What do ya think about this truss

[sean'schevy]

Heres some pics of a axle truss my friend and I made. Now thats its made im not to sure about it. I do run mud some times and i think this would just be a big mud catcher. However i do think it would be a good place to mount my ram to when i do High steer and possible future 4 link in front. Another thing i wanted to ask is what odo you think about welding this to a 60. Would you to it to yours as you can see it would have to be welded to the pumpkin and the housing. I am a preety good welder but if i weld to the cast will the truss be on there good enough to run 4 link tabs off in the future. Also i was considering contining the truss to the other part of tghe axle as well if i continued with this route. So what the overall opinion guys. ps sorry for big pics having problems uploading them to ck5

 

[PhoenixZorn]

If you cap the ends, I don't see how it would be any more of a mud catcher than the axle itself... yeah, some mud will stick to the sides, but it's not going to weigh you down so much that you can't move anymore...

 

[sled_dog]

How thick is the plate? I'd angle it down towards the spring pad(but leave room to go farther out the axle like you talked about). Triangles are stronger than squares. Yeah it will become a plow in deep mud but if you feel you need a truss(jumping or 4 linking) its a good idea. As for welding to the axle. Time is the key. Preheat the area, keep a good welding blanket around and when you are done, cover it with the blanket nice and tight so it cools very slowly.

Side note, though about a new draglink? Something in a straight, non-bent/kinked variety?

 

[sean'schevy]

it is 1/4 inch thick had it laying around. And i need that bend in the drag link or my heims would be on to much of an angle. Am im missing something is having a bend there bad(except for strengh reasons). Ram does most of the work.

 

[Emmettology 101]

My .02cents...


I'd angle it down to the spring perch like Sled Dog said. And I think it would be a better truss if it were to actually sit more on top of the axle than going down the backside like that..

And I agree with Sled on the draglink. Those bends look a little odd shaped and it may turn out to be a weak "link".... Looks like you guys took a bent piece and welded it in line. Plus I'd ****-can the heims in favor of TRE's. Much safer on the street.

Also, is the cross brace in your shackle resting on the frame in the one pic(drivers side)????

 

[sean'schevy]

ok well so far it looks like if i keep it im definilty gonna tapper it down like suggeted and no that shackle is not hitting no where near it just looks werid in that pic.

 

[sled_dog]

I'd probably keep it if you have the balls to weld on your 60 Whenever I link the front I want to truss it like that as well. The point of going on top of the axle a little more is an interesting one. I kind of agree with it. Put the truss more at the point of the force instead of possibly ripping down the sides and off the tube. All in all you've got a good thing going I'd say.

 

[Hossbaby50]

What wall thickness is that draglink? Those bends do looked kinked but I am not an expert. I run a bent draglink on my truck. It is 1.5" .250 wall DOM tubing. When I was wheeling last time I pulled a little bit of the bend out and actually lengthened my draglink a slight amount. My buddy Matt has the same draglink and he bent his a little bit more.

Harley.

 

[jekbrown]

the thing could definitely angle down towards the ends... looks like a snow plow right now. Other than that, I'd run it.

AFA the drag link goes... a bend in one is fine, but I personally wouldnt run one that had the bent section welded in like that. One piece or not at all. Just my $0.02.

j

 

[Greg72]

Based on what I'm seeing in those pics, I'm not sure that you're REALLY adding much more strength......though I'm sure there's quite a bit more weight!!

The main things I'm seeing are:

1. Material near spring perches - That box section near the spring perches is doing NOTHING for strength. If it were somehow tied to the springpack or u-bolt plate, it might be a different story. (edit: upon further consideration, even THAT wouldn't help) It's cool to have "beef" but it's not really in the right place.

2. Material over pumpkin - If you're trying to resist having your front axle fold-up on you, then the amount of material over the pumpkin dictates the strength of the "triangulation" of your brace. From what I can tell, you are down to about 1/4" of steel in the thinnest spot so there's really not much in the way of extra material there to resist the bending forces.

If I were you, I'd probably scrap that design and try for something lighter and more focused on creating a "triangulated" structure. Use some tubing that can be butted up tight to the sides of the spring perches, and then goes up to a point above the pumpkin, and maybe plate the two side together??? The problem (and all trusses have to address this) is that you will be stealing precious clearance from the top of the pumpkin as you build an effective "triangulated" brace.... clearance to the oilpan will be a serious consideration....


Don't feel bad about having to start over... you haven't welded anything on yet, so you've really only lost a few hours of fab time. I have certainly had my share of projects where I ended up not liking the results, and found myself trashing everything and starting over....sometimes that's what you have to do.

 

[ntsqd]

I have to disagree with the advice to move the weld bead more to the top of the housing.

If you do that, both beads will be more on top than on the sides of the housing. Will be MUCH easier to warp the housing with welding heat.

On the other hand, if the beads are on opposite sides of the housing, then the warping from the welding heat of each bead will offset the other bead.

It can and has been often done with the beads on top of the housing, you just have to pay a lot more attention to what you're doing when you do it that way.

One way to continue the gusset past the spring is to butt the endcap of the gusset up tight against the spring. Then repeat on the other side. Any gusset on the top of the housing will mostly see compression. If the fit to the spring is tight enough, any bending force will transfer though the spring to the far side. Tight enough means somewhere just short of needing a BFH to put the springs in place.

Anytime you have a bend in a tube it becomes a spring. Not a desireable feature in steering linkage.

 

[sean'schevy]

Ok well ive decide to scap the idea for now i dont think i relly need a truss anyway. This was mostly my friends idea and i let him run with it because i had all the stuff laying around. Now that its more complete and after hearing your guys opinion I really started to think i dont want to weld something like this to my axle. Thanks for all the advise guys. Prob end up just giving it to my buddy and let him mess with it some more if he wants to put it on his axle.