Ok, long story short. I basically hydroplaned on a stretch of road where I live and did a 180. My left rear (drivers side) wheel smacked the curb and broke off a large chunk, in addition, when I pulled the wheel off I noticed that my caliper bracket cracked right where the 15mm bolt mounts to the hub flange. I was going at the speed limit (35-40mph) and as soon as I felt I was losing control of the car I slammed on the brakes and that's where I spun around and smacked the curb.

Thank God I didn't hit anyone or run into any pedestrians. Anyway, after I pulled off the damaged rim and took off the caliper bracket I noticed that my axle doesn't spin true. It moves/oscillates up and down a bit as if out of balance.

The question I have is, is the axle probably bent? I was able to drive the car home so I don't think the axle snapped. I went over the entire left side (the side that smacked the curb) and didn't noticed any other cracks or distortion.

I've attached a few pics.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

View attachment 231766

View attachment 231767

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[393strokervert]

first off, sorry to hear about your incident but glad you were not injured & no one else was hurt either. Thank God is right!
the pics aren't coming up viewable for me but from what you are describing it definently sounds like you bent the axle for sure. hopefully you didn't bend the axle housing too,you probably didn't as they are pretty thick but you might want to check it just to make sure it isn't slightly bent before you buy a replacement axle,bearing's, seals ect.....
best of luck getting your stang back on the road....

 

[Kilgore Trout]

What tires were you running?

 

[patman0911]

Glad you're OK and didn't hit any one. Sounds like you probably bent and axle and yeah, make sure the axle tube is still true and that the whole rear suspension wasn't pushed over or you could have have chronic wheel bearing problems, unpredictable handling and crab-walking, and excess or weird tire wear patterns

In the future, don't slam on the brakes - that's about the worst thing you can do in any situation where there's a loss of traction (as you found out first hand). Try easing gently off the throttle and steering into the skid - point the front wheels and your eyes where you want the car too go. Brake pressure, steering and throttle input should all be applied smoothly so as not to upset the balance of the car or overwhelm what remaining traction you might have. The only time slamming on the brakes is effective is when you need to stop in a straight line on dry pavement and you have ABS*

Oh,yeah, your pics aren't showing up for me

*someone will probably come along and point out that you can stop shorter if you use threshold braking techniques and that's true in controlled conditions with a driver who knows how to do it, but for a driver who isn't practiced at it and is out in the real world on streets of varying traction and surface quality, relying on ABS is probably a better bet.

 

[peepeeskillz]

What tires were you running?

lol kilgore wants it to be drag radials

 

[Kilgore Trout]

No, I expect it to be DRs...

 

[Rock302]

What tires were you running?

I'm running Kuhmo SPT's 245/45/17 on all four corners. Tires only had a couple thousand miles on them, almost new.

I think I'm going to take the car to a shop by my house and have them take a look at it. I don't have the room or tools to do the axle work where I live.

Can I buy a single axle or do they come in pairs?

FYI, my car is a '98 Cobra, pretty much all original 43,xxx miles.

 

[302GTS]

Ah... A replay of last May, for me. Sounds like you bent the axle. I hydroplaned and smacked into a curb after doing some spins, and took the entire driver's side rear wheel off... It, along with a chunk of the axle, was laying about 5 feet from my car. Good luck with everything, and glad to hear you're alright!

 

[Rock302]

Yeah, my main concern throughout the ordeal was hitting another car or injuring someone. I am super glad neither happened!!!

Thanks to everyone who has responded and if anyone has more feedback please chime in.

Thanks!

 

[Rock302]

Almost forgot to ask another question.

Do you think I did any damage to the gears/carrier assembly?????

302GTS, with your axle being completely broken off, did you have gear damage???

Thanks

 

[johnnyt03gt]

had same thing happen to my WS6 i was able to get 1 axle $45 and they pulled it of
just be careful when buying a used axle inspect the bearing surface of used axle make
sure it's not warn badly or pitted or else the new bearing will spin over axle surface
and eat itself up not a nice sigh

 

[393strokervert]

sounds strange to me that you would hydroplane at that low of speed with those tires.... were you in a turn or were you going straight?
& as far as replacing the axle,yes you can get a single one used but as 'johnnyt03gt' mentioned, make sure to inspect it for excess wear &/or pitting.

 

[lang williams]

I'd also put a straight edge on the axle housing tube. Do it to both sides an see how they compare.

 

[Rock302]

sounds strange to me that you would hydroplane at that low of speed with those tires.... were you in a turn or were you going straight?
& as far as replacing the axle,yes you can get a single one used but as 'johnnyt03gt' mentioned, make sure to inspect it for excess wear &/or pitting.

Yeah, I was actually going into a turn but wasn't accelerating all that hard. I'm thinking about just getting a new axle or axles and if I don't use one I'll just sell it.

I also updated my pic post so I think you guys should be able to see the damage.

lang, good point about the straight edge. I'm going to check it out over the weekend.

Also, I checked on craigslist and someone has stock 28 spline axles for sale that came off a 2000 GT, will these be a direct swap?


Also, I checked on craigslist and someone has stock 28 spline axles for sale that came off a 2000 GT, will these be a direct swap?

Thanks everyone!!!!

 

[Rock302]

OK, so I checked out the axle tube (both sides) with a straight edge and everything looks straight. I'm just hoping I didn't do any damage to the gears.

Thanks

 

[ninjastang125]

I believe that 94-98 axles will work but 99-04 are different. I think the 99-04 axles are longer. This would be a good time or excuse to add some gears and 31 spline axles.

 

[Rock302]

Well, I found out that both axles are bent and I did some damage to the differential so will be getting replacements and a diff. rebuild.

I'm still more than happy with the outcome since no one was hurt or injured.