Trussing axle housing...

[importhater5.0]

I have a few questions on Trussing my axle housing. Im not worried about the welding b/c im a pipe welder, so thats not the issue. Im worried about warping the tubes. Currently i have the 8.8 with a TA stud girdle, Moser 31 spline axles, and a Detroit Locker. Im having the whole housing sandblasted and powdercoated, but b4 i do that i figured, why not weld the tubes to the housing and do a truss so i dont have to worry about launching this puppy. Im runnin a 5spd with 4.30 gears so i need some beef. Im gonna TIG weld the whole thing, so i figured i would weld about an inch, let it cool, and move to the other side and do the same until the whole thing is welded. I saw in an article a shop that did one and they had everything outta the housing and the axles out, and they put some solid stock that was the same diameter as the axles shafts all the way through so it wouldnt warp. I really dont wanna do all that, so i didnt know if anyone just added it to a rear that was already put together, axles , locker, gears all in place? I think it will be ok if i only weld about 1" at a time, but i just dont wanna Fu@k the tubes up......any suggestions are appreciated!

 

[rd]

I guess I would just weld slowly, a half inch on one side, then on the other, then go opposite the weld on the first side.

I welded one area at the top, and one at the bottom of each tube on mine, and it seems fine. Really only have about 50 miles on that axle. I used my 2 year old home fluxcore unit. I think I had the diff in there when I welded it. You do want to watch the heat and not set the oil on fire.

Given the slide in fit nature of the rear outer bearings, and the fact that the inner end is just a slide in to the side gears, I would not worry much about it.

 

[importhater5.0]

hey thanks for the info.....i think i will be ok if i go slow like you said, and i think having everything together will help with rigidity too. it'll prolly take me a week to weld it all at 1/2" per weld, but better safe than sorry!haha! so we will see how it goes i guess.....still interested if anyone else has any input, thanks in advance!

 

[Mustang5L5]

I've only heard to do it with the soild steel rod in the center. I've never seen it done otherwise but i would be worried about warping.

How much HP are you running? I've never really seen an 8.8 break that way though. Usually the trans blows or the axle shaft snaps way before the limits of the housing are reached.

 

[importhater5.0]

im not running all that much HP, when im said and done i should be around 600 horse. i know i prolly dont NEED to truss the axle, but i just figure......why not!? I mean i like doing stuff once, so if im getting the whole thing blasted and powdercoated, i should just do what i want to it now and never really worry about it again. I dunno, im just looking at it that way. I have also seen a few articles in MMFF that were about cracks in the housing and twisting the axle tubes. LIke i said, ill be running a 5spd, with 4:30s and ET streets so it will be a decent amount of torque, and im not one to -foot it off the line either

 

[mrmustangman357]

go slow with the tig welder. you have the right isea to TIG it. You know your axle is straight when you can easily slide your axleshafts in and out and rotate them without problems. gung ho!

 

[tmoss]

without putting it in a jig with a stright bar in it you won't know if the tube's perfectly straight. If you stitch weld it as described you'll be fine. The tube metal doesn't heat that fast on the inside if you do about 1" at a time.