Axle tubes cracking!??!
 

After my first trip to the track and a little driving around town, I noticed a gear lube puddle under my driver's side fenderwell. Come to find out, the axle tube was cracked at the leaf spring perch. I have a 4/6 drop w/ a flip kit in the rear and Cal Tracs. It appears that the "cradle" that the axle sits in is causing stress on the perches.

Anyway, got the driver's side welded up and it stopped leaking. Drove the truck to a show about an hour away and did a little driving around town, and now the passenger side is cracked and leaking.

Do you think this is a suspension issue caused by the Cal Tracs combined with the flip kit, or is it just the 10 bolt being a pansy? Am I going to have to go w/ a 4 link to solve this problem? Anyone ever experience anything similar?

Got any pics?? I have a theory but I need some visualation of how the leafs are attached with your flip kit to be sure. ;)

No pics. I can't see the crack with the suspension assembled. I'm pretty sure it's cracking around the perch itself.

exact same problem with my axle housing. both sides have a small leak where the leaf springs sit. I also have a flip kit on my truck. I dont have cal tracs though, so i think its from the flip kit. How hard was it for you to weld the axles up?

I didn't weld them up, my buddy Tracy at Speedfab did. I've put 80k miles on it with no trouble until I did this last round of mods. Hmmm, that's odd. Do you have anyting else back there besides the flip kit? Sway bar, helper bags, anything?

Is It The Belltech Flip Kit Where The Spring Perch Sits In The Cradle? Same Problem With Mine. I Welded Both Sides Up And Had New Spring Perches Welded On The Bottom Of The Axle To Get Rid Of The Flip Kit So It Wouldnt Happen Again.

yeah, mine is a belltech kit.any pics of what yours looks like now?

Mine is the DJM kit, but it sounds similar to the Belltech kit.

No, I Dont Have Any Pics, But I Feel Much More Comfortable With Perches Welded On The Axle, Instead Of A Bolt On Kit. Mine Actually Cracked And Broke A Piece Of The Housing Off. Had It Fixed And All Is Good. To Have It Welded With Perches Cost About 75 Bucks. Well Worth It.

All i have are a set of universal slapper bars, they didnt affect it any i dont think. They have been on there for about a year and this didnt start until about a month ago.