Monte preached to us long ago about the 8.75
. I remember when Mopar closed these out for CHEAP!
Looks to me like the case cracked and probably flexed, which caused the issue with the ring & pinion that finished off the case. If you look at the broken edge, there are several places where the break appears to be not as fresh (more dull in brightness) as other places. Those places that are not as bright have been cracked or broken longer then the bright places.
Pinion relationship to the ring gear and no pinion support….. lifting of the left cap has been a thing with the 8.75 forever. I think with the aluminum center it was the cap through design saying, “I got this”, and physics saying, “hold my beer”.
The thru bolt upgrade in this case evidently solved that cap lifting issue shortcoming mentioned and moved the failure to next weakest point when overloaded or suffering a jammed R&P tooth failure IMO.
Regarding these Alum cases, Summit was selling them for approx $650 in 2004, and $1087 in 2008. In past few years I have seen them on ebay new for $2800.
