Anything welding

Question for all of you if I have someone weld my spindle gussets on while they are still on the truck do I run the risk of ruining anything

 

Just cover all the rubber where a hot spark could hit and you'll be fine. Ie ball joint, tie rod, sway bar link. Brake line should be out of the way enough. Just want to protect rubber parts

 

Can be done but why risk having to pull the parts mentioned in the quote below just to save an hour.

 

I recommend pre and post heating the spindles which obviously means removal.
Not to mention the difficulty in doing it properly on the truck.
My $0.02

 

Okay sounds like they will be removed. Am I going to need to replace the bearings after or will they be fine with the heat?

 

Bearings should come off also. You will need new spindle seals. They don't come out in salveagable condition.

 

I disagree that the spindles need heated or removed.

Stitch weld the gussets and the amount of heat introduced into the berrings will be less than what red hot rotors will put into the hub/berring after a long hard braking session.

Berring removal on 1st Gen tacomas distroys the berring. It's not simple disassembly.

Welding gussets is not a difficult weld for a welder.

 

Yep. Just looked at it 10 minutes ago.

 

I'll pm you.

 

Not all welders are created equal !! Some will flat out refuse to weld on vehicles

Just What temperature do you consider a safe temperature ?

If your rotors are getting red hot in braking your in deep cacky

Cast steel I gotta go with pre and post heat treating .

Also any cracks should be repaired before adding gussets .

It is one thing welding on your own vehicles quite another when someone is paying you

 

Red hot is worse case scenario. I used that as an example. The berring survive in that situation.

True, some will not weld on a vehicle.

The spindles are not cast. They are more closely the hardness of forged iron. They do, and are supposed to bend before more expensive parts bend.

Since we are talking 1st Gen trucks, my opinion is gussets are lot more work than they are worth. It's not an "extra hour" to disassemble those spindles. It's more like a full day. It will be a minimum $300 to have new berrings pressed in. Most people don't have a 50 ton press to do the work.

The gussets look cool, but if you are planning on routinly jump your truck, then you must have a surplus of money. I think money could be spent other places with much less hassle.

 

I have to agree if your driving your truck that hard time for a Solid Axle swap

As the gussets make the steering knuckle stronger now what is the next link that has become the one to fail??

What gets confusing is calling the steering knuckle the spindle

If that is a forging welding can be even more finicky .

Knowing just what the material is makes it much easier to know what procedures to use.

 

Certainly just stitch welding the knuckle will ensure no hydrogen inclusion.....

I understand the extra work and expense involved in doing it properly. I always figure do it right or not at all. If it costs to much to do it right, then don't do it.
Funny thing about adding reinforcements like gussets is that if the gusset is actually needed, it will need to be welded properly to not fail.

 

I welded my spindle gussets without preheating or removing the bearings several years ago. I've been beating on my truck since then with no issues.

I had previously bent a spindle, and probably would have bent a few more without the gussets.

 

Buy a used set, weld them up , install new bearings, when your bearings go or you bend one swap it out. Used spindles can be found cheap. And then you can take your time building

 

Got some more practice in today. Still not close to where I should be but I'm gonna keep practicing.

 

way to weld it to the vise

Make sure to practice actual joints too though. Running beads on flat plate isnt the same as actually welding two things together IMO

 

^

 

Lmao yeah I still dont have a table and this was the last of my steel just got too close to the vise haha. But I have been welding t joints I just didnt have any more pieces to weld together. Did this one today with to of the old t joints I had already welded up lol

 

Looks good! And dont worry everyone has welded stuff to things they didnt mean to at some point in their welding adventures!