Can You Drive on a Bent Axle Flange?

That’s what Michael and I were frantically Googling from a hotel room in Big Bear when we got word that the crack we heard on Gold Mountain was a bent axle flange.

According to the mechanic looking at the Jeep, the answer to our question was “no.” But the reality of our situation was that Big Bear was a short stop on the way to our final destination: South Lake Tahoe. We had friends and an already-paid-for rental home to get to in just a couple of days. There was no way we could wait a week for a new axle shaft to arrive in Big Bear. We had to drive 450 miles on a bad axle and fix it in Tahoe.

While Michael went to pick up the Jeep from the shop, I called my dad for a little advice. Although we hadn’t experienced a broken axle yet, I knew my dad would have some experience to draw from.

His advice?

First determine how bad the bend is. We did this by measuring the wobble of the wheel. While the mechanic said he thought it was bent by about an inch, it was actually not nearly as bad when we measured it; the wheel really only wobbled about 1/4-inch or so. (When we took the axle out, the flange was so minimally bent that we could barely see it.)

My dad suggested that if the bend seemed to be 3/4-inch or more, we should shim the wheel so that it would temporarily drive straight. We opted not to do this because our bend was so minimal, but it can be done by putting stacked washers between the bent flange and the rotor hat to temporarily make the wheel drive straight. This is not meant to be a long-term fix, just a temporary option.

And beyond that, we drove slow and steady up to Tahoe. We had one more night of camping to do, so we opted for a spot that would be easy to get to and not too far down any dirt roads.

In the end, we made it to Lake Tahoe, and Michael was able to change the axle there. And bonus: we upgraded to chromoly, which we were planning to do anyway…so it all worked out!

How do you know if your axle flange is bent?

We didn’t know it was the flange at first, so we took the Jeep to a mechanic to find out for sure. But now that we’ve experienced a bent flange, here are the key signs:

• We heard a constant “chirp” while driving that stopped when we applied the breaks.
• There was a slight wobble in the chirping wheel.
• With a bad bend, you will feel the wobble as well.

Final note: this is just our experience. We are not mechanics. In fact, the actual mechanic we spoke to told us not to drive on the bent flange. If you decide to drive on your bent flange, do so at your own risk and know that there is always the possibility you could break more things when doing so.