Made a front axle truss and was wondering about welding it to the axle. Do I need to drain the oil and pull the axle shafts, or can I just weld it to the axle without draining it doing short welds and letting it cool inbetween? I was thinking the latter, but don't want to be roasting marshmallows over my truck if it bursts into flames.

Thanks

 

i never heard of pulling the shafts or draining the oil when welding on the housing.. i believe you will be fine!

 

It will be fine oil and all. i torched spring perches off my rear axle full of oil and welded new ones on. no problem. just dont let it get toooo hot. i dowsed mine with water after using the cutting torch just to be carefull

 

That's exactly the WRONG thing to do!

Take your time, alternate your weld locations - like front driver's side, rear passenger side, rear driver's, front passenger etc. Try to keep your beads like 1" stitches, especially when you are down the length of the axle, you can do longer when you're near the center.

I recommend leaving the fluid in it and the thirdmember bolted in if you can. The oil will help absorb some of the heat, and obviously the third will help brace it. Change the oil out afterwards. Let it cool nice and SLOW and it will stay straight.

NOTE: be sure to gusset the knuckle balls - that's more likely to bend than the axle tubes themselves!

 

All very good advice. The only thing I'd add is to open the fill plug while welding and be mindful not to get the oil too hot. I've been told the oil can ignite if too hot, and the fill hole will give some place for the pressure to go rather than creating a bomb.

 

Me when I read this:


If you are going to work with steel, you need to have at the very least a basic understanding of the material. Especially if you are working on your vehicle.