Axle tube crack

[David]

I found last week that I have a minor (I hope) axle tube crack on my Dana 44 rear where the spring perch is welded to to the tube. It's leaking gear lube, but not at a high rate. My questions involve current use and repair. Regarding current use: is the jeep still safe to off-road, provided I keep an eye on the differential fluid level, or am I in danger of a catestrophic failure? Also, regarding repair, is this something that can be fixed with a weld (Jeep is 90% off road use), or is replacement necessary? If replacement is necessary, is it possible to find just the axle tube, or am I looking at replacing the entire axle assembly? Thanks in advance for the info.

 

[Utah_jeepster]

The key here is where you said close to where the spring perch is welded in.
This tells me that who ever welded the spring perch on got it as little too hot and over time the crystallized metal fatigued around there and you got your crack.
As a safety stand point I would take it down to a local axle place and have them re-tube that side, the 200$ or so will give you peace of mind here.
Re-welding here will just fatigue the metal more, you could patch it with some .01 stainless steel shim stock and JB weld, but this temporary fix.

 

[Jeepr]

Are the perches factory or done after?

I would take it to an axle shop and have them look at it. You can re-sleeve one side if needed. Or they may be able to weld/braze it if it's not a structural problem.