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Ford 8.8 - Weld Tubes or Not?

Wolperdinger

NAXJA Forum User
I'm going to put an 8.8 in my 91XJ. It looks like there's two dedicated schools of thought on whether or not to weld the axle tubes to the pumpkin. Some say do it, some say don't because it will create a stress point at the weld that is more likely to fracture. I'm going to weld an Iron Rock truss on to the axle as well, if that make a difference. Thoughts?
 
A U-Channel truss like that won't do much to resist spinning a tube, which is why you weld them to the housing. It doesn't need to be an all around weld to serve the purpose of resisting tube twist. 4x 1" welds spaced 90° apart would be sufficient. Mine's fully welded all around without a truss, but a guy I work with builds rears for full body drag cars and charged me way to little, so it was a no-brainer for a "grinder" like me. Just make sure you do it right; high nickle wire or rod, pre and post heat, controlled cooling, preferably tig, but mig turned up hot can work if you know what you're doing. Often times you can hack it and it never becomes and issue. You'll be hard pressed to break it with a 4.0, unless it's a complete bind in the rocks while hammering on it in 4 low, and at that point the shock axle shaft would probably still be the weak link. The issue with the 8.8 is that the "plugs" are just welds to the unmolested tube. In other axles, it's a pin that's pressed into holes in both. Obviously better at resisting twist.
 
I just mig welded mine to be safe. No pre or post heat, covered it with a welding blanket to be safe. Going on a few years now and still all good. Just make sure you clean it as best you can.
 
I just mig welded mine to be safe. No pre or post heat, covered it with a welding blanket to be safe. Going on a few years now and still all good. Just make sure you clean it as best you can.
That's good to know, thanks. Might as well do it rather than regret it later on the trails. I think the truss will help prevent any possible tube fractures.
 
do it. cheap insurance. I didn't realize just few inches of weld was enough, i'll be welding the tubes on the 44s when they go in

single bead on it or should I make a few passes? seems like a big joint to just lay down a single bead
 
1" bead at a time, then rotate to opposite side?

I've read Danas don't need to be pre-heated or slow cooled, not sure about 8.8
 
I can't remember what the center section material is.

But put it this way, it's never wrong to pre and post heat (as long as you don't hit higher temperatures to where the materials properties start changing).

I'll be doing my D60 tubes in a manner of 6 hard tack welds, and welding opposite sections in between the tacks.

Then for the full burn in on second pass, I'll go around the entire thing back jump welding or whatever it's called (You jump back, and weld towards the bead you just laid down) to minimize overheating.
 
ok. thx, I'll grab an IR thermometer and hit it with a torch
 
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