when you weld to the axle tube, does the tube warp much? is this something to be overly concerned about when adding/moving brackets and mounts?

and does anybody know how think a stock axle tube is? 1/8"? 3/16"?

 

Well I just got done welding my brackets to a 9". I really don't think you'll warp it. Pretty thick and shouldn't get hot enough to warp. If I could guess I'd say stock housing is 3/16ths. Maybe give it time between welds? Heck people put back brace's on 9" and don't warp them.

 

most back braces on 9" do end up moving them unless they're in a jig FYI.

I usually run a small inch long bead on axle tubes when I am welding them up and go from side to side when welding tabs, etc on there.

 

they pretty much move when you weld anything to them, most people don't have an accurate way of measuring it to really tell. That's the reason why aftermarket housings have all the brackets and braces welded before the ends are added, and then the ends are welded jigged up to be accurately aligned with the bearing locations in the center housing.

 

Oh, and if done _correctly_ after adding the ends, then they are jigged up again, measurements are taken to determine how far from properly aligned the ends are, then the axle tubes are heated to cherry red on their "long" side which causes them to shrink when they cool till they are straight.

 

We straightened housings with a torch in suspension class at college many years ago.
You can clamp some square tube or equivelent to the ends of the tubes and take some measurements between the two out at the ends. The longer the better.
Measure several times between welds to get an idea of how much warpage is going on.

 

im trying to accomplish my project with as little weld onthe axle as i can, probably just going to end up with a bead across the top around where the spring perch was. The rest should be on the lca mount and shock mount

 

how well that works would depend how well the end of the tube is machined and welded. I could see a situation where end flange is not machined well and not lined up with the bearing but still seats and lines up the bearing fine, since the flange only retains it, it seats in a tapered seat, where this wouldn't work at all, or if you did it the bearing would end up not lined up even if the flange was.

 

it should flake off stuff on the inside, so open the cover and clean it out before trying to use the rear end again.