Presently working on a severely cracked Windstar rear axle beam.
No way i would EVER be welding that up, I would be hitting up all the junk yards around way before i would ever take the liability of touching that with a welding arc
Finished the repair. Use
Project is finished. Used 1/4" angle iron for upper fishplate & the lower fishplate is also 1/4". I checked every junk yard & they wanted too much, or didn't have any...
This is what the top of the axle beam looked like before I welded it up...
No way I would have welded that either, for a customer. But if it was my ride I would have welded it up and rolled on. Looks much safer now. I bet the driver has been slamming dirt road holes at a high rate of speed! I once had a Chevy service truck that the frame broke in half on both sides . The service body is the only thing holding it together. Removed the bed welded frame, ground smooth and welded diamond shaped plates on. The man I sold it to is still running it. T
Yep...the axle was really bad, but after I got the angle fishplate put in I could feel the difference in the ride. Welded in the other fishplate & the beam is probably stronger than the OEM axle. I have seen diamond & trapezoid fishplates...they seem to give you more weld area to take up the stress. Both of my fishplates have 45 deg. cut off the end. My Uncle told me how I should approach this repair. I return this van next week...
I would have welded it if it was mine also. I probably would not have welded it for anyone else. Looks like you put a lot of work and time into it. My fee would have probably been way to high for anyone else to have me fix it. I don't see the liability involved in welding it unless the weld failed. If you have faith in your work no worries.
I would have pulled the axle and done the weld on a bench...there is no reason for it to fail like that... Howard
I imagine location limited getting a used axle Ford recalled those axles fro breaking seems like it might have only been in the northern road salt states wouldn't hurt to send those pics to them and see if they offer to help with a new one
I would have welded the axle on a bench, but I didn't have one. I welded this one up @ my Uncle Lloyd's pig farm axle in place. Disconnected the battery & jacked the van up as high as I could manage. I'm comfortable welding overhead...a couple places I had to bend the rods to get the proper angle.