oops, broken axle

[ygmir]

Hi all.,
I've been AWOL for a while here, sorry, work and life seem to have screwed my priorities up.........

so,
I broke the front passenger side axle, right where the hole for the drive bolt goes, of course............

It came out pretty straight forward, although, I ended up having to ruin the mid frame mount bearing and race.....seems it was so frozen on, I couldn't get it out and, there was nothing strong enough to pry against...........and, couldn't to the slide hammer thing since it didn't extend beyond the body........

anyway,
if anyone has one or knows of other sources, I'd appreciate any info. Cost, or, tricks to re-installing it.......
I'm thinking of adding another set screw or two after re-assembly.......I see the weakness being the hole wollers out from movement and weakens the axle.
any thoughts are appreciated.

I hope everyone is well and had a nice xmas........

seeya,
Henry

[brushcutter]

Henry,
Seems we have a common problem,I busted the front drivers side axle a while back.Discovered it the evening before Thanksgiving I did.Same place,right where the bolt goes through.So you know what I did,I ground it back about 3/4" on both sides or all 4 I guess I should say,paralel to the remaining long edges of the hole.Then I clamped it to a piece of 4"x4"x1/2" angle iron and tacked it together,released it rolled it to the other side and repeated.Then back to the first and weld and repeat making sure to clean the slag AND not let it cool so much that it hardened,until it was built up enough that it could not be clamped;the last few passes were made without clamping.Then to the lathe for resizing and a quick check for straightness,clean out the bolt hole,slap 'er back in on Thanksgiving morning and I'm riding before lunch.BTW I did have about .040"runout at the flange end of the axle.I have put somewhere around 20 hrs on it and its still going strong.MOF I spent about 3 hrs working on trails,skidding logs and such today: so far so good. Gregg

[ygmir]

Hi Gregg,
I was thinking the same thing, if, I can't find a good used one cheap.
a member here has pm'd me he has one, or more, I"m just waiting to see if they're what I need.
it seems his may be a bigfoot, and, I"m not sure if the axle is the same as my 950.....

so, you ground the ends perpendicular to the break?
as in, "pointed" it, to get a filling effect on end welding?
Just making sure I understand your description......

Thanks,
Henry

[brushcutter]

Henry,
Mine broke along the center of the hole,across the axle.I'm guessing yours did also?So I ground them down to the edges of the bolt hole,leaving enough to realign it and still weld without blowing through.I guess you could say it more closely resembled a chisel than a punch.Gregg

[ygmir]

HI Gregg,
yeah, I realized my error in description after seeing it posted.
but, I'm on the same page now, I think.
mine broke like yours, centered on the bolt hole.
did you stick or mig weld it?
what wire/rod did you use?
I'm wondering if these are mild steel or a harder alloy?

thanks
Henry

[brushcutter]

Henry,
I used .035 7018 flux core mig.I am unsure of the steel's condition whether hardened,tempered,forged,extruded,hot rolled or cold rolled.I don't think hardened because it would break easily,tempered maybe but these are just guesses.Could be any of these but mine didn't act like hardened or tempered it ground fairly easily.So I would think it was one of the others.Gregg

[ygmir]

thanks Gregg, I may try that.

Update:
I got an axle from Don, thank you very much, Don.

I needed a new inner bearing for said axle, after a torch accident....dang.
I found one at NAPA for 13 bucks.........if you've priced them from AATV dealers, that's a pretty good deal.....
Then, re-drilled the hub for a 4 bolt rim, since that's what I have......

anyway, got it all back together and am back on the road (mud, snow, swamp) again.

thanks to all for your input.

Henry