Welding Dana 80 axle tubes

Ive always welded them and have never seen a welded rear turn in the tubes. All the ones we have done, we make a pass on the tube then a pass on the center section then join the 2 and have not had any of them turn and thats with a mig welder
 
Ok thanks for the info on filler material. I have used 309 ss rods in the past with good luck fwiw just wasnt terribly sure if that was the right way to go about it
 
RyanB & Seeker1056 are right bolting is the best way to do it,


To weld them correctly you will need a welding procedure and to get one for welding up the axel LOL let me know how that goes for ya!!!! i had a hard enough time finding a proper welding procedure to weld the gears up in the rear end, but working at a nuclear power plant i work with some very smart Engineers, in order to weld the pumpkin the first thing you need to do is make sure you PRE - HEAT the pumpkin and tubes, nobody on here that said that they welded up the axels, even said anything about pre-heat, then you have to make sure you have the proper filler material so you get the correct milecular structure, As for you guys that have welded them so fare, sure there holding right now, but over time they will break, because the filler material you have put in is most likely NOT correct,and no pre-heat and stich welding the tubes is not necessary, its not like your going to worp the axel,and if you are going to do it i suggest to pre heat and do a single stringer and then 2 muli passes,one on the tube and the other on the pumpkin, Best of luck to u! OH and where your stops and starts are those are called crater cracks, and is mostly cause by incorrect technique when finishing a weld.
 
undertaker said:
RyanB & Seeker1056 are right bolting is the best way to do it,


To weld them correctly you will need a welding procedure and to get one for welding up the axel LOL let me know how that goes for ya!!!! i had a hard enough time finding a proper welding procedure to weld the gears up in the rear end, but working at a nuclear power plant i work with some very smart Engineers, in order to weld the pumpkin the first thing you need to do is make sure you PRE - HEAT the pumpkin and tubes, nobody on here that said that they welded up the axels, even said anything about pre-heat, then you have to make sure you have the proper filler material so you get the correct milecular structure, As for you guys that have welded them so fare, sure there holding right now, but over time they will break, because the filler material you have put in is most likely NOT correct,and no pre-heat and stich welding the tubes is not necessary, its not like your going to worp the axel,and if you are going to do it i suggest to pre heat and do a single stringer and then 2 muli passes,one on the tube and the other on the pumpkin, Best of luck to u! OH and where your stops and starts are those are called crater cracks, and is mostly cause by incorrect technique when finishing a weld.
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I'm so SICK of you know it all IDIOTS.
 
Rollin Coal said:
I'm so SICK of you know it all IDIOTS.
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not my fault i went to school for a welder/ fitter and did that for 6 years and then got hired on as a welding inspector and in my second year now, and have finished my LPI and MPI and currently studyin' for my CWB level 1 and certified in ASNT LEVEL 2 :thankyou2:
 
undertaker said:
not my fault i went to school for a welder/ fitter and did that for 6 years and then got hired on as a welding inspector and in my second year now, and have finished my LPI and MPI and currently studyin' for my CWB level 1 and certified in ASNT LEVEL 2 :thankyou2:
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oh no.... 6 whole years.

when people think they know what they are talking about, with issues welding cast what they are referring to repairing cheap ass cast iron. like a cracked exhaust manifold. it takes a ton of preheating, post heating, and knowing what the hell you are doing. and even then your lucky if it doesnt crack eventually.

welding high quality cast iron, or cast steel, to a piece of mild steel is almost as easy as it gets.

go on thinking what you want, i will continue to weld diffs and inner c's w/o issue, so will everyone else who makes money off it
:kick::kick::kick::kick:
 
im not telling you to stop at all, you guys wanted to here opinios and you got mine, you can do what ever you want to do, im just pointing out a couple facts just like everyone else on here and doing things the proper way............
 
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not to start a fight here but honestly, it sounds like just because you can weld up the axle and make it look right doesn't mean its going to not crack over time...

I am in no way a welder...I am a wood worker and if someone told me the professional, correct way of doing something I would at the very least listen to what they say and even if I don't agree with it I wouldn't cut them up and act like a morron infront of everyone else!!!! I would also educate my customers on the proper way of doing things...not the easy way in order to make money!!! who knows, tell them why you think the bolt idea is better and they would probably pay the extra for it. No different than my trade of work

RyanB
 
ive been welding axles since 2001, that first set of dana44's is still under my buddys jeep, even after jumping the jeep and bending the front axle tube, which we cut out, replaced and welded back in, no issues with the welds.

call up moser, claytons offroad or any other 4x4/drag shop and ask them how they do it. i know for a fact they are migged with regular wire.
 
zstroken said:
Now that he mentions that, I believe the foundry in New Castle used to cast the D80 housings. It was a ductile Iron foundry.
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Thats funny that you know that. I have been a machine repairmen in that foundry for eight years and we still pour ductile. Grede foundry was the name until this past friday. It is now Iron operating LLC. It funny that there is so much tension about this subject. Everybody has there own way of doing this right or wrong. So do what works for you. I dont see why some people have to beat on others for doing thing a different way.
 
01 smoke said:
Thats funny that you know that. I have been a machine repairmen in that foundry for eight years and we still pour ductile. Grede foundry was the name until this past friday. It is now Iron operating LLC. It funny that there is so much tension about this subject. Everybody has there own way of doing this right or wrong. So do what works for you. I dont see why some people have to beat on others for doing thing a different way.
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I worked there 1994-1997.
 
Holy i guess this discussion did get heated eh? Well for what its worth im gona keep welding mine in. Sorry for not mentioning but ya i preheat the housing and tubes, weld about an inch at a time and peen the **** out of my welds as im going. I have just done one pass around the tube with no problems to date.

Undertaker you seem like the type that has to do everything by the book. Just because you cant find a procedure for welding mild to ductile iron doesnt mean it cant be done.
 
i just like to do things correctly and not have to do it twice, especialy if im selling something, i would rather do it right and have a happy customer then have one come back because something isnt working, and that goes for everything not just this, i put a lot of pride into my work, and i didnt say just because you dont have a welding procedure, doesnt mean you cant weld it, if you read the post u would have cought what i said, and it was all about the molecular structure, but yes i like to do things the proper way and only have to do it once,
 
A few months back, there was an article in an issue of Petersen's 4 Wheel & Off Road magazine showing how to weld the center section of an axle to the tubes without the weld from pulling away from the center section because it cooled down too fast. The guy put a bunch of mesquite briquettes into the empty center section and let them burn to get the center section to the right temperature then once all the welding was done he let the center section slowly cool down. Its a long and tedious process but the guy that did it has been doing it that way for many years and it has worked every time for him.

Scott
 
you shouldn't peen the weld, especially while hot.

even chipping the slag off while hot can weaken the weld, it makes the weld very hard.
 
Rollin Coal said:
you shouldn't peen the weld, especially while hot.

even chipping the slag off while hot can weaken the weld, it makes the weld very hard.
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100% agree also the guys from the artical are doing it properly, like i said it can be done its just doing it properly,
 
Rollin Coal said:
you shouldn't peen the weld, especially while hot.

even chipping the slag off while hot can weaken the weld, it makes the weld very hard.
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Chipping the slag off a weld while it is hot makes a weld hard and week? Come on this is gettin out of hand. I have been welding for about twelve years and went to welding school at hobart and they didnt feed us crap like this. Peening a weld releaves stress. Im not sayin I know everything but I know a little. I think im done here. Like I said before, do what works for you.
 
BamBam said:
RyanB & Seeker1056 are right bolting is the best way to do it,


To weld them correctly you will need a welding procedure and to get one for welding up the axel LOL let me know how that goes for ya!!!! i had a hard enough time finding a proper welding procedure to weld the gears up in the rear end, but working at a nuclear power plant i work with some very smart Engineers, in order to weld the pumpkin the first thing you need to do is make sure you PRE - HEAT the pumpkin and tubes, nobody on here that said that they welded up the axels, even said anything about pre-heat, then you have to make sure you have the proper filler material so you get the correct milecular structure, As for you guys that have welded them so fare, sure there holding right now, but over time they will break, because the filler material you have put in is most likely NOT correct,and no pre-heat and stich welding the tubes is not necessary, its not like your going to worp the axel,and if you are going to do it i suggest to pre heat and do a single stringer and then 2 muli passes,one on the tube and the other on the pumpkin, Best of luck to u! OH and where your stops and starts are those are called crater cracks, and is mostly cause by incorrect technique when finishing a weld.
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we need to go back to middle school and learn how to spell a little as well. maybe dropped out for welding school prematurely?
 
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