Rear Axle Crack

[gmasko]

So I definitely have a cracked axle housing. Since I bought the truck it had a moist spot where the helper spring support is welded on the axle. Really didn't show till the paint chipped off a bit. Now it's sweating oil through. Question is who's seen it before, and what's the input. I will weld it up but i want to fix the cause to not worry about it anymore. It's lifted about 6" with the bags on low pressure, so my guess is axle wrap but all I have is the edge attitude so is that enough power to cause a crack? Rule out off-road abuse, doesn't see much dirt. Or I've heard of improper welds making the metal more brittle? Thoughts on a permanent solution?

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[gmasko]

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[clrussell]

Welp... Sounds like you need a new rear axle to me...

 

[gmasko]

Not what I expected to hear hahaha or wanted to hear anyways. OK so say I replace the axle with a similar setup and it happens again. That's what I'm getting at.

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[Turbo Performance]

Can't really see that much from the pics. Could just be a fatigue crack caused from years of taking a beating. This might ruffle a few feathers but if it was me, I'd drill the ends of the crack, bevel the crack and clean it real well, lay a good weld on it, then check it every time you think about it to make sure it doesn't either happen again or get out of hand.

Buying a new axle without knowing the root cause of the issue may land you in the very same spot.

 

[clrussell]

Can't really see that much from the pics. Could just be a fatigue crack caused from years of taking a beating. This might ruffle a few feathers but if it was me, I'd drill the ends of the crack, bevel the crack and clean it real well, lay a good weld on it, then check it every time you think about it to make sure it doesn't either happen again or get out of hand.

Buying a new axle without knowing the root cause of the issue may land you in the very same spot.

Not a bad idea Levi..

 

[Chevy1925]

Can't really see that much from the pics. Could just be a fatigue crack caused from years of taking a beating. This might ruffle a few feathers but if it was me, I'd drill the ends of the crack, bevel the crack and clean it real well, lay a good weld on it, then check it every time you think about it to make sure it doesn't either happen again or get out of hand.

Buying a new axle without knowing the root cause of the issue may land you in the very same spot.

Do what Levi said, then grind the weld flush and plate over and around the tube/weld with some 3/16 plate. That will stop any more of this issue. I would do the other side as well

 

[N2BRK]

tubes are .5" IIRC. I'd do as suggested above and weld that bitch.

 

[Dozerboy]

****k it run till she breaks. Had to of almost been a fluke. It takes a lot to crack one of these axles.

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[Awenta]

Can you take a picture farther back? Maybe there's a stress point or I'm just missing something here. I agree with just welding it.

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[gmasko]

Outstanding input guys, reminds me of why this is the only dmax forum I use. Wouldnt have thought to gouge the crack for a better weld bite. Hell I might even turn this into a small project and build some gussets for it. Ill post some better pics soon of the situation down there, might even have some fun with this.

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[gmasko]

And .5" thick tubes definitely raises some questions in my mind. Reinforces my belief that this truck probably had the s**t beat out of it before i bought it with all the issues I inherited. (Of course im not perfect either)

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[Chevy1925]

Everything I'm finding says the tubes on srw are 1/4-3/8" and drw are 1/2"

 

[Dallas S]

In my opinion I would replace that housing.

After all the time spent cleaning the housing, taking care not too put too much heat into the tube, bending the tube, taking weight off the tube... There is a pile of these diffs at ever wreaker. I think in the long run your better replacing.

 

[N2BRK]

I read 1/2" back when I had to weld tabs on mine. I welded three other Dmax axles since then. I set my 220v mig for 3/8" and welded some 1/4": thick tabs on there, spending more time on the tube, of course. No issues or blow through. So, I'm calling shennangans on 1/4", maybe on 3/8", but pretty certain that at least the NNBS's I've done are 1/2".

 

[Chevy1925]

I read 1/2" back when I had to weld tabs on mine. I welded three other Dmax axles since then. I set my 220v mig for 3/8" and welded some 1/4": thick tabs on there, spending more time on the tube, of course. No issues or blow through. So, I'm calling shennangans on 1/4", maybe on 3/8", but pretty certain that at least the NNBS's I've done are 1/2".

Yeah no one seems to have a straight answer. It's very hard to blow through a weld joint like that though so I wouldn't use that as your gauge. You have no edge to put a lot of heat into other than the tab so even continuous welding makes that hard to do on just 1/4 as that heat gets pulled through the whole tube and not really focused on an edge.

 

[N2BRK]

fair enough. But when I let my buddy run the squirt gun he eroded the shit out of the tube, lol. He must have gouged a 1/4", LOL.

I'd be curious to know the truth on this. It wouldn't surprise me to see 3/8" but no way on the 1/4".

 

[Chevy1925]

1/4" sounds low to me as well

 

[gmasko]

Gonna have to let my brother chime in on the weld lingo, he'll be the one putting the bead down. But on the topic of the welds, I've got a better pic. As stated that weld always had "wet" spot to it. As you can that's where the crack originated. Could it simply be a failed weld that finally showed it's true colors as the cause?

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[gmasko]

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