Front axle housing is bent. Can it be salvaged? (1 Viewer)

[PIP]

Intrigued by this... I assume there is some limit to the amount of un-bending you can achieve using this method?

Yes, there is. You are limited by thinning out the material in the deformed area using heat alone. But that's not the only method using heat.

When you flame straighten steel unrestrained you are essentially stretching out the thick side of the bend.

What you can do instead is combine the torch heat with a press. You heat the thin side then force the part straight in a press and then what you get is the area that got thinner when it bent, now gets thicker.

 

[Malleus]

Yeah, it'll bend until it breaks. But it'll bend a long ways before that happens. As a general rule, if it couldn't be straightened it's probably unusable. Sounds trite, but there it is.

 

[Malleus]

@PIP is correct, for sheetmetal work. You'll never bend an axle housing that much. The bend radius to straighten a bent axle is nearly infinite. IME, it's unwise to use a press to starighten a ductile steel casting because the press may create point loads where it's applied. The cooling water won't do that. If you had a press setup for straightening, you'd have an upper die that spread the load out over as much of the housing as you could reach. Then it'd be OK.

 

[mudgudgeon]

Of all my posts, this is the one I expect I'll get the most flame out of.

 

[Malleus]

No pun intended

 

[Dave 2000]

My axle is straight, but my balls are rusty for sure, lack of use being the issue.

Regards

Dave

 

[mudgudgeon]

My axle is straight, but my balls are rusty for sure, lack of use being the issue.

Regards

Dave

You should skip the flame then, and go straight to sanding those balls smooth!

 

[BILT4ME]

You should skip the flame then, and go straight to sanding those balls smooth!

Just rub it out!

 

[slow95z]

Just rub it out!

instructions unclear, now i need new pants