Truss install

Would I be nuts to try and MIG weld my front TNT truss on without removing the axle from the vehicle? Seems like it would not be a big deal and would save the work of removing all the steering, brake lines, etc. Just remove the upper radius arms, cut the mounts off, grind everything clean and burn it on. Am I missing something?

Not trying to cause trouble but, I have personal experiencr with that tnt truss and I'm not impressed. In fact, I'm disappointed with it the quality of the welds. A close friend of mine running 37's on his hi pinion 44 has pretty much destroyed that truss. And not even from real hard wheeling. The entire passenger side coil bucket and trac bar has ripped from the truss, from what looks like a no-penetration weld that came from tnt. Not only that, but the shock mounts that came with the truss are in my opinion a bad design. One of the shock mount welds also ripped off at the weld on a different wheeling trip. AND, lastly, when the truss was on our bench, brand new, we noticed that the passenger side UCA mount on the truss was 1.5 inches TALLER then the drivers side. And yes, the table was level and the measurements were accurate.

Hopefully your results are much better then ours. But for a 700$+ peice of steel, I am very disappointed in the quality.

do this...

http://www.artecindustries.com/Front-Axle-Truss-for-XJ_p_335.html

But whatever truss, I would pull the axle, its not that much work. To get good welds you will need to be in multiple positions on the axle. Pulling it is the only way to go IMO...

Brent T said:

Would I be nuts to try and MIG weld my front TNT truss on without removing the axle from the vehicle? Seems like it would not be a big deal and would save the work of removing all the steering, brake lines, etc. Just remove the upper radius arms, cut the mounts off, grind everything clean and burn it on. Am I missing something?

Click to expand...

Brent, to answer your question......you don't need to pull the housing from your rig to install the truss. Whether installed or removed, make sure you take your time. Tack weld the truss the housing on both sides, then alternate welds end to end and side to side, 1.5" at a time, allowing time for the welds to cool to touch, to minimize heat buildup and potential warping.

I have the Version 1 TnT D30 truss, and the Version 2 on my D44. The V-2 seems to be the one that has experienced weld penetration issues and quality control/tolerance issues. I'd ping TnT directly regarding this.

XJumpmaster experienced multiple weld failures on his V-2 front axle TnT truss recently, which appears to be lack of penetration.

Yeah my truss did somthing similar. Im the one blue jeep kid was talking about but im going to wait to deal with them directly before posting anything.

Stay away from t&t for trusses. Had one of their dana 30 trusses fail along with their v2 truss on an hp44. Terrible welds. No worth the high price

XJEEPER said:

Brent, to answer your question......you don't need to pull the housing from your rig to install the truss. Whether installed or removed, make sure you take your time. Tack weld the truss the housing on both sides, then alternate welds end to end and side to side, 1.5" at a time, allowing time for the welds to cool to touch, to minimize heat buildup and potential warping.

I have the Version 1 TnT D30 truss, and the Version 2 on my D44. The V-2 seems to be the one that has experienced weld penetration issues and quality control/tolerance issues. I'd ping TnT directly regarding this.

XJumpmaster experienced multiple weld failures on his V-2 front axle TnT truss recently, which appears to be lack of penetration.

Click to expand...

Thanks Jeff. I actually bought the truss second hand for cheap. Not sure which version it is. Did a little looking at it and I could weld the inside corners (back side) of all the seams to strengthen it some, as well as possibly welding some angle along the corners to reinforce the TNT welds to avoid any future issues. Maybe gusset some areas too and box the passenger side mount.

On my Version 1 TnT D30 Truss, the cap plate is welded completely to the side plates, unlike their V-2.

Based on the recent pattern of failures, you're on the right path to add some molten metal to the joints and gusset as you see fit. I think TnT builds solid components, unfortunately they need to revisit the decision to shave time off of their manufacturing process, if they haven't already.