retubing an axle

[kastein]

1. I'm not a metallurgist, but how do you weld chromoly to the cast center section and not lose the advantage of using it in the first place?

One thing they mentioned that i overlooked (and i should know better) was that to really benefit from it, it should be heat treated after welding because it's probably annealed in those areas i welded (which are also the weak points). so it's somewhat pointless to go with chromoly.

that's exactly what he said...

 

[Vanimal]

that's exactly what he said...

he didnt specifically mention the annealing, i assumed he ment that the center section was the weak point. I need things to be spelled out for me in order to understand, i am part polish after all

 

[Vanimal]

so i ordered 3" 3/8" wall DOM. goatman uses that on his dana 60s without a truss without issues, and he probably puts it to them far more than i ever will. got the tubing for $80 to my door. i'm going with chromo rubicon inners, which are about $160. i'm going to be into this whole axle for $550, including new gears, all new bearings and seals, new chromoly axles, and an eaton elocker with new stator kit. not too bad i dont think. it'll have chevy flat top knuckles with high steer.
unfortunately the guy was incorrect about the gearing so i am going to have to order new gears.

 

[Vanimal]

got my tubing today, so i'll be working on the axle over the next few weeks.
i'm ordered the stator kit i needed for my locker, and i also am ordering chromo rubicon inners, new gears, and all new bearings and seals. i'm excited to tear into this, should be pretty fun. i really hope i can get this done soon as i got some new rubber waiting to go on, but since the bolt pattern is different, i can't use them now. luckily my rear axle has dual bolt patterns in the shafts so all i'll have to do is drill out the exploder rotors. that's only 5 minutes of programing and maybe 10 minutes of cutting on the mill.
i also have a plan for machining out the inner c's. i'm going to cut the tubes and leave enough to hold onto in the lathe, and just bore it out. i'll bore it up to the edge of the weld, leaving the c attached to the tube until i bore it to the proper diameter. then i'll cut the weld off later. the plan is to indicate the inside of the tube and get it running true in the lathe, and bore a tiny step about .01-.02" larger than the finished diameter so i can indicate it back in for the finish cut after i rough it all out.

 

[xcm]

I'd love it if you illustrated this book your writing with pics, especially ones of the milling work/jigging. I would think the knuckles would be 5x easier than the center section...

 

[Vanimal]

I'd love it if you illustrated this book your writing with pics, especially ones of the milling work/jigging. I would think the knuckles would be 5x easier than the center section...

i'll see what i can do.
just plasma'd out the rosette welds on one side, then cleaned up the holes with a carbide burr tool on a die grinder. you cannot drill them out, they are hard as hell. i need to get a more cone shaped burr tool to get it good enough, but i did smack the wedge with a hammer and i did see evidence of the tube moving some. i'm trying to think of the best way to get the tubes out without stressing the center section. i could try and press it out with a bottle jack from inside, but you're really not supposed to expand the housing more than .015"

 

[Monster Mopar]

If the tube moved with a wack of a hammer I doubt you'd get to the .015" max spread limit before the tubes started moving. But to be safe just put a dial indicator across the case.... Btw everything I've read says max spread is .020" except on a Dana 30 housing which according to an old Dana tech book said .015"

 

[Vanimal]

If the tube moved with a wack of a hammer I doubt you'd get to the .015" max spread limit before the tubes started moving. But to be safe just put a dial indicator across the case.... Btw everything I've read says max spread is .020" except on a Dana 30 housing which according to an old Dana tech book said .015"

instructions with my d44 eaton elocker said .015 but they're probably fairly generic.
it was a pretty BFH though....

 

[Monster Mopar]

When I installed my arb in my rear Dana 44 I spread the housing to .020" as per ARB and other gear install write up's recommendations and have suffered no ill affects. It's worth a try imo. It would be the easiest way without making some elaborate set up.

 

[Vanimal]

When I installed my arb in my rear Dana 44 I spread the housing to .020" as per ARB and other gear install write up's recommendations and have suffered no ill affects. It's worth a try imo. It would be the easiest way without making some elaborate set up.

yea, my only problem is i remembered i dont have a bottle jack anymore.
i do have a pretty good idea, i'll post up if it works. it will put zero stress on the center section.

 

[cracker]

There is nothing wrong with doing it yourself....

but coming from someone who builds axles all the time for people...I wouldn't do it. In fact, I had the last axle tubed for $350 with some custom work done on the tubes (tapered).

 

[Vanimal]

yea, i'm not saving much once i get the nickel rod i need for welding it, i'll probably have $110 plus a lot of time into it when it's all said and done. but it shouldnt be too bad. i'm going to make a bar that fits in some carrier bearings with some belleville washers to put some preload on them. the rod will be long enough to stick out the end of the tubes so i can clamp on my indicator and check the tubes for runout before and after welding. i'm confident that it'll come out ok, but i do understand it wont be easy.
so long story short, i'm still doing it

 

[Vanimal]

after snapping a shaft in my d30, i decided to get back on this and get it done. just got one of the tubes pressed out, definitely took a little force. gotta plasma and grind out the rosette welds on the other tube and i'll get it pressed out as well. then i'll be turning the new tubes to size and pressing them in.

 

[bigalpha]

with some custom work done on the tubes (tapered).

Why get the tubes tapered?

 

[cracker]

Why get the tubes tapered?

well.....

the casting on the Tera CRD is 3" and the inner C's I wanted to use were 3.125". I had the 3.125" 1/2" DOM tube turned down .0625 in order to fit the tera casting

 

[Vanimal]

Why get the tubes tapered?

so he can insert it deeper....

 

[NW-ZJ-SCOTT]

Take the bronco 44. And have it retube'd with Chevy 12bolt tubes?


I was quoted $300 to have this done. At any width I need

 

[Vanimal]

the point is to do it myself, i don't care about the money.

 

[kastein]

this is an ideal application for 8640 martensitic stainless tube. I suggest 0.005" wall thickness

 

[Vanimal]

don't be a Masshole.















hides stainless tubing...