CRAP!! Burnt a large hole in my axle tube!

[Jfly13]

I am in the process of building rear inner shock mounts. I was to the point of cutting of my stock shock mounts. I decided to use a torck instead of a cut of wheel. I thought I was at the right angle so that I would not cut in to the axle tube, but the large flash of fire told me other wise. I was smart enough to have a fire extinguisher at hand though. I not sure want to do now. I am supposed to take it out on Dec. 13th. I guess I have a littel more work. to do. I am not sure if I am going to weld up the hole or try to find a new axle housing. CRAP!!!

 

[sprdv1]

Crap man.. That sux..

 

[Madgyver]

Weld it up..

It's just a little "oops!"

and being a man to admit it on ClassicBroncos.com

 

[cgbexec]

Weld it up.

 

[00gyrhed]

Why not just weld it up? What is your concern?

 

[phred]

Now you have an excuse to shave and truss the housing;D

 

[Ethansdad73]

duct tape ..military grade.. problem solved. sorry had to put it out there.

 

[DRBRONCO69]

Weld it up man! No Biggie!

 

[Jfly13]

I guess I am a perfectionist and hate knowing that I put a hole in it. I should be able to weld it up fine. It is on the bottom side so it will be a little hard. I have just been getting into welding and the over head postion is a skill I still have to work on.

Hey Mad, what did you use for your inner shock mounts on the bottom? Did you reuse the old ones or make ones. Do you have any pics?

I assume I will need to drain the fluid below the tube level so tha i can have a good clean area t weld right? I gues I could just jack up that side so the fluid all goes to the other side.

 

[Hal9000]

What type of welder are you using? Overhead welding is nearly exactly the same as flat welding, you just need to be sure that the puddle doesn't drip. If you're stick welding you need to use something like a 6010 or 6011 rod.

 

[malcolmzilla]

You'll have a real hard time underhand and with the oil flashing off and blowing through the weld pool - remove the axle, drain, clean very well, and then do a nice in position weld. This is also a good time to look for stress cracks and repair, as well as do the shock mount welds up nice.

 

[Jfly13]

You'll have a real hard time underhand and with the oil flashing off and blowing through the weld pool - remove the axle, drain, clean very well, and then do a nice in position weld. This is also a good time to look for stress cracks and repair, as well as do the shock mount welds up nice.

I had this thought also. I little mor work, but it would be the right way to do.

I am using a lincoln ranger, but do not have the mig attatchment, just using stick with 6010 rod. I am getting ready to start on bumper also and I plan on using 7018 rod for that. Looks a lot nicer.

 

[Jfly13]

I also have a question about the shock mounts. It may be a dumb one, but what do people mean when the say "double shear"? I don't want my mounts to break.

 

[bronko69er]

Double shear is when a bolt has support on both sides of the load (like the stock lower front shock mount). Single shear is like a cantilever where the bolt only has support on one side of the load (like the upper rear shock mounts).

 

[BroncoDawg]

Really better pull the axles and 3rd to clean well so no slag is floating around in the oil. Sux, but pay now or pay later.

For future, all I did was grind some on the shock mounts, then they hammered right off. Then finished grinding off the weld knowing I wasn't going into the housing.

 

[admin]

I also have a question about the shock mounts. It may be a dumb one, but what do people mean when the say "double shear"? I don't want my mounts to break.

See page 5 of this article. It's a good diagram or double vs. single shear. The rest is really good reading too.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/NutsandBolts/Nuts&Bolts_signed.pdf

As for Jfly13's axle...Anyone else concerned about it now being warped? That's quite a bit of heat to blow a hole through the tube.

 

[Ohio Bronco 21]

Pulling the axels out and cleaning it wont be a bad thing. Weld her up, and get going.

 

[bax]

magic putty. As seen on TV. Just roll it into a ball and mold it into the tube. TaDa, good as new.

Take it out, strip it down and weld it up. Or just find another housing and prep it the way you want it and swap it out.

 

[00gyrhed]

jack up the side where the hole is as high as you can it will make it easuer to weld and run all the oil to the other end. If there is no oil pooled it will burn off quick and not give you a problem. A patch will be easiest because you would have more metal there to work particularly with the 7018. It tends to penetrate well so be careful with rod size and amperage. But if you make a patch out of 3/32 steel and clamp it down tight with a hose clamp or something it will be mush easier to weld the patch in position that to fill in a hole. you also run less risk of getting grit and metal into the housing. Even though you probably already have with the cutting torch.