bajaviking
1/2 ton status
What kind of steel are the knuckles made of, can you weld something to them?
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.
Knuckles- what kind of steel
- Thread starter bajaviking
- Start date
I 'think' they're forged maleable iron. Muddytazz may be able to tell you.
marv_springer
1/2 ton status
Inner C's.... or outter knuckles?
I've welded on the Inner C's w/ no problems. Done trail repairs on outter knuckles and it seemed a little "crunchy".
I think the inners may be forged and the outters are cast. 
Marv
I've welded on the Inner C's w/ no problems. Done trail repairs on outter knuckles and it seemed a little "crunchy".
I think the inners may be forged and the outters are cast. Marv
bajaviking
1/2 ton status
I am talking about the knuckle that the steering arm bolts onto.
they are cast steel then machined where a flat surface is needed. yes you can weld to them they are steel. its not the best idea ever. what are you trying to accomplish? don't go trying to make crossover with some scrap metal and an arc welder. its your steering you need it to be right.
Hossbaby50
3/4 ton status
The outers are cast I believe. I have welded to them before but only as a trail emergency fix. I used the 3 batterys trail welding system with 6013 welding rods. It worked ok but I would not recommend welding to the knuckles if it is for a functioning part of your steering system.
Harley
Harley
az-k5
1/2 ton status
Before machining flat tops became common a lot of fabricators (randy ellis, shannon cambel, and others) reularly welded a high steer arm on. It wasn't till the big tire craze caught on that failure became a problem. As a shortcut to the hight steer I wouldn't reccomend it. The method to do it properly isn't that easy. You need high nickle rod or a special nickle wire (kinda like flux core on roids). The knuckle needs to be removed and stripped. Then you need to preheat the knuckle and parts to be welded in an oven (a torch will just localize the heat). Next you weld away with a decent gusset going to the lower mount. Put back in the oven and step down the temp over a few hours. This is how it used to be done. It is now considered unsafe to do and then add on big tires and hydro = Bang!
What little knuckle welding I have done usually comes out porous in the end. (this is both arc and flux). I would not reccomend it.
What little knuckle welding I have done usually comes out porous in the end. (this is both arc and flux). I would not reccomend it.
If they are Cast STEEL then they should weld just fine. Properly prepped cast steel welds no differently than hot rolled steel or cold rolled steel or any other basic mild steel. You MAY run into brittle wleds due to the large thermal mass of the part, which is curable with pre & post heating.
If they are Cast IRON then the above most definitely applies.
As to which they are, I've no idea.
If they are Cast IRON then the above most definitely applies.
As to which they are, I've no idea.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2000
- Posts
- 9,127
- Reaction score
- 7,092
Spend the money and get some knuckles that are machined to bolt the steering arms to. ORD and several other places will do knuckles for you at a reasonable cost. Its not worth the worry or breakage to have your knuckles welded.
I am the poster child for this post. Thanks again Hoss Baby and Interceptor.
I am the poster child for this post. Thanks again Hoss Baby and Interceptor.
bajaviking
1/2 ton status
OK OK I admit it, I was having unpure thoughts about my steering but this is what I was thinking. I want to put hydraulic assist and it seems that the stress on the steering parts is minimal once you get the hydro setup. Also, this is not a daily driver or anything, I only use it on the trail. Anyway, I should probably just pay up and do it right.
az-k5
1/2 ton status
Hydro removes a lot of the stress from the frame and puts it directly into the knuckles.
marv_springer
1/2 ton status
It is commonly thought that "hydro-assist" takes stress off of common steering linkage parts [such as drag links, pitman arms, etc]. But a trail breakage last year gave me a whole different outlook on it.
Fred [FWP] broke a sector shaft on a trail we were on. Since he had hydro assist - I thought he may be able to drive it off the trail by just using the ram. This idea shows my lack of understanding of the system!
Upon just slightly turning the wheel to the left, the hydro assist ram would slam the 42's to full lock. Then turning back the other way would stroke the cylinder and slam them back the other way. I realized that the only thing keeping some "control" in the system was the steering gearbox. Seems to me, the gearbox and hydro ram are constantly fighting each other until the tires get in a bind and full steering force is needed - and then they finally "team up" w/ each other.
I am in no way knocking a hydro assist setup!... I'm just saying that you're not getting around large forces applied to steering parts when you do it...!
Oh... and FWP has recently broke a D60 knuckle. He has since upgraded to Dedenbears [I think...].
Marv
Fred [FWP] broke a sector shaft on a trail we were on. Since he had hydro assist - I thought he may be able to drive it off the trail by just using the ram. This idea shows my lack of understanding of the system!
Upon just slightly turning the wheel to the left, the hydro assist ram would slam the 42's to full lock. Then turning back the other way would stroke the cylinder and slam them back the other way. I realized that the only thing keeping some "control" in the system was the steering gearbox. Seems to me, the gearbox and hydro ram are constantly fighting each other until the tires get in a bind and full steering force is needed - and then they finally "team up" w/ each other.I am in no way knocking a hydro assist setup!... I'm just saying that you're not getting around large forces applied to steering parts when you do it...!
Oh... and FWP has recently broke a D60 knuckle. He has since upgraded to Dedenbears [I think...].
Marv
az-k5
1/2 ton status
The ram-box relationship is closer to 50/50. The box has to have resistance to sent the fluid out to the ram, and the ram needs resistance to allow the box to regulate flow correctly. So yes they do fight slightly but opperate due to path of least resistance with fluids. If you lock the pitman arm to the frame you can use the box as a very crappy proportioning (sp) valve. Not reccomended though.
there is always someone selling flat top knuckles on E-bay. think of what your time is worth before investing a lot of it (time) in making something that can be bought and bolted on. the older I get the more my time is worth. when I bought my truck I could spend 40 hours sanding and greasing my leaf springs. now I buy new ones with tapered ends and pads in between. even if they were $400 thats $10 an hour.
