On Tue, 14 Jul 2015 22:38:57 -0400, wrote:

On Tue, 14 Jul 2015 21:30:30 -0500, "Terry Coombs"
wrote:

also posted at sejw

OK , here's what I have :
A good friend runs a car resto business , and he's working on a Ford T I
think it is . Single transverse spring , ladder bars , and aftermarket
bracketry welded to a Ford 9" rear axle housing . They pulled it to move one
of the transverse spring mounts inboard to clear brake hardware - the mounts
were NOT centering the axle under the car . What they found was a real mess
, stress cracks in the axle tubes , holes burned thru and leaking oil . The
welds look like they were made by a monkey on crack , just gobbed on . My
plan is to grind out the cracks 90% of the thickness of the tubes , with
stop holes drilled at the ends . Grind off the ****ty welds on the brackets
, leave the few that look decent there but feather the ends .
I want to TIG this thing , because the MIG isn't big enough and because
I'm not that good with a stick . I have on hand 308/309/312 and ER70S2 TIG
fillers and 6011/6013/7018 in rod . The axle housing and brackets are mild
steel . The arc rods are going to be a bit big for filling the cracks but
they might be the best choice for re-welding the brackets . I'm looking for
recommendations on what to use where .
Oh , and the reason for the stress cracks - they're all near the end of
the bracket welds - is because of the ladder bar attachments to the frame .
Bolted to a tab that was bolted with a single bolt to the frame - they moved
under accel/decel , and this sled has a motor that has been "modified" ... a
lot . I plan to recommend some mods to tie that axle down a lot better .

Switch to 4-link to help spread the stress?

I was pleasantly surprised at how much polyurethane bushings stiffened
up my rear leaf suspension in my old '90 F-150. Less side movement
for better handling. I _like_ corners.


Might be a good idea to look for a replacement housing - otherwise I'd

That'd be ideal, but most people want a $ fix, not a ChaCHING $$$ fix.
Snag would know which.


stick weld the whole thing. It's going to be a real bugger with all
the oil in the cracks any way you cut it - but stick is the most
forgiving.

A spray can of B-12 Chemtool is your friend. I'd pull everything
(axles, bearings, nut, lines) and steam clean the beastie with
degreasers, then preclean the weld areas once more with Berryman's.

--
The business of America is not business. Neither is it war. The business
of America is justice and securing the blessings of liberty.
-- George F. Will