Rod and method for welding to a D60 pig??

Thinking about shaving the 60 excessively and just plating the bottom with a portion taken out of the plate for ring gear clearance(obviously I will cover the portion taken out with a raised, or lowered depending on how you look at it, bump). Also thinking about tieing the truss down to the pig, I figure I might as well since it's sitting out from under the Jeep and the steel is just sitting there. Just wondering what prep and rod to use. Machine is a Miller Thunderbolt XL AC/DC 220v stick. Thanks

Ary

Oh, and is a D30 pig made of the same material as a 60 pig?? I've got an old 30 pig layin around I could practice on if they're the same. Thanks again

When welding cast iron I have always pre and post heated and used 7018 rod. There may be a better rod made just for cast iron (hopefully someone will chime in). I would go to your local welding supply store and explain what you want to do. I have always found the guys at Pacific Airgas (my local gurus) to be extremely knowledgeable about whats new.

There is a rod that is designed for welding cast iron, it has a high nickel content and says designed for cast. As mentioned earlyer, pre and post heating are key. I dont see why the Dana 30 would be any different than a 60. Weld away and let us know how it goes.

AARON

MrShoeBoy said:

There is a rod that is designed for welding cast iron, it has a high nickel content and says designed for cast. As mentioned earlyer, pre and post heating are key. I dont see why the Dana 30 would be any different than a 60. Weld away and let us know how it goes.

AARON

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.99 Ni-rod

It's not cast iron, it's cast steel.

Sean

OneTonXJ said:

It's not cast iron, it's cast steel.

Sean

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Meaning??

exactly....

dunno why "cast iron" continues to be widely misunderstood.

if yer gonna weld to it, you gotta know da difference.

"meaning" is

"choose wisely"....

the fact remains, its not cast iron. don't treat it as such

That was my bad...I started the cast Iron thing in the thread...I knew better too :gee: Beezil will you ever forgive me??? :spin1:

So are you guys saying that it's cast steel and the method described above is correct, but it was titled as the method for cast iron?? Or have we not yet touched upon the topic of welding cast steel, only cast iron? Thanks

Ary.

All I do when I weld cast steel is preheat, and mig weld with er70-s3 or s6....

watched Will do this today...forgot to ask what he used but he made 3 passes...one on each side and then one up the middle.

Toz....

for the record....

in either a butt weld or filet weld, the correct procedure for multiple passes is middle first!

then one on each side.

How much preheat? procedure?? I've never welded on cast steel before. Done forged once. I will go by the local airgas and have a chat with them, but I doubt many of them have specific experience with axle pigs. Thanks

Ary

Now, I thought some were cast steel, and some were cast iron?

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but there are a couple tests. One would be to drill into it, if it creates small chips or some very small curls that break easily to touch, it's cast iron. If you can get long curlys out, that are not brittle, it's cast steel. The other method, is to use a grinder, if it creates orangeish feathered sparks, it's cast iron. If it creates more redish straight sparks, it's cast steel. Cast iron sparks will not go far, only a couple feet. Cast steel sparks will shoot across a room.

My D60 rear is cast iron as told to me by my dad, who is a professional welder by trade and refuses to weld cast iron, and by the guy who welded the plate on my diff after I shaved it. It is a 68 D60, and I have read that both iron and steel were made. I know the subject has been covered on the PBB, you may want to do a quick search, see if you can come up with anything.

Steve