Town Car V8-4.6L VIN W (1997)
Axle Shaft: Testing and Inspection
Breakage
Inspect a broken axle shaft for a twist in the spline next to the break.
Breaks that occur away from the spline or that are not accompanied by a twist in the spline may be caused by forging flaws and/or fatigue of the axle
shaft.
Conditions that can cause a broken axle shaft include forging flaws or excessive impact load to the axle shaft as a result of a collision or other factors.