Could welding gussets bend/distort an axle tube?
 

I recently brought in my Jeep to a Jeep dealer for their assessment of a pull to the passenger side. They said that the welds on the gussets on the C's likely bent the tube...enough to cause my camber to get out of spec. They arrived at this conclusion after looking at my service records and seeing an alignment they had done about a week prior to the gusset work, which indicated proper alignment. They also critiqued the weld job at the point where the gussets are welded to the tube ends as, improperly done. They proceeded to replace ball joints on the passenger's side to help correct the pull and completed an alignment. The pull to the passenger side is better... but not bacon.

I know next to nothing about welding, which is why I had a local shop do the sleeves and gussets. When I spoke to the owner of the local shop he stated that since the sleeves fit into the axle tubes easily, the tube likely was not bent prior, and that since the sleeves were welded in prior to the gussets, the already welded sleeves would have made it harder for any welding done after. i.e. welding the gussets, to bend the tube.:dontknow2:

OK so the $64K questions are:

A.) Is it possible that the weld bent the tube or even twisted the C's?

B.) If so, how can you determine if the tube is bent?

C.) If the tube/C's are bent what can be done about it?

I would think that damage to the ball joints is more likely. If the shop did not go slow enough and keep them as cool as possible, that may explain the pull.

It took a long time when I welded on my gussets because of all the cycles of cooling. Prob 3-4 hours and that is gussets only.

How long did the shop spend on the job?

I 2nd what bostonMA said. If welding caused distortion, is because of the points he made.

It's funny you say that about the ball joints as I though that too. But I ASSUME the shop removed the ball joints prior to welding...no?:thinking:

If memory serves, the Off Road shop had the Jeep for 2 days, but I was not in the shop, so no clue how much of that was welding.

Is there a way to check if it is bent? And can it be repaired if it is?

To the queation of whether the welding bent the tubes... Not a chance. Damage to the ball joints like mentioned above, maybe...possible.

Why the sleeve work anyway? Building a hard core rig?

I was thinking more towards heat distorting the "C".
And an uncareful welder could certainly overheat the ball joints.

Not so much, just sold on what I have read about C's and axles being prone to bending on the JK, especially if you are doing moderate rock crawling. I wanted to take preventative measures. Also, with Un(limo)ted's size and weight it seems prudent, especially if you can't afford to bolt Dana 60's under there.

FYI, this was originally posted in Modified section but moderator moved to this section.

If I am summing the answers properly it seems that the majority seem to believe a bent tube is less likely than a distorted C, which is even less likely than a distorted ball joint.

Anyone know how to determine if the C is bent? Also now that it is gusseted could it be corrected?

Anybody wanna try and take on these two questions?

Take it to a good alligment shop.