Who has welded their axle tubes?

[blazin_blazer]

i welded my 14b w/ tig and inconel 600 filler rod after a generous preheat on the cast ''whatever'' center, but the housing was empty and i machined ''pucks'' the size of the carrier bearings w/ 1 1/2'' hole in the center, bolted in place of carrier bearing and then slide a 1 1/2'' cold roll rod thru and thru the housing, and used similar ''pucks'' slide in the ends of the tubes, so the tubes wouldn't pull toward the heat of the tig torch and bow up (i saw a rod shop do this, when they narrowed a rear once, so i copied it), then wrapped w/ welding blankets for over night...

i did that about 7 yrs ago and its still good. prolly over kill but wanted it to hold and was unsure exactly what the center section was made of, so i did it how i knew it would work. i have since just welded tubes to the pumpkin of several rearends w/ nickel rods and preheat, and a few with no preheat and used 7018 rods, tacking 180* apart then 90* and again 180*, quickly,.. then welded the tubes all the way around, completly filling the step between the tube and center section, and they are still being used, so do it how you know how to. i always control cool down w/blankets or sand bags.

or have an experienced pipe welder weld it up for you, they can do it like the 2nd or 3rd way i explained in no time, after yrs of welding pipe i/they learn how to tack, then go around that tube fast enuff it won't warp..i still wrapped it so the cast didn't cool to fast and become crystaline and brittle.

 

[BGKYK5]

What are the inner C's made of? Those are fully welded to the tubes in the factory.

 

[Hogback Fabrication]

What are the inner C's made of? Those are fully welded to the tubes in the factory.

Inner c's are cast steel like the knuckles, very easy to weld those.

 

[pennsylvaniaboy]

welded it w/o heating htem. cranked the mig hot. and went at it. no problems yet.

 

[jason m]

did mine with my MM250.

http://s150.photobucket.com/albums/s89/420willys/?action=view&current=0623071337.jpg

set it at 19.5 volts and around 185 IPM's. did them vertical up and backstepped them as i went around. i did a little pre-heat to drive out the moisture and just let them air cool. heres why i did it.

http://s150.photobucket.com/albums/s89/420willys/?action=view&current=Image014-1.jpg

http://s150.photobucket.com/albums/s89/420willys/?action=view&current=Image015-1.jpg

this was the side the anti wrap bar was on and i broke with a stock 4.0 jeep motor on a very light chopped up jeep. i can only imagine what a larger fullsize would do.

jason.

 

[chevysmithz71]

Decided to just pull the 14ff out and weld it since I was going to add a truss.I did some good preheat and went at it with some nickel rod to get the best weld.

 

[imiceman44]

I welded my front and rear no preheating just welded it

I welded on the pumpkin befoe and no preheating, I just started to weld with a MIG and kept going back and forth to build up heat and weld, I started away from the piece of metal until the housing was hot enough.

 

[imiceman44]

It does not make me a posting whore, and you'd be very hard pressed to find any reply of mine with the word "pad" in it.


Rene

You just did.

 

[Fabrimacator21]

You should be able to tell cast steel and cast iron apart by grinding on them... cast iron will give you very "dull" sparks becuase it's softer. Cast steel will give you brighter sparks and more of them.

Also when welding anything cast it's not a bad idea to "peen" the weld as soon as your done welding. By peen I mean hit the weld with a hammer and center punch several times all over as soon as you get doen welding. This spreads the molecules out making it less likely to crack. I've gotten some oddball heavy equipment casts and found this really does stop cracking.

I agree with Rene. If you let the weld cool naturally your better off and will have a lot less chance of ending up with cracks. I don't know that prolonging cooling really does anything though. Your not changing how the molecules attach to each other but just slowing down the process.

If it's really cold out then I can see prolonging the cooling.

 

[kitimatdude]

I did no preheat or post heat had no cracks. but I did do it in 2 passes so it wasn't too cold. I used nirod on the tubes. I wasn't planning on welding the tubes untill I read this thread the other day. I was just finishing shaving the dif so why not.

the rod:

left side left handed weld

right side right handed weld

the shave

I welded out the shaved part with 309SS

 

[sawzall]

quick question and it might be a stupid one, but would it be ok to weld the tubes to the center section without draining the gear fluid and cleaning it out thoroughly?

 

[kgblazerfive]

You can weld it but I would change it it tends to get a little hot

 

[cegusman]

Ok I am about to do this to mine. Will be just using a mig. Just picked a Miller 180, so if I just crank the voltage up I should be able to burn them in? Or should I do it with a bigger machine?

 

[chevysmithz71]

Ok I am about to do this to mine. Will be just using a mig. Just picked a Miller 180, so if I just crank the voltage up I should be able to burn them in? Or should I do it with a bigger machine?

Many have done that and it holds just fine.It's more of a personel thing of doing pre-heat and nickel rod or Mig it.
It's ALL YOU.

 

[Fabrimacator21]

Many have done that and it holds just fine.It's more of a personel thing of doing pre-heat and nickel rod or Mig it.
It's ALL YOU.

Uh... no it's the right way and the wrong way, not personal preference.

If you preheat it's alot less likely to crack down the road.

Cast anything should really be arc welded for maximux strength. You'll have less possibility of cracks if you arc weld it but mig will work. Just make sure you preheat it and peen it.

Nickel rod isn't necessary unless your welding cast iron or very low quality cast steel. You should be fine with 7018.

 

[colbystephens]

so if i don't want to pull my axle all the way out of the truck to do this, can i simply lift the body up until the tires are almost lifting off the ground?

 

[Hogback Fabrication]

so if i don't want to pull my axle all the way out of the truck to do this, can i simply lift the body up until the tires are almost lifting off the ground?

Yep

 

[Hogback Fabrication]

Ok I am about to do this to mine. Will be just using a mig. Just picked a Miller 180, so if I just crank the voltage up I should be able to burn them in? Or should I do it with a bigger machine?

Many of us have mig'd them with no preheat with good success.

I did a small section (~1") at first, no cracking so I did 3 or 5 more 1" sections around the tube.

 

[colbystephens]

Yep

then out comes the welder this weekend.

 

[pennsylvaniaboy]

Many of us have mig'd them with no preheat with good success.

I did a small section (~1") at first, no cracking so I did 3 or 5 more 1" sections around the tube.

x2 .....this isnt real hard or as serious as ppl make it out to be