seal was leaking on the rear so i pulled the axle to see what was up. i stand the axle up and i cant believe the spines are not straight. you can see where they ride in the carrier and from that point to the end of the shaft they are a little off on an angle. i didn't take a pick but wtf. my question is, is this normal or do i see an axle failure in my future.

 

Twisting splines is a sign the axle has been weakened. It may last a long time, but the damage has started. I twisted a set of 28 spline axles in my Early Bronco a few years back. I ran them for a couple more years before I could afford to upgrade to 31 splines, but I was much more cautious. What size tires are you running, and what have you done that might have caused this. Florida is pretty flat, so I'm thinking mud?
Tom

 

i re geared to 4.88's and went to 35'' km2 tires. weird though because the rear is an open differential.

 

what socal tom said, your shaft has been compromised and you'll want to replace it. more than likely, you were a bit too heavy on the skinny pedal somewhere sometime.

 

thanks for the help i have been stuck more then once in the Florida mud and yes i defiantly used allot of the skinny pedal.