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John Deere Tractors Discussion Forum

Welding a rear axle?? Clooney??

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AWB

09-26-2003 06:31:16

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I have a small John Deere Tractor. My question is: Can a broken rear axle be satisfactorily repaired by welding? I have acess to the services of an expert welder and machinist. Thanks, AWB

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AWB

09-27-2003 05:03:15

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Re: Welding a rear axle?? Clooney?? in reply to AWB, 09-26-2003 06:31:16

Thanks to all who answered my inquiry. Your points are all well taken. Since the post I have been lucky and have located a good used axle. Therefore I will not attempt to have an axle welded. Thanks again for your responses. AWB

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tom

09-27-2003 03:02:20

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Re: Welding a rear axle?? Clooney?? in reply to AWB, 09-26-2003 06:31:16

AWD,

I am far from an expert on metals molecular heat stress thresholds and structural dependencies. However, based on ALL the comments and economics, the risk analysis here seems surely clear to me; find a used one ! Sure, the weld may hold for awhile, but figure being in a higher gear on a nice straight-away with your grandchild and the axle giving...good luck.

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Diesel Don

09-26-2003 22:19:43

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Re: Welding a rear axle?? Clooney?? in reply to AWB, 09-26-2003 06:31:16

While I agree that it is possible to do it, I would think the cost would be outrageous and I would be a bit nervous about it. My neighbor works at a tool and die shop and he has repaired dies by welding many times, but he has said to me that gears and shafts are tough to do because the exact metalurgy of the component is difficult to determine. Without that information, the annealing and heat treating temperatures and time are hard to get right, causing stress cracks in the part.

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Clooney

09-26-2003 11:12:29

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Re: Welding a rear axle?? Clooney?? in reply to AWB, 09-26-2003 06:31:16

AWB, to answer your question, almost anything can be welded satisfactorily given enough forethought, time, & money.
~I have welded plenty of axle shafts & housings in my lifetime on anything from a lawn tractors to race cars & if done correctly, & not made brittle, I haven't had any problems.
~To be able to give you a precise answer I would have to know the tractor, axle material, & where it broke? Are you talking about the actual axle SHAFT or the axle HOUSING?
~My best advise to you is to have your expert look at it & give you his opinion as he is the one that has to do the job...
~A good SAFE repair probably won't come cheap as some repairs will be a multi-step process with maybe a trip to heat treat after the repair, so in some cases [if you have a common tractor] you might be money ahead to look for a "good used"....

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F-I-T

09-26-2003 10:50:18

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Re: Welding a rear axle?? Clooney?? in reply to AWB, 09-26-2003 06:31:16

AWB:

You're getting lots of good advice, but I would be curious to know what the model of the tractor that you're talking about.

Makes a big difference if you're talking a farm style tractor or a garden tractor. However in most situations, it's a far more reliable repair to find a servicable used axle. I replaced many of them on model 'A's that had seen tough service on 226 and 227 pickers.

Frank

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Glen in TX

09-26-2003 10:17:03

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Re: Welding a rear axle?? Clooney?? in reply to AWB, 09-26-2003 06:31:16

Have you considered the liabilities associated with this???? Maybe it can be done and you get it done. Maybe it will last a long time if lucky. If it breaks again and probably will right next to the weld on the hard shaft. Who will be driving it and who will get hurt if that happens???? Is is really worth it just to see if it can be done when a used axle could be found. Have some regard for your safety and others!

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SamH

09-26-2003 09:30:21

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Re: Welding a rear axle?? Clooney?? in reply to AWB, 09-26-2003 06:31:16

I never tried to weld a tractor axle, but agree with the other posts, almost anything is possible but not everything is practical. I have welded and machined similar pieces with mixed success. I don't know what JD makes axles from, but generally they are made from a good grade of steel and are heat treated. That is a problem and so is alignment.

I have a couple of suggestions
>Ask the opinion of your expert welder and machinist. They should be able to give you a better opinion that we can, since they know what they and their equipment are capable of, and have the benefit of being able to look at the axle. >Ask for an estimate of cost to weld and machine the broken axle. Compare price and availability of a new or even a new axle to the estimate. Unless the price difference is outragious, I would never weld an axle.

Good luck with whatever you do. Hope you get little John fixed.

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John T

09-26-2003 08:36:23

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Re: Welding a rear axle?? Clooney?? in reply to AWB, 09-26-2003 06:31:16

Hey there AWB, I havent seen the good clooney man yet, but can offer an opinion based on my limited experience and knowledge in welding. Hopefully, he will be along to add his opinion later.

I would say it POSSIBLE to weld an axle, PROVIDED you have an good welder and machinist who will grind down and prepare the ends,,,,, ,, jig them up in proper alingment to achieve concentricity/alignment and maintain it once weldign heat forces develop, if thats possible????? ???,,,,, then weld and build up the axle,,,,, , then do any necessary heat treating once shes all done.

HOWEVER, alignment and concentricity might be a problem with all that mass and heat Im afraid PLUS the cost to have it done right may exceed that of buying one from a salvage yard.

CONCLUSION AND OPINION, I believe if it were mine, I would just search for a used replacement axle. I hope some welding and machine experts weight in here, Im lookign at it more from an economic and ease of replacement decision.

Good Luck n God Bless

John T Nordhoff in Indiana

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stuart martin

09-26-2003 07:52:36

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Re: Welding a rear axle?? Clooney?? in reply to AWB, 09-26-2003 06:31:16

In short NO. The axle is super hard and everytime something hard is heated up it looses its temper or spring(in the case of spring steel). The odds of getting the axle straight are slim
Your best bet is to get a new or used axle.

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Doug in IL.

09-27-2003 06:19:42

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Re: Re: Welding a rear axle?? Clooney?? in reply to stuart martin, 09-26-2003 07:52:36

I don't know anything about welding axles, but they are not hard. I used a portable bandsaw to cut off the extra long axles on my JD 4030. I have heard of people sawing them off with a hand held hacksaw.

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