Maybe fill it in with weld? Or sleeve it somehow. Please no comments how bad I screwed this up. I KNOW ALREADY. This is a 37-41 ford spindle.
yes it can be repaired but I would seek out a professional blacksmith for the job... lots of heat, stress when twisting, he knows about how to cool it when done etc. , and it looks like the lateral measurement is very thin... that is where the strength is needed most... seeing you have what look like aftermarket disc brake mounts, then bolt on steering arms shouldn't look that out of place... just my opinion.
Sign seen at the local "In and Out" hamburger stand, "When In Doubt, Throw It Out". A lot of wisdom there, especially if lives are involved. Charlie Stephens
Why not just get another spindel,that would be stronger in any case.;looks like you were flipping the tierod ends the hard way? That is most often done just by just using a sphericle ends bolted to other side,or drilling the tapper 1/2 in from other side and just putting in the ends that way/a washer on nut side is used that way.
Probably...but with spindles showing up regularly in the hamb classifieds for a couple hundred bucks (and often less)...why not start fresh...with your new found knowledge. It is afterall you and your family's safety.
Got to figure in the time and money spent to repair it, then your confidence in the repair being strong enough to do the job. I vote with dana barlow. Get another piece, maybe stronger, that hasn't had the stresses you've placed on this one.
OK, I would fix it, but that's me. No need to get another spindle, those are good Ford spindles. Remove the arm and build or buy bolt on arms.
I wouldn't screw around trying to straighten that out. And I'm cheap. One minute unseen crack and boom your playing Russian roulette.
I prefer original Ford arms on my spindle, but in this case I'd cut it off and get a new forged bolt on arm.
As bad as I hate to, I'm going to cut it off and get a bolt on arm. I thought it was worth checking here first for some genius way to fix it safely before I did. Live and learn the hard way. Thanks
Is it in the position you want it? If so, I would build up the twisted section with tig and go with it. The stress is higher at the spindle boss than out there. I would rather have that than any bolt on arm. BTW, Ford forged the arms straight out and then bent the around. Just like when we drop them down.
If it was mine and even if I knew the skills of the person doing the repair.... that arm would bug the shit out of me. I'd opt for peace of mind and get a bolt on arm.
Looks like you heated and twisted it so taper is on the bottom instead of the top? If so on the next one just get a 7degree taper reamer, got mine from speedway, and ream from the other side half way thru. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
If it was mine I would just weld it up. I've shortened and lengthened pitman arms and changed ends before with NO problems, and it didn't even look like it had been welded back on. Granted, not everyone is capable or confident enough to do that though. That was back in the day when you had to make your own stuff. I think it's called hot rodding!
I'd fix it too but I've been at that kind of stuff for a very long time. What I want to know is where you got the idea to do that in the first place?
careful, if you get another spindle and run a tapered reamer in from the small side, with the reamer halfway through it leaves you with half the contact surface thickness... and any further in and the contact surface gets even thinner... go slow, check often, only go as deep as you need to get the washer, nut and pin on...
Yes it is right where I want it and I want to use it in a bad way. I don't tig weld but I'm willing to take it to a pro and get it done right.
Have chromed and it'll look like a custom show piece. [emoji16][emoji16][emoji16] Sent from my SM-J700T1 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Unless you're good friends with a pro welder, it'll most likely cost you more for the labor than replacing the arm or spindle all together. The going rate for a pr. of 37-41 spindles is around $150. You can occasionally find single spindles for $50-$60 each.
TIG will give a malleable weld. MIG will give a hard weld. I'm no metallurgist, but I'd rather have a malleable weld on the skinny arm than a hard brittle one.
As old HAMB metallurgist, you could weld it back to size and that would be an improvement over the current setup, assuming good welds of course. After you weld it, you could take to a machine shop and have it mag particle inspected (aka magnaflux), or penetrant inspected to check for cracks. The spindle and steering arm is steel and can be welded. Just let slow cool in still air, no quenching. Or buy bolt-on dropped steering arms.
<<<Or buy bolt-on dropped steering arms.>>> The 'twist' was around before Chubby Checker OR Hank Ballard. I've seen those arms heated and twisted 180* since there were "Dago" axles. (2 cars come to mind with that spindle treatment. They BOTH had Stewart 'Dago' axles, it was around 1953) I suspected even then that this particular 'Hot Rod practice' was less than...desirable. But those two weren't the only ones, as I recall a friend of Al Soto with a pair (both twisted, but in a shorter space...Begging for cracks!) on his '32 roadster. That was in '60. I hated the twist even then...hell, I wouldn't even do it with a Model A spindle! But... It's an old practice, even showed up in one of "the little pages" back around '54, or '55? Remember the issue on installing the dropped axle on a '39 Ford? Name of the article was "Droppin' the ol' Bucket". That still doesn't make it right. Buy the arms. Bolt them on snugly, with the right bolts. We'll all sleep better.
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