Trans Am Has Massive Rear End Fail… Clean Up On Aisle 9!
F-Bodies are notorious for their weak rear 10-bolt rear end housings. I personally had three of them leave me stranded in my Trans Am before I finally upgraded to a Ford 9” rear end, which I have to admit has given me zero issues. However, even when the rear end is upgraded to Ford’s legendary – and seemingly bulletproof – nine-inch setup, things can still go wrong when you dump a ton of power through the rear end and plant the tires hard on a sticky track.
If you’d like to see just how bad it can be, go ahead and hit that play button below.
This early fourth-gen Trans Am has already had the nine-inch upgrade, but what sounds like a healthy nitrous-injected powerplant and a nice, tacky track surface lead to the day’s fun coming to a very early end approximately 4 feet off the starting line. The car launches hard, sending the nose skyward ever so briefly before the whole rear end comes apart, with parts and fluid flying and the car rolling to a stop just feet off the line.
You can see bits of shrapnel laying on the track and more pieces trailing along under the car as it rests on the side of the track We do have to give the driver props for pulling off the actual racing surface as quickly as possible. Doing so keeps him from dragging fluid down the center of the lane, which would be a massive headache for the track staff and could be dangerous for the cars behind him in that lane.
Hopefully, this guy has the funds to order up a new rear end, because it looks like the only thing he might be able to save from this explosion is the axles. He even needs a new driveshaft after seeing his twisted badly beneath the car.