Yes. As a metallurgist, I cringe when thinking about how people weld a little, quench. Weld a little more, then quench. Over and over. You are embrittling the housing a lot with this process. This is why I went with the sleeves too, and also made sure the welder knew he had to go slow to protect the ball joints, but fast enough to reduce the number of times they were heating the housing. You need a good, smart welder to do this job right. Overall though, I felt the benefits outweighed the costs.

 

There's a local shop out here that does 4x4 work. I will be stopping by later today. Yep, cheap insurance.

 

Do you recommend just welding a small section at a time waiting for it to cool naturally and skipping the water quench?

 

Another noob question. Does it matter what kind of welder is used to do this? Is one better than another? MIG, TIG, Stick? I have access to a stick welder, but have not welded in a while. May have to pratice to avoid the bird s**t weld. LOL.

 

You can bend them just by hitting a pothole on the street...

 

Can you provide the info to support your claim on the potholes, I'd like to read it.

As for myself i ran 35's on my 08 for years with trips to the badlands and other local wheeling. Never bent a C. I did end up adding the gussets just for insurance but obviously didn't need them. This is why I posted originally, first hand experience.

 

It is easy to tell if they are bent? I have had 33s for a few months now and just installed a 2.5in lift. I have done some light offroading quite a bit. I do a ton of research before I do anything to my jeep, and this is first time I have heard about this. Guess I need to do some more research.

 

I agree that the welding would need to be done correctly. My guess would be - best way is with TIG. Very controlled heat with very accurate and complete welding. Stick welding would be the worst but as I only have a stick welder, looks like that will be the tool I use. Can still be done nicely, just more heat introduced.

- To the Welders on the forum - Any suggestions on the proper welding rod to best use? As a stick welder is my tool, I am thinking something in the 6018 range which has a good degree of strength yet also tends to be less brittle. - Suggestions?

-Next question -
In order to properly weld the gussets in, should I totally strip the outer C's of ball joints to ensure there is no damage? I anticipate that to be YES.
How about the axle shaft itself and any outer seals and such.
Just trying to make sure I am prepared for the day.

Thank you for the help.

Mandor6863

 

I stopped by my local 4x4 shop to ask about installing gussets yesterday. He said unless I was going to rock crawl I didnt need them even with 35s. He said "Ive been in this buisness for 30 years and you dont need them". He said he offroads his old scrambler on dana30s and has never bent anything.

 

I see the point on getting the sleeves and gussets as a preventative measure it's cheap and and from what I have read very effective. I know that I will be leery of wheeling and probably talk myself out of certain trails and obstacles till I can get my axle done. As with anything you buy things happen some axles are just prone to failure for whatever reason. With that being said I would also like to see the proof or evidence that suggests hitting a pothole will bend some portion of your axle. Don't get me wrong I will be using this argument with my wife once I find a good competent welder.