Knuckle rotation contemplation

[Mr.OverKill]

I just feel that its possible to get the knuckle out of square with the tube, even though it is a tight fit the tube only goes 1 1/2" or so into the knuckle.

the minimal possible misalignment of the knuckles you might get would have absolutely no effect on either the unit bearings, the u joints, ball joints, steering, axle shafts or any of the components in the axle.

If sleeving was the better way to go then EVERY axle manufacturer would be doing it not the knuckle rotations as we do.

Think about this, IF you sleeve and dont use tube seals or you use tube seals but they leak/ get worn out you will trap dirt, dust, rocks and debris to the inner part of the sleeve in the original tube, mix that with water and you get a very corrosion prone area or the rocks get wedged between the shaft and housing and damage the shaft, with no way out it could happen over and over again without you knowing.

What happens when you insert your sleeve in the axle tube and bend the original housing tube, the axle shaft could rub on the sleeve causing axle shaft wear and at the very least cause a stress/ week spot on the shaft or even wear to the point of breakage.

Just some points to think about.

Oh, and another thing, if you cut the tube and sleeve it, when you weld it the weld will try to pull and warp the tube and cause the tube to be bent right from the get go, thick welds pull ALOT!!!!

 

[jeeperjohn]

the minimal possible misalignment of the knuckles you might get would have absolutely no effect on either the unit bearings, the u joints, ball joints, steering, axle shafts or any of the components in the axle.

If sleeving was the better way to go then EVERY axle manufacturer would be doing it not the knuckle rotations as we do.

Think about this, IF you sleeve and dont use tube seals or you use tube seals but they leak/ get worn out you will trap dirt, dust, rocks and debris to the inner part of the sleeve in the original tube, mix that with water and you get a very corrosion prone area or the rocks get wedged between the shaft and housing and damage the shaft, with no way out it could happen over and over again without you knowing.

What happens when you insert your sleeve in the axle tube and bend the original housing tube, the axle shaft could rub on the sleeve causing axle shaft wear and at the very least cause a stress/ week spot on the shaft or even wear to the point of breakage.

Just some points to think about.

Oh, and another thing, if you cut the tube and sleeve it, when you weld it the weld will try to pull and warp the tube and cause the tube to be bent right from the get go, thick welds pull ALOT!!!!

Good points. I haven't quite decided yet but I am still leaning towards rotating the xcenter section instead of the knuckles. I think I can get it to be straight and perfect if I am careful.

 

[cracker]

Good points. I haven't quite decided yet but I am still leaning towards rotating the xcenter section instead of the knuckles. I think I can get it to be straight and perfect if I am careful.

I don't.

To reuse the same tubes and maintain a sealed housing would be extremely difficult.

 

[kastein]

I'd rather turn the knuckles, they don't matter as much if they get warped a tiny bit from heating too much and you can (at least for a 30) pick em up darn near anywhere for a song if you do screw them up (for instance, I have at least 2 screwed up housings on hand that I'd basically give away to a friend to chop whatever they needed off of.) For a 44 obviously you'd want to be a little more careful.

As for worrying about camber issues - let's say the inner C goes over 1.5" of tube and hell, let's overestimate by a lot and say it's is overbored or stretched out so it has 10 thou worth of play in it. A little trigonometry says you'll get about 0.4 degrees of extra camber (or that much less camber) as a result. If your inner C is that loose on the tube, you really should be tossing it in the nearest scrap bin... that's a hell of a lot of play. I'm going to pull a number right out of my $(% and say I'd expect 2 to 4 thou of play in a well fitting inner C, which gives an approximate camber inaccuracy of +/- 0.15 degrees. I don't think I can even measure that with the angle finder I have.

 

[Mr.OverKill]

Good points. I haven't quite decided yet but I am still leaning towards rotating the xcenter section instead of the knuckles. I think I can get it to be straight and perfect if I am careful.

John, you and i should do a knuckle rotation at the same time, you do it your way and i will do it mine ( the right way ) and we will check who has the more accurate rotation and i will just use a 4.5 inch grinder, a BFH to rotate the knuckles and a simple angle finder from home depot and a 110 volt flux core wire feeder welding machine and we will see who's is closer to straight and more accurate, i can get a straightening rod to check for true. OH and we will see what way is faster too.

I understand you have an idea in mind, but you dont need to learn from your own mistakes, why waste the time and a housing just because you are being bull headed????

 

[Mr.OverKill]

Good points. I haven't quite decided yet but I am still leaning towards rotating the xcenter section instead of the knuckles. I think I can get it to be straight and perfect if I am careful.

John, you and i should do a knuckle rotation at the same time, you do it your way and i will do it mine ( the right way ) and we will check who has the more accurate rotation and i will just use a 4.5 inch grinder, a BFH to rotate the knuckles and a simple angle finder from home depot and a 110 volt flux core wire feeder welding machine and we will see who's is closer to straight and more accurate, i can get a straightening rod to check for true. OH and we will see what way is faster too.

I understand you have an idea in mind, but you dont need to learn from your own mistakes, why waste the time and a housing just because you are being bull headed????

 

[Mr.OverKill]

Good points. I haven't quite decided yet but I am still leaning towards rotating the xcenter section instead of the knuckles. I think I can get it to be straight and perfect if I am careful.

John, you and i should do a knuckle rotation at the same time, you do it your way and i will do it mine ( the right way ) and we will check who has the more accurate rotation and i will just use a 4.5 inch grinder, a BFH to rotate the knuckles and a simple angle finder from home depot and a 110 volt flux core wire feeder welding machine and we will see who's is closer to straight and more accurate, i can get a straightening rod to check for true. OH and we will see what way is faster too.

I understand you have an idea in mind, but you dont need to learn from your own mistakes, why waste the time and a housing just because you are being bull headed????

 

[jeeperjohn]

John, you and i should do a knuckle rotation at the same time, you do it your way and i will do it mine ( the right way ) and we will check who has the more accurate rotation and i will just use a 4.5 inch grinder, a BFH to rotate the knuckles and a simple angle finder from home depot and a 110 volt flux core wire feeder welding machine and we will see who's is closer to straight and more accurate, i can get a straightening rod to check for true. OH and we will see what way is faster too.

I understand you have an idea in mind, but you dont need to learn from your own mistakes, why waste the time and a housing just because you are being bull headed????

Well, if somebody told me "I tried that and it was a nightmare and didn't work" then I would give up the thought. If nothing else I will learn from the experience. If I end up with a good housing then great, if not then I will have learned a valuable lesson and will take that knowledge into my future projects.