TJlongworth
Moderator
The axle started out as a late 80's dually king pin axle. Dually axles are typically less desirable so they go for much cheaper (375 dollars). The only real difference is the hub assembly and brake rotors. Dually axles use a large cast wheel spacer assembly with a bolt on brake rotor. fortunately after years of hoarding, I have 2 non dually hubs in the filing cabinet.
To start the process both tubes were cut off within a few inches of the c's. the long side tube will be reused how it is, but the short side will get re-tubed. the c's were then placed in a vice and the weld and tube were cut flush to make the lathe work easier.
Turning the c's in the lathe are a real pain, and unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of the process. When I narrowed the front axle for the willys, I made a mandrel that holds the c in the lathe so it can be turned safely. once the weld is undercut, its time to press the tube out. It took all my 20 ton press had to remove the tube.
Retubing the housing was next, removing the plug welds in the housing is a total pain in the A$$ !!! using the mill and a 7/8 hole saw, the plug welds can be drilled out. the plug welds are glass hard and the only reasonable soloution is to go bigger, into the soft cast. 6 plugs welds were removed. It was then time to carefully put 2 slices in the remaining tube so it can be tapped out. With the housing cleaned up its time for careful measuring and lathe work. the replacement tube is 3 inch .5 wall dom tubing. the tricky part is machining the recess for the axle tube seal. The OD of the tube also needed to be turned down to get the proper interference fit. the goal was .004 ( it should be more, but that's the most I felt comfortable trying to achieve)
Once all the lathe work was done, the axle tube went into the freezer, along with tater tots and orange juice. 2 days in the freezer and it was party time. The housing was set up infront of a diesel heater and it was time to bring the housing temp to at least 300. 3 hours of heating, and its the moment of truth. The tube dropped in with no issues and locked into place.
What's next, all the kingpin parts are on order to assemble the outers. This needs to be done to figure out the axle width and pinion offset before the excess tubing is cut off.
Thats all for now.
To start the process both tubes were cut off within a few inches of the c's. the long side tube will be reused how it is, but the short side will get re-tubed. the c's were then placed in a vice and the weld and tube were cut flush to make the lathe work easier.
Turning the c's in the lathe are a real pain, and unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of the process. When I narrowed the front axle for the willys, I made a mandrel that holds the c in the lathe so it can be turned safely. once the weld is undercut, its time to press the tube out. It took all my 20 ton press had to remove the tube.
Retubing the housing was next, removing the plug welds in the housing is a total pain in the A$$ !!! using the mill and a 7/8 hole saw, the plug welds can be drilled out. the plug welds are glass hard and the only reasonable soloution is to go bigger, into the soft cast. 6 plugs welds were removed. It was then time to carefully put 2 slices in the remaining tube so it can be tapped out. With the housing cleaned up its time for careful measuring and lathe work. the replacement tube is 3 inch .5 wall dom tubing. the tricky part is machining the recess for the axle tube seal. The OD of the tube also needed to be turned down to get the proper interference fit. the goal was .004 ( it should be more, but that's the most I felt comfortable trying to achieve)
Once all the lathe work was done, the axle tube went into the freezer, along with tater tots and orange juice. 2 days in the freezer and it was party time. The housing was set up infront of a diesel heater and it was time to bring the housing temp to at least 300. 3 hours of heating, and its the moment of truth. The tube dropped in with no issues and locked into place.
What's next, all the kingpin parts are on order to assemble the outers. This needs to be done to figure out the axle width and pinion offset before the excess tubing is cut off.
Thats all for now.
