Can any machinists make something for me?

[thatK30guy]

I'm using a 14FF rear as a trailer rear and removed the guts out of it. Also removed the shafts, too.

I need two round caps, or covers, to fit in place of the shafts in order to keep the gear oil inside. Just round with 8 holes in them. Will use RTV gasket to seal it.

Then I need a cap, or cover, to fit in place of the removable pinion support housing as I'm keeping the pinion intact with the bearings and support housing. Would be easier to fit a cap over this in order to keep the oil inside, too.

Anyone can make these? I know I could by using flat mild steel, but I want these to look nice. Whatever scrap material you have laying around will do just fine.

 

[readymix]

Call Kert @ DIY4x

 

[rdn2blazer]

if you dont need the shafts as extras just cut the shafts off the the flange end, there are your end caps. as far as the pinion cover just transfer the pinion hole pattern to a piece of 1/4 plate steel and drill the holes and trace the pinion cover shape out too and cut it out on a band saw if you have a porta band saw or a bud who has one.

 

[MNorby]

just find some extra shafts at a junk yard and cut the shafts off the caps.

 

[MNorby]

a real easy way to make a pattern for drilling holes for a pinion cover would be take some heavy paper, I like to used old file folders and hold up against there then take a small ball peen hammer and hit on the paper in front of the bolt holes. The hammer will cut when it strikes the edges of the holes and make a template for ya. Don't get too western beating it though, it doesn't take much to get it to come out.

 

[4X4HIGH]

Let me explain something for you. The axle shafts and carrier with ring gear MUST be in the housing if you still want to use gear oil for the lube on the hub bearings. The reason is because the axle shaft is what brings the oil to the hub bearings. If you want to gut the inside of the housing just use grease in the hub bearings instead and just make a plate or use a cut off axle flange to seal the end of the hub. There would be no need to do anything with the pinion support hole at this point unless you wanted it to look pretty or just to keep crap out of the housing area.

 

[rdn2blazer]

4X4HIGH is right, I forgot about that. you dont need to keep gear oil in it, remember any regular trailer axle just runs on greased bearings.

 

[MNorby]

make it into an oil bath setup like heavier axles. Could even go as far as plugging off the axle tube then make a cap where the old axle shaft used to be and put a hole in the center and fill with oil then put a gromet plug in the hole to seal. Then you could theoretically leave the rear cover and pinion housing off and not worry about it.

 

[sweetk30]

best option. cut off flanges or cutom caps. drill tap caps. install greese fitting. then pack bearings. grease every so offten.

weld shut the tubes so oil cant get in center section.

custom plate for pinion hole.

friend did this years ago. axle still going. but he only used the spindle ends no center section.

 

[loafer]

Why not just fill the diff up with oil until the bearings are partially submerged. You would have to add a new fill plug, but that would be easy.

Let me explain something for you. The axle shafts and carrier with ring gear MUST be in the housing if you still want to use gear oil for the lube on the hub bearings. The reason is because the axle shaft is what brings the oil to the hub bearings. If you want to gut the inside of the housing just use grease in the hub bearings instead and just make a plate or use a cut off axle flange to seal the end of the hub. There would be no need to do anything with the pinion support hole at this point unless you wanted it to look pretty or just to keep crap out of the housing area.

 

[cybrfire]

I have a scrapping trailer that we yanked the guts out of and capped the hubs and pinion. Filled it full of lube and have been pulling it for a little betteer than a year now. Works good. Give me a shout if you want some cover plates.

 

[ntsqd]

The Project: Cheep Trailer got the outers of a 19 spline D60. We stuffed them into a slightly larger tube and welded them together. Cut the drive flanges off the drive axles and re-used the flanges and their cone washers with a smear of RTV. I put in a fill bung & a drain bung in the axle tube. Remote vented the fill plug and filled the tube with ~2 gallons of gear lube. Initially the wheel bearing seals weeped a little, but after a trip to the desert they've stopped that.

In an axle being used under a rig maybe the axle shafts are needed due to the oil level necessarily being lower than what you'd need for getting the bearings into an oil bath, but for a trailer that doesn't apply.

 

[diesel4me]

what we did..

We made a trailer to haul cars at the junkyard out of an old drive on lift,using two 1 ton FF truck axles...we cut the tubes off,left the axles intact,and used schedule 80 pipe that fit good over the axle tubes to join them together,and make them wide enough--then ditched the differential!.(why keep it,its just dead weight!)....welded the pipe and tubes together,then we packed wheel bearing grease in the wheel bearings,and it was off to the races!..we hauled many cars to NH several times with 0 problems...