I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

I broke a halfshaft this morning driving to lunch. I was accelerating like a grandma would and heard a loud pop, driveshaft spins and the right halfshaft spins, but the car does not move. I am no longer planning any more performance upgrades.

I guess we know why the differential and halfshafts are upgraded for 2009 models.

RE: I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

Sorry to hear about your Challenger.
Question is...can those of us with 08s upgrade to 09 standards without having to replace the entire rearend? Anyone reseached the issue???
(You would think that Chrysler would have made the rearend a bit more billit proof considering the SRT has 425 HP and they knew owners were going to "step on it".......)

RE: I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

I made sure the service manager knew I was unhappy, especially because engineers know about it and upgraded the 2009.

The dealership emptied when the tow truck pulled into the dealership, just flat out embarrassing.

RE: I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

Dang It!! Sorry to hear it choodock... Can you describe your driving habits... or have any wise words that might be helpful to others.

Seems I heard this was the weak link and there is a company that manufactures a recommended upgrade but I will have to research it. Anyone else know?

RE: I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

Sorry to hear about your luck but do give us the Paul Harvey. There are people here who drive their car like they are insane, no harm meant Andre, and have not any any such issues. Do you live in POTHOLE country or something?

RE: I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

Not the kind of attention you want with a high profile car like the Challenger......
(Had to be towed once with my 70 Superbird many years ago.....oh boy did people look!)

RE: I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

Almost all of my mileage is on the highway, no potholes ever. I have gotten the car up to 165. I have a pic of me doing 161. I drive over 100 mph probably on a daily basis. I have NEVER stalled the car up and tried to launch it hard. I always ease into it, because I have heard the rear was the weak link. I have never raced it. I do however like to put it in first and slowly accelerate until about 3,000 rpms and then hammer it. This causes the rear to get loose and really, really impresses passengers. I would not say that I abuse the car, but I do drive it the way it was intended.

RE: I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

Here is what I had seen... was brought up on the SRT Chat last week... anyone have any details or experience with the Quaife setup?

RE: I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

How can you abuse a Street and Racing trim Challenger?

RE: I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

And you should be under warranty anyway ... i'm sure this isn't a known problem because if a lot of people have the same issue i'm sure dodge would do something...

Do you have a preadator or any other mods ? Or are you completley stock?

RE: I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

Another part of the discussion...

So when we break do we just need to upgrade to the 2009 LSD..??
(realizing it is clearly not just that simple...)

RE: I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

I have the Mopar CAI, 40 series Flowmasters, and had the predator. Out of curiosity, I restored my original backup from the tuner several weeks ago to see if my gas mileage was any different without it. MPG was higher with the predator and the 93 ocatane CAI canned tune.

RE: I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

i wonder if we blow the rear end , if dodge will replace with the 09 rear end? this is starting to bother me alittle!!! i bought this car thinking it was the top of the line ride! im slowly finding out its not. but yeah, a real cool car. vynle

RE: I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

I will be pressing them to upgrade mine to the 09 rear end. The more I think about this, the madder I get.

RE: I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

now i'm scared ;x

RE: I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

But since being on theese forums this is the first i've heard of this ...

I know the manual NEEDS this ... but has anyone else heard of similiar cases?

RE: I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

I have been scared...the power steering pump also.
Two things I have heard about breaking.:eek:

RE: I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

Why would the manual need a beefier rear than an automatic?

RE: I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

Parasitic loss through the torque converter of the stock transmission delivers about 10% less HP/Torque to the rear wheels than it"s manual counterpart...

right Andre...?? :eek:

RE: I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

You said it well Chris!

RE: I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

If the 6 speeds were breaking the differentials or axles and my automatic just did as well, it seems Chryslers margin of safety was not very much.

What if this would have happened doing 140+?

RE: I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

Does this mean we have to start driving our Challengers like we'll from "Leisure World"...

RE: I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

Andre... Bro... seems I recall you mentioning something about the half-shaft being the weak link before. You must know something that must of us here don"t... what says you..??

RE: I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

That's to bad about your car. I am sure they will take good care of you and replace with a 09 if it has been redesigned. I bet the 09 cars will still have a few bugs and by year 10, it should be good to go. Keep us posted on your chally and what the dealership does to make this right with you.

RE: I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

I was concerned with the halfshaft, but it should have held up to the mods choodock has.

Steve from RDP is flying in from Australia tomorrow. I know RDP has 3 options right now. 600HP, 1000HP and 1500HP. I will talk with him about costs and let you know what he says.

I posted about it being the last weak link about a month ago. Good memory Chris.

RE: I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

Mopar, you sound exactly like Mr. Weidemeir lecturing in auto shop class at North Des Moines High School. Especially if Andre was falling asleep in the back row. ;)

RE: I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

guys as a person who has followed LX cars for years now this is a recurring and main problem with LX cars. The halfshafts are the first thing you should replace when you start modding your engine. Tons of chargers srt8s and 300s break their halfshafts the first or second time they go to the track with some new bolt ons. Go to youtube and search for broken srt 8 halfshafts, you will see videos of guys warmin up the tires right before they get ready to run and once the tires stop spinning and the car moves foward with the power the halfshafts snaps. This is the weakest link in all LX cars period...including the challenger. Do yourself a favor and get a 1000hp halfshaft before doing any extensive modding to your car.
Alot of challenger owners don't know this because this is their first lx xar or they just dont follow the charger forums ect. But trust me, I am one who has followed the LX forums and this is a must for anyone trying to push 400+ to the wheels.

just my 2 cents

RE: I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

pretty sad considering weve paid over 40g's for this car. if i have to start my mods with a stronger halfshaft in a car thats supposed to handle 167mph then somthing really is rotten in denmark!!!!! and if we do mod this car and the shaft breaks u know chrysler will balk!!!! this should be a recall as far as im concerned along with the upgraded diff! if this were the SE model it would be different, but its not, ITS THE FREAKIN SRT8 MAN !!!! LOL,vynle

RE: I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

it has been like this for years...and I feel the same way. Apparently the 09s have an upgraded halfshaft and lsd should hold up with minor mods. Once you get into the heavy duty stage , you will have to build up the rear end.

RE: I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

What's really sad is that it probably has exactly the same rear end as the SE. ;)

RE: I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

hehe I see what you did there ........:)

RE: I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

Actually, I was half-way serious. The cars all share so many parts, maybe the rear ends ARE the same.

RE: I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

According to Tech, no they do not.

RE: I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

either way Greg the halfshafts are crap....that is a problem.

RE: I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

Yes, we all can agree on that. What a damn shame that Dodge didn't fix a known problem. I hate to say it but, those import guys would have corrected a known problem long before the vehicle went to market.[:@]

RE: I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

wow ! I wouldve thought the forum would automatically blur the word import... hahahahah

RE: I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

So much for "Drive it like you stole it......" sad for a car that has 425 HP from the factory....
I too feel that Chrysler should do the "right" thing and do an upgrade mod for owners of the SRTs. We all purchased the SRT with the understanding that it could "take it"...and even the Dodge commercials lead one to believe that this is the case.....Seems the only ones to "take it" was those of us who bought the SRT and were "taken".... Don't get me wrong...I love the Challenger and it will be in my garage for a long time...but everytime I start to "push it"....the half shaft will be in the back of my mind...and that's just not right. I never really had any major mods in mind...so maybe it's really a non-issue for me..but others are looking for more performance and it hurts the image of all Challengers when guys start to break.............come on Chrysler...do the right thing......not the easy thing

RE: I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

Starting to look like its not just my wifes new Sebring thats a POS!

RE: I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

Get a class action going and turn it into a RECALL!

RE: I found the weakness of the Challenger
 

This whole half shaft issue is VERY disappointing. Apparently, they did not design it like the old Challengers where they were "over built" in the driveline. With the sturdy 8 3/4 axle or better yet, the Dana 60, a guy never had to worry much about the abuse he was dishing out. Perhaps a U-joint would go eventually, but nothing like this. And to think this is happening on Automatic cars with stock wheels/tires!! Ugh!

These cars are SRT's and built to be run and run hard. I certainly hope the '09 "fix" is overkill like it should be and the '08 guys get some help from the factory.

I knew a solid axle was a better idea....I know, I know, the handling would be much less.