Anyone welded the Alpha 1 Spindle Gussets themselves?

[goathearder]

Hey Guys,
I called Outlaw today about getting some spindle gussets installed and they charge 275 for it. Not bad if they TIG weld them but they told me its all MIG welding. I'm a pretty damn good MIG welder so I am gonna save the 275 and do it myself.

After some research, it looks like you just need to pre-heat the spindle and use a regular mild steel wire in small beads to make sure the spindle doesn't get too hot.

Just curious if anyone has welded these on themselves (spindle off the truck of course) and if you have any tips.

Thanks,
John

 

[Mil T]

http://www.fordraptorforum.com/f9/diy-reinforced-steering-knuckles-30080/

Here's my write up from when I did exactly what you want to do.
Mil T

 

[goathearder]

Perfect! I like the sand in a trash can idea to help it cool slowly, I'm totally gonna do that!

I take it you just preheated the area you were going to weld and didn't throw the whole thing in an oven right?

 

[Yukon Joe]

You will want to pre heat the whole thing.
Preheat helps to keep from stresses forming from the weld process.

Yukon Joe
www.RUNRAPTORRUN.com

 

[Huck]

And then control the cold down also or it will crack.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mil T]

What these guys said and you want to heat the whole thing up. Oven temp is not what I was thinking. I'm not sure what temp the rose bud gets it but it was very hot. I'm not sure an oven would do that. We did a complete heating of the entire knuckle. He would concentrate in a 6 inch area to keep the heat up and then I would weld. Then he would heat and then I would weld. About 6 inchs at a time. May have been overkill I suppose but it came out good.

 

[goathearder]

Ok thanks! Now i gotta search ebay cause Rock Auto wants like 90/spindle!

 

[Yukon Joe]

Ok thanks! Now i gotta search ebay cause Rock Auto wants like 90/spindle!

Let me know what you find. I'm interested in a spare set.

Yukon Joe
www.RUNRAPTORRUN.com

 

[goathearder]

Amazon is looking like the cheapest at around 88 bucks shipped. I can't for the life of me find any for 45 each, even on ebay.

 

[Kanakry]

I bought 2 knuckles off of Ebay before the Snoball to have spares. They where $125 shipped for both.