Over 30 years ago a magazine (Car Crap) did an article on which of the most common Mopar 8 3/4's were the strongest and which one was the weakest. Well, the 41 lost but if you do a comparison with other rears with close to the same size pinion shaft, you might be surprised. And so what if the 89 has a tapered shaft. Look at the size of the rear end yokes. You only have a course and a fine spline with all 3 having the same size fits. Any how many pinion shafts have you seen broken? The tapered shaft does help reduce flex which should help reduce gear teeth breakage but if you launch with enough rpm with a stick or use a trans brake, you're going to break something eventually. I've seen them all broken lol but it hasn't been all that many. Generally, it's the teeth on the ring gear that fail. In recent times Hot Rod redid the same story and recited it almost word for word lol. If I'm going to do some serious racing, I'm going to shove in a Dana 60. Many swear by the 8 3/4 even when they get into the mid to low 10's but once I'm in the low 11's, the 8 3/4 is coming out.
