I wish I could have my phone on the floor and take pictures of this new rickety *** conveyor system I installed tonight. It's like something out of ***** Wonka. My MIG stainless welds look good though.

 

I can imagine. Some of our conveyors are laughable too. We have some troughing conveyors that are a complete joke.

 

What all do I need to know about welding on an axle? I am thinking about doing an OTK steering kit so obviously the track bar bracket bracket will have to be moved and welded on top of the axle as well as the sway bar link brackets to the c's.

Can I flux core weld this stuff to the axle or do I need to mig weld it? Can I weld it with all the parts still in the axle, shafts, gears, etc. or do I need to drain the gear oil and pull the axle shafts? Also, is there any kind of pre-heating of the axle that needs to be done prior to welding and if so will a propane torch be sufficient?

Anything else I need to know please post. Thanks.

 

Really, no answers on this one? Hmmm.....guess I am left to my own demise

 

You can flux core it, but I prefer MIG gas all day long. Leave everything in it, if you smell gear oil, change it. I doubt you'll burn anything out that far down the tube. Only prep work is using a flap disc to get a clean welding surface.

 

Alright. Thanks. What about the sway link brackets? I thought I read somewhere that you have to pre-heat the c's before welding due to them being cast iron or something like that? I could be wrong.

 

I don't believe the inner C's are cast.

 

Nope they are forged. Knuckles are cast

 

This. You'll be okay as long as you aren't welding near any seals or things like that. Flap wheel it and weld. One more thing, what voltage is your welder? 220v is preferred for things of this nature, structural welds need good depth of fusion to last. Flux core will work, but MIG is much cleaner.
The other cast part is the pumpkin I believe...only an issue if you're welding the tubes to the pumpkin, and I would use arc for that, preheated, with a torch, and using nickel rod. Welding cast material can be tricky if you don't know how to do it...


On a side note, I got to try something new to me at work today. Aluminum. Came out nice, really wanna do more now, LOL

 

I stick welded aluminum the other day. Interesting material to work with.

 

Here is my front axle




Can't wait to get it back from my friend next weekend and get it on all 4's again. I'm just excited for my new tires

 

Pure beef. Nice job, sir...

 

X2. The ONLY way I would ever use flux core on a structural weld is if it was 220v and I absolutely had to. If you have 220 then go for it but make sure you bevel the edges of what you weld since flux core doesn't always get good penetration in the root. Another thing to consider is, what size wire are you using? If you're using 110v and .035 wire, it's never going to burn in right. On the other side of that, if you're using 220v and .024 solid on .25" thick steel, you're going to melt more steel than you can replace. Post up the stats on your welder so we can get a better feel for what you are working with.

 

Thanks. I still need to buy some DOM for links and bend up a tie Rod. Only have to add hydro assist mounts and it should be "done".

 

I was playing around with a little overhead 7018