I finally got to replacing loose kingpins and U joints on my Case font axle... It is a Carraro 4wd axle. The bottom kings pins were severely worn. The bearings were gone and the king pins wore into the axle and egged it out. So the new bearing will not go in place properly. I am trying to figure out how to proceed. Do I need a new axle? Could a shop add metal and machine it back out? I could try and post a picture..
This is a common problem, unfortunately.... I've discussed this HERE . It's not easy, but the axle is repairable. To do it properly, the axle needs to be removed, stripped, welded & machined......that takes a lot of downtime & is expensive. I have repaired many in situ by filling the void with weld & using carbide burrs & a stone which is almost the same size as the bearing cup to make a more perfect circle. It sounds rough, but I always aim for & getting a "tap the bearing cup back into place finish" & most of my repairs have lasted many years - even on daily use machines. Given the choice most customers vote for the in situ repair. You will need to use high nickel content electrodes - they are VERY expensive - but don't consider using anything else. They work well as a filler & the weld remains soft & easy to work with - using GP rods, the weld will crystallise & basically makes the whole repair REALLY difficult & could cause the axle to crack. You will see that there is still one half of the hole with the original shape - keep that the same & concentrate on filling the wallowed/worn out side. Keeping the base of the hole square & flat is also important to support the base of the bearing cup evenly & for a longer life of the new bearing. Laying on your back & doing overhead welding & grinding isn't fun, so gear up with the proper protective jacket & eyewear.......If you are not a very proficient welder, this may not be the job to try to sharpen your skills
Hey alrman, thank for all that info. Very informative. Mine looked just like the one you posted a link to, or maybe worse. I see now its important not to neglect those pins. I actually greased them regularly, but that bottom bearing was already disintegrated, so greasing was pointless.. I am considering doing the repair as you say, or even purchasing a new axle housing for 1800. Then I would have to transfer everything to the new housing, which from what I can tell does not look like too bad a job?
A professional line boring mechanic could make it look like new for less than $1800.00 I would think.
They are blind holes @Tinkerer - unable to line bore using a portable machine.
I think I am going to repair the axle on the tractor as alrman says... If the repair ends up failing then I may go with a new axle tube. I was thinking of doing the filling with the mig... but you say a certain rod will do better?
Aleman said "You will need to use high nickel content electrodes - they are VERY expensive - but don't consider using anything else." Stick with the advice of a professional that has been there and done it. What a shame. What could have been a simple job is a lot lot more difficult with a blind hole.