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Submitted by: dunno source via Submit a Kludge!
Favorite Comment: Fixer Bridge says, “It’s a new Disney movie: The Wrench in the Clamp. The young apprentice Arthur pulls the wrench out of the clamp and becomes the manager of Camelot Plumbing Inc.”
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So I guess the zip-ties makes this a limited slip differential?
So, this is like the main axle of a car?!
Finally, a use for the metric wrenches.
That is the drive end for the front wheel of an open axle type 4WD front end, like on a Jeep… note the wheel in the background. If someone should be stoopid enuf to drive this vehicle and engage the transfer case, carnage would ensue. This gets my vote for the dumbest/most potentially dangerous kludge of 2010 so far.
Not necessarily dangerous. If your diff is working properly, the wrench would bind and transfer all power to the opposite side. Of course the opposite side would spin at a faster rate than normal… it might be good to get you moving in an emergency when all your power would otherwise be lost spinning the disconnected axel.
(Of course assuming they didn’t have locking diffs.)
What I need is a solution to getting brakes turned without having a second car, and not wanting to take the rotors off at the shop… or buy a second set of rotors.
Make a friend, and then you can call him.
Answered my question about what that is and what they’re trying to do with it.
Maybe they’re planning on driving it right into the middle of the zombie horde so they can take them all out in one fell swoop?
My thoughts exactly, what day are we on again?
ok…thats what i was thinking…haha….wrench goes and its a three wheeler….
Pah! Nothing! Amateur night.
Trying doing THAT on some struts on a Mercedes Benz diesel with NETWORK cable.
I have no clue what this is. (Well, OK, after I read a couple of comments I see it’s a car thing… but otherwise, I would have no idea.)
Agreed!
A wrench stuck into… some metallic… eh… dunno! ( Even I could manage that )
In fact, I can stick a wrench into the place where the sun never shines!
( Sorry about that, but the picture gave me that one “for free” )
A new prosthetic knee!
For the auto-clueless:
Go crawl under a non-front-wheel-drive car, look at either end of the big tube that connects the transmission to the rear axle. This is the U-joint that allows the shaft to rotate while also bouncing up and down with the rear wheels.
There is normally a plus-sign shaped “spider” with each of the two plus legs connecting to either side of the joint. That spider is missing here, and the wrench is just barely transferring the power. It might have worked well enough to get them out of whatever they got into that broke the u-joint.
so basically it goes in only one direction (forward?),else if you try to reverse it then the zip tie would break, the spanner stuck somewhere and something else gets bended, right?
NOT!!! This is a front drive axle. A driveshaft u-joint is only required to transfer power over slight angle changes as the rear suspension moves. Unless, of course the vehicle has IRS(Independent Rear Suspension), then the differential is solidly mounted. Yes, the joints are similar, but that’s about it.
Yes it is a front axle from either a larger 4 or 6 wheel drive truck like this Land Cruiser.
http://image.4wheeloffroad.com/f/11294175+w750+st0/131_0901_05_z+1964_toyota_land_cruiser_fj40+front_axle.jpg
Wrong answer. Try again.
PS Here’s a hint. Try reading the comments posted before you.
Seems you are “auto-clueless”. This is a front axle u-joint. Possibly from a Jeep as previously state. This is VERY dangerous. This “Jeeper” possibly blew his joint mounts on the trial and used this as a temporary fix. Go to any Jeep forum and you will find enough pictures to keep this site going for months.
Fake Fix, a progress photo being misinterpreted – the wrench is to keep the new axle shaft (clean!) from moving or turning while he works inside the pumpkin bolting together the other end. There’s another tie going off to the right to hold tension.
I wouldn’t use a Craftsman wrench for that, you’ll mess up the chrome – a pipe nipple would work better.
Agreed. The instant I saw it, I thought it was just to hold something together while the mechanic was elsewhere. Didn’t know it was an axle though.
So the fixer left the wheel on, removed the center of the hub and intends to install the axle stub later. I suppose with the proper tool, one could press the u-joint caps into place, but it seems like a hassle to me. If the axle stub had been assembled to the axle shaft first on a bench, and the outer hub reassembled, it would hold itself together.
Well if that is the front end like think it is and that whole thing is a steering knuckle, why is there a U-Joint. That should be a CV-Joint. That cant be the back of the differential, and the only place that there should be a u joint is between the transfer case and the dif
It would have a CV-Joint if the front end, either front wheel drive or all wheel drive, was equipped with independent front suspension. Because then the joint would hafta flex as the suspension moved up and down as well as when the front wheels were turned left and right. This is a solid axle on a 4WD, and the whole axle moves up and down, so the joint only has to deal with steering direction changes. Ask anyone who has tried to turn sharply on hard ground with this type of front end while in 4WD, and they’ll tell you they can feel the front end protest, and the steering wheel move as that u-joint in the drive axle tries to do it’s job… poor little u-joint
perhaps it wasent done one a bench because we are in the middle of nowhere? as in emergency fix?
So it is a kludge of sorts: using the handiest available equipment to get the job done. Hardly epic, but a kludge, Bruce?
At least you could limp into Sears to get a free replacement.
*nipple* hee hee hee hee
I agree everything stopped at nipple…
I got nothin’
Wow….just wow. The only scenario in which this even helps is if you broke your rear driveshaft *and* the front knuckle u-joint fails. I guess it’s possible that the torque would be less than the wrench could stand.
Even so…..easy on the clutch.
It’d just need to withstand the amount of torque required to make the differential work. If this is an open front diff (unlikely), that’s almost no torque; the wrench will be fine. If a factory limited-slip, it’d just be a couple hundred pounds; the wrench will probably be ok. If it’s an aftermarket limited slip or locker; the wrench is probably going to break.
I just renewed my trust in Craftsman tools, since that wrench is the only thing that survived whatever the hell just happened here.
If I were anywhere near this kludge I’d bolt.
…pun intended?
Are you nuts? Of course.
Puns get me all torqued up.
It’s his way of ratcheting things up on a Friday.
That’s put a spanner in the works.
If they think this is bad, they should see the pics we took of repairing a broken transmission housing with some nuts and bolts, some angle-iron, and a little bit of Loc-Tite. It’s still working fine, but I hold my breath every time I step on the clutch.
Fixed by Mr. Goodwrench?
Certainly not by the Allen family!
HA!
Surely someone can turn this into a zombie comment. those are pretty much the only reason i come here anymore, they are lmao-worthy the lot of them. I salute you!
That’s where my 11mm went!
Another picture of “Mr. FIX IT” van
The best attemp to harmonize SAE with metric.
The best part is that after the wrench is twisted into an unrecognizable hunk of metal all you have to do is take it back to Sears and they will give you a new one.
Sadly, the warranty does not cover abuse. But the clerks seem to overlook that to provide customer service. I like Sears.
Oh yeah? The salespersons are supposed to hold firm to the warranty of “fails in normal use” – they are to deny the warranty it if you used a screwdriver as a chisel, or to short-circuit the battery terminals and the ends are burned off. Or in this case, if you try using an open-end wrench as a structural member.
And they try to say “We don’t make that as a Craftsman anymore” and hand you the Sears branded Taiwan junk – and surprise, no more warranty. You have to hold to your guns on that one, you can wait for them to order it in from Catalog Sales.
as a professional mechanic, my first thought was that he was holding the axle shaft in to work on the diff, but now looking at it i think he doesnt have limited slip in the front end, so it will automatically transfer the power to the wheel with the least resistance (which isnt this one). who knows though, and yes you would need to hold that axle shaft in so it doesnt walk out and mess up the hub or leak gear oil all over the place
Wow so far you are the only one that seems to have done real work with vehicles.The rest of these who replied about this and tried explaining what it is are just idiots.
The inner shaft also looks to be new,but they should have put the wrench in upside down (or is it upside down now? lol) so if that zip tie would snap the wrench wouldn’t fall out cause the open end of the 17mm is bigger than dana 44 UVjoint (most likely a 44,60′s are heavier duty than the 44 for those that don’t know)
to anyone who actually doesn’t know or doesn’t know sh** but thinks they do…look up dana 25,27,30,35,44,60,70 front axles,if you search any just remem relatively their all the same the higher the # the stronger it is.(as it came from the factory that is)
I like to read these posts for the funny stuff but am getting sick and tired of BS wanna be people giving false info.
WTF? No, seriously. WTF?
Everyone should know that is standard equipment on these cars… If he had purchased the premium package from the factory you would be seeing a snap on wrench for extra strength and durability. I hope he doesn’t forget to grease it every 1 trillion miles, because that would be bad if he doesn’t.
It’s a new Disney movie: The Wrench in the Clamp. The young apprentice Arthur pulls the wrench out of the clamp and becomes the manager of Camelot Plumbing Inc.
EPIC WIN
I once had to use a key ring to hold together the steering linkage that broke on a road trip . It worked and was still the only thing holding it together when it was repo’d a week and a half later .Do you think they noticed that before they resold it ? ‘Built Ford tough! ‘
It’s like some sort of modern art, about the regular man breaking free from the zip ties of tyranny.
Ah, necessity, why must you mother abominations?
As a mechanic, I cringe not at the clever kludgery but at the use of Craftsman tools. Yet another life will shortly be claimed. What a terrible, chrome-plated way to die.
husabob if it’s a nonlocking, or a limited slip locking the free spinning yoke will make the opposite wheel turn thus gain movement believe it or not the veit cong did this and made it work. you couldn’t go fast or put too much strain on it but it worked. oh and before anyone says zip ties weren’t around then they used bailing wire
By the looks of the photo.
We have a 1982 1/2 jeep C5. Red with black interior. Original top and Interior. The steel rims the C5 came with have been replaced with Big-O 15/6 alloy swamp diggers. With 15/7/245 Big-O A/T. The left rear is a littlow on air and the right rear rim is bent at .035 degrees in at the 17. It looks like the transmision was updated to a 1985 auto with overdrive.
By closer look I would say this is the 5th owner and it has about 121,000 miles. Aprox 34,000 are off road In western Ohio. Yet it looks like it spent some time in Florida in 86 and was once stolen in Texas but later recovers by the Utah rangers just 4 months later.
I’m pretty sure the wrench was bought new at harbor freight tools. Looks like some china brand to me.
You can buy Craftsman tools through Harbor Freight… that’s news to me :>0~
Your clearly missed the sarcastic bit…
That is one wrench that I would not want to monkey with.
Most likely this is a “trail fix” to get the truck home. That’s the front differential of an older live-axle 4WD, which has apparently suffered damage to the steering knuckle universal joint. It looks like the kludger has stripped the broken U-joint and removed the outer stub shaft (the part that connects the inner axle shaft to the wheel hub.)
With me so far? Clear as mud, right?
Anyway, the truck probably has an “open” differential- meaning the tire with the least traction gets the torque. Or, in this case, since the axle shaft is no longer connected to the tire at all, that shaft will just spin, reducing the 4WD truck to a 2WD.
However, if you jam something in the shaft to keep it from spinning, the differential will then apply some power to the opposite side, giving the truck at least 3WD. Strictly as a “let’s get this wreck home” mod.
The wrench is not simply retaining the axle- if that was the case, why not just wrap the zip-ties through the loops of the shaft?
Sure, it’s a kludge, but it’s a kludge with a purpose.
Doc.
Doc, for a polar bear you sure know your stuff.
You see all kinds of limp it home fixes like this on trails. As long as it’s an open diff or has adjustable lockers, it would probably work to get you home. Never done a fix like this, but I believe it is also to keep the shaft from walking out and losing all the oil. I saw a guy weld spare metal tabs (missing like an inch of shredded axle) to his 2nd axle after breaking the same one twice on a nasty trail one weekend. I doubted it would work, but he made it back…barely. Duct tape, bailing wire, epoxy, whatever works to keep you rolling.
Actually this repair looks like it was done to get this 4-wheeler back to civilization after the u-joint failed, and rendered the front axle powerless. By preventing this end of the shaft from turning, the power will go to the other end of the axle,leaving you with power to one wheel up front.
All normal car drive axles automatically send power to the wheel that turns easiest.
Rmfcasey
Its got to be an open diff. broke the ujoint on the shaft and slid a wrench in it so the axle will not slide out. I would have used steel ties. hahahah
seen it before… but to the masses, this looks like a fail
I agree with Radry. The wrench is not attached to the inner axle and, therefore, not connected to the differential so all those comments about it locking the one side to get it to transfer power to the other are pure crap. Even if the U-joint did break, you’d still have to put a wrench through BOTH yolks to keep it connected. You can’t even see yolk of the inner axle so I don’t know where the hell you people are coming up with your ideas.
Yolk? I don’t see any eggs here. There might be a yoke involved, though.
And yes, that’s clearly the steering knuckle – if this is a freewheeling hub it could just be unlocked, otherwise this will prevent the front wheel from turning. In either case, the wrench basically isn’t doing anything helpful. Which is what I’d expect from a 17mm wrench.
and we all know a 17mm is just a tarded 11/16
The wrench is holding the axle shaft away from interfering with the steering and holding it in-place so that the oil doesn’t run out of the front differential.
It is a Dana 44 front end on a 71 Bronco. Broke on the trail. All it does is hold the axle in. Worked great, He put approx 200 miles on it.
It is a limited slip.
Luke says:
January 22, 2010 at 12:25 pm
The wrench is holding the axle shaft away from interfering with the steering and holding it in-place so that the oil doesn’t run out of the front differential.
A front axle has seals in the pumpkin not the outers.
I wonder if when the wrench breaks if the entire universal joint is covered for replacement at Sears by the Craftsmen lifetime warranty?
I’ve heard of throwing a wrench in the gears… This is something kinda like that, right?
Nice clean repair!! whatever gets ya home!!!
After looking at the pic (and arguing with himself for at least 1/2 an hour) my Kludger ex-husband states that this is a new inner front axle that is being held in place until the outer axle is obtained.
Listening to himself argue with himself was extremely entertaining. More like this please
And when he is done, he can take tha wrench back and get a new one. how about that for a new u joint hub.
Talk about “throwing a spanner in the gear box” ! Only this idea is meant to obvious make it better..
Two thousand years later, the powers of the wrench are bestowed upon the young hero-plumbers Mario and Luigi.
Ya know, Craftsman promises to replace any tool you break, no matter what you were doing with the tool when it broke. And they make good on it.
Even when you use it for a U-joint.
Sure do! Even after the guts of a 1/2″ drive ratchet been stripped out after hammering on it with a 3lbs sledge to break loose 1″1/2 bolt
if you brake a u joint on a jeep ( old one 68-90) it will not turn the other wheels so the wrench stops that “hub” and puts power to the other wheels . ive had toy do that to get out of the woods before … yes im a redneck
the zip tie jest keeps it from falling out
air ratchet wrench
Definitely Trail fix. Just to clear up a few points: this is the driver side front steering knuckle on an older 4×4 truck, as seen from directly behind the knuckle (you can see the inside of the wheel and tire on the left side of the picture). CV joints weren’t around yet when this was designed – only U-joints. The outer axle stub and U-joint are missing – you’re looking at the inner shaft with the wrench through the yoke. Notice the way the wrench is biased in the yoke – at the top the wrench makes contact in the back, and at the bottom makes contact in the rear, indicating the inner shaft was trying to turn (or was manually spun) forwards. The wrench keeps this from happening, transfering torque to the other side.
Here’s my question: the whole point of an open diff is that it allows the wheels of one axle to spin at different speeds as you go around a turn, reducing tire wear (outer wheel wants to spin faster than inner wheel). This also means if you hold one half shaft stationary (like the wrench is doing), the spider gears in the diff. will force the other shaft to spin twice as fast, right? So your front axle will spin twice as fast as your rear, pissing off your Transfer case. You might be OK in the muck, but once you hid solid ground, something would give. SO… what are the chances his rear is shot too, and this is actually a ONE wheel drive trail fix???
you have to do what you have to do to get off the trail. dangerous? not really. no more dangerous than duct tape holding stuff together. it will get you back to the lot to do a real fix, or to put it back on the trailer if its strictly a trail rig.