I agree. dimmpling the EVO sleeve with the tip of the bit will only make the plug weld stronger.

 

to each his own

i on the other hand will follow the product manufacturers instructions.

the tube has to be cleaned out anyways, so i don't see what the big deal is.

so what every one is saying is, it is OK to NOT follow the manufacturers instructions

ok, that's cool, everyone entitled to their way of thinking and opinions. sounds pretty IRRESPONSIBLE to me especially for a manufacturer, vendor, and sponsor to tell people IT IS OK TO NOT FOLLOW A MANUFACTURERS INSTRUCTIONS FOR A PRODUCT INSTALL.

IF EVO WANTED YOU TO DRILL THE TUBES WITH THE SLEEVES IN, THEN THAT'S WHAT THEY WOULD HAVE WRITTEN UP, BUT THEY DIDN'T. INSTRUCTIONS EXIST FOR A REASON.

 

Sounds like Capt. Jay has her panties in a wad

Relax dude....sometimes there is more than 1 way to accomplish a mission.

 

The TF sleeves come with directions. Mine are getting installed Wednesday. They are at the shop but instructions said minimum of 4 holes on short side and 6 on long.

I am getting charged 5 hours labor for sleeves and gussets.

I had a 2 hour quote from another shop but they were only welding end of tube and not drilling holes. Strange.

 

Ha.....yeah, i'd stay away from the guy that was just going to weld the ends

 

Drilling the holes & plug welding is imperitive. If you just weld the ends you have accomplished nothing. The axle tubes must be "married" to the Evo tubes. This way the force & stress that is put on your axle will be absorbed by both pieces at the same time. They work as a team, as one piece of steel.

If they are not welded together throughout their entire length, when the force is applied, the tube will bend first, followed by the inner sleeve.

The weld acts just like glue does in woodworking. If you take a 6 foot length of 1"x2" pine. support it on each end and stand on it, it will surely break. If you stack 2 of them on top of the other & stand on them, they will sag under your weight & break. But, if you glue three of them together, they will indeed hold your weight.
I'd would just read this entire thread again & get to tearing that sucker apart & following the instruction that call for plug welding.
Good luck!!!
Afterwards you can treat yourself to a cold

 

hahaha nice!

my point is sometimes you have to think of the majority of the average person doing installs them selves. a lot of people think they can do something and end up screwing it up. a pro shop doing an install is not the same as the average person doing an install. if i was a manufacturer, i would not be telling people to veer from the instructions. i completely understand there is a lot of times more than 1 way to do something and sometimes you have to improvise, but instructions are there for a purpose.

a lot of this is today's society of people just being too lazy to follow the correct steps. yes, shortcuts can and do work, but sometimes shortcuts end up really screwing things up.

just wait for the person who drills through the sleeve and messes it up, their response will be "well benchmark and the forum people said it was ok to drill like this" i just don't feel it is very responsible

like i said, to each his own, everyone can make their own judgments.

 

Just a quick heads up on cleaning out the axle tubes with brake cleaner before you weld them in, don't use it, check out this link,

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KFyTdNuXGQ...h/87c8ee40.jpg

Pretty scary stuff!

 

Very informative post & web site. I use starting fluid and brake cleaner for everything. I will be much more careful in the future thanks to you & this info.

Thanks a ton 440Junk

 

Good heads up.