broken birf >> axle housing scaring...

[peepers]

tore into the knuckle/axle today to replace a broken birf to find that the inner axle is scared. take a look. is this livable or do we need to replace the axle? pros/cons? can it be welded and smoothed out?

 

[chet]

pretty common. I usually take a sanding wheel for the drill and smooth out any burrs or high spots that may catch on the birf. also make sure you clean it really well to get rid of any metal bits. this includes taking the knuckle off as bit can get between the ball and the knuckle and contaminate the birf and kingpin grease.

Nothing rides on the inside of the ball so it doesn't effect much.

 

[cfdlighthouse]

mine was worse...just used a 3m grinding pad, smoothed things out put her back together...no problems

 

[KLF]

Ya, Pete, that inside surface is only there to hold grease. I would also remove any burrs, then clean it really well, and put it back together.