Should be able to do it in an hour, it is not that hard after you have learned all of the tricks or what not to do's. An extra person to either heat or turn would really speed things up.
For those who are brave enough to follow, let me give you a couple of key pieces of advice that I think will make it go much smoother.
1. Cut the weld at a 45 degree angle or so starting near the top of the weld.
Heating- Using either A or B, you are going to need heat. A rosebud tip was all that worked for me. I used a tiger torch for approximately 10 minutes while I assembled my torch, and then the Rosebud tip (size 6 was all I could get, seemed pretty powerful) for approximately 5-7 minutes, working around the exterior of the tube. I got the inner part of my inner C cherry red, may not be necessary (this is where having another person to help rotate or heat comes in handy). In my limited experience, once cherry, you have less than 60 seconds of play time, with force required increasing exponentially throughout that time period, which brings me to the next point.
Measuring - I was using an angle finder that was previously zero'd to the cast spring perch. I measured my inner C angle prior to heating, and was going to move it an incremental amount. I knew the C would be hot, so I stuck the magnetic angle finder on a piece of 1/4" and quickly laid it on the lower part of the C, and removed immediately. However, this was not enough to keep the back (battery holder) from melting off (in a couple of seconds, the C is hot!). Next time I am going to tack a long piece of scrap to the bottom of the C, creating a parallel surface that is a foot or two away from the heat such that I can leave the angle finder there during rotation (moving it on and off introduces unnecessary error).
I'll post some picks of my next side, and hopefully it will look at least semi-professional
For those who are brave enough to follow, let me give you a couple of key pieces of advice that I think will make it go much smoother.
1. Cut the weld at a 45 degree angle or so starting near the top of the weld.
- A. You are going to want to be 1/4 to 5/16 into the Inner C (towards the exterior of the axle) and probably 1/8" into the axle tube. Cut all around the C'
- B. Then use a grinder with a cut off wheel to cut the remainder of the weld, riding around the circumference of the axle tube until you can see a crack in the weld
- C. This is where I differ from some who would argue that you should not start work until you see the crack. For me apply heat was the only thing that made the crack visible all the way around. So I would suggest, cutting to my approximate dimension, apply some heat, and cut more if you cannot see the crack (but surely you will pick it up somewhere along the tube).
- A. Beating - I do not suggest this method because I feel like you will end up have to rotate it some to get the caster right in the end, so why not just keep it on? - If you are going to beat the knuckle off (I know this sounds gay, no pun intended) then a second person to help heat and swing a sledge is strongly advised (preferably somebody left handed (or opposite handed from yourself)). The lower you can place the axle the better for your sledge swinging. If you are going to gusset your C's (which why would you not at this point) wait until you have completed the rotation. Having the gussets on prior really diminishes your ability to beat the knuckle back on.
- B. Rotating - I have heard of a lot of ways to rotate the C by using cheater bars, pipe wrenches, and the way I did it by welding a piece of 1.75" DOM to the kingpin. To me that is the only way to go, I would think using a cheater bar could potentially damage the threads where the kingpin is inserted, and pipe wrench would likely require a cheater pipe, and would have a high probability of slipping off, leaving you on your ass in a garage full of sharp metal objects.
- C. Pressing knuckle on and off - refer to the following thread http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/general-4x4-discussion/628861-inner-60-cs-made-easy.html
Heating- Using either A or B, you are going to need heat. A rosebud tip was all that worked for me. I used a tiger torch for approximately 10 minutes while I assembled my torch, and then the Rosebud tip (size 6 was all I could get, seemed pretty powerful) for approximately 5-7 minutes, working around the exterior of the tube. I got the inner part of my inner C cherry red, may not be necessary (this is where having another person to help rotate or heat comes in handy). In my limited experience, once cherry, you have less than 60 seconds of play time, with force required increasing exponentially throughout that time period, which brings me to the next point.
Measuring - I was using an angle finder that was previously zero'd to the cast spring perch. I measured my inner C angle prior to heating, and was going to move it an incremental amount. I knew the C would be hot, so I stuck the magnetic angle finder on a piece of 1/4" and quickly laid it on the lower part of the C, and removed immediately. However, this was not enough to keep the back (battery holder) from melting off (in a couple of seconds, the C is hot!). Next time I am going to tack a long piece of scrap to the bottom of the C, creating a parallel surface that is a foot or two away from the heat such that I can leave the angle finder there during rotation (moving it on and off introduces unnecessary error).
I'll post some picks of my next side, and hopefully it will look at least semi-professional
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