Hot Rods Cast VS Forged axle in an A

Thank you beans for sharing that NZ info.
I see the negative comments on those axles all the time, but no one ever showed actual problem.

 

Never, there's way too much at stake. Forged Steel is far superior for straight axles.

 

You're welcome, Bugguts.
It took a while to figure out how to copy it. I found the bit about polishing a small area of the axle, then ****yzing for level of nodularity, particularly interesting.

 

I always use a genuine Henry Ford forged front axle. I have never had any problems with these axles and neither will anyone else. Joe, Greg or Andy can drop these axles and they are really good at what they do. Simply the best axle you can buy.

 

I'm amazed that you guys can find an original 1932 Ford axle.

 

"2150...by..." Good job!

 

While a deuce axle is touted as the holy grail (status symbol); a '33-'36 axle makes for a better looking dropped axle. A dropped Model A axle isn't to shabby either. Either shouldn't be too hard to find.

 

Just had Greg/Anson drop a deuce big beam axle for me, he sent me a message it was the nicest axle he'd seen in a while. I have used quite a few of the Roadster Supply forged I beams with success and I've had Greg/Anson drop several of them to 5 inches. Just can't beat an Anson dropped axle.

 

Just go to fall Hershey, you will soon find a 1932 Ford front axle.

 

There has been a lot of talk about cast versus forged and I’m curious what the failure mode is. Do they all break in the same place. What causes the failures. What percentage break. How many do***ent failures has there been. Are we just talking opinions or are there do***ented facts. I certainly agree forged would be superior to cast. Cast steel would be superior to cast iron.

 

I've seen a few, all broken at the ends.

 

I’ve only personally seen 1 of the Superbell axles break in the 20+ years I’ve been messing around with these things. I watched it happen and while a forged axle wouldn’t have broken I am certain it would have bent pretty badly. The pictures aren’t very good but this happened on I 39 while heading home from the Meltdown drags. The Model A coupe my wife’s friend was driving took a hard right (steering linkage issue) at 75 MPH ran off the shoulder and hit the ditch that was very soft and muddy (I think the mud saved her from getting on her head) when the axle broke and the car literally stuck in the mud and stopped. After seeing the force it took to break it I wouldn’t be afraid to run a P&J or superbell axle. I would still prefer a forged axle but IMO the P&J or Superbell are more than adequate for street use. I do have a forged aftermarket axle on my ‘40 though.

 

This one was on the thread I posted. I didn't appear to break at the end but is a little hard to tell by the picture.

 

I think the concern for most would be an axle cracking, breaking, etc by hitting a pot hole, etc, something that might tweak a forged axle. But if the forged axle is tweaked, you can still get the vehicle home.
If your axle cracks or breaks, pretty much waiting for help.
A head on wreck, collision with an object, etc that is going to require a rollback etc, it probably doesn’t matter if the axle bent or broke.

 

This thread brings back memories of my Dad demonstrating how easy it was to shatter cast iron wood stoves with an 8 oz ball peen hammer. They shattered like gl***. Of course it was the middle of winter, well below zero and who knows how many heat cycles those wood stoves had seen in their lifetime.
But it still makes me leery of stressing or impacting cast iron. I've broken a few cast iron bench vises surprisingly easy as well.
I know, apples and oranges but it makes one think.

 

Exactly

 

If the pot hole caused a catastrophic failure at highway speeds, it may not only be the vehicle that doesn't come home.
As @tomcat11 said, "there's way too much at stake".....

 

I agree 100%.

 

I worked 35 years with pipes . Ductile iron is a tough SOB , a common definition is cast iron , it is not the same , so is Nodular iron not the same as cast iron . Have many of you have run the hide off an engine with a cast crank ? What is it made of ?

 

As long as I can remember it has been said that a forged axle is 30% stronger than cast. Likewise the overall majority of all crank failures occur with a cast crank. Are you saying this is all misinformation?

 

I hope this is not turning into a "i run cast axles and never had one fail" kinda thread.

 

all about luck

 

This one snapped cleanly in the middle of the axel. If you look closely to the left you can see it.

 

No disrespect to anyone buying a new axle... but you can contact any of the guys listed above and they'll have a core to use to meet your specs or, likely, a few choices that are already dropped.

I prefer that customization. @thunderbirdesq dropped (and squished) my 32 axle to work with my set-up.

 

I am a firm believer that cast steel axles are perfectly fine to use.

Of course, once you have cut them in-half, and have a decent art project in mind.

 

I have broken 11 cast Iron crankshafts.

I have broken exactly zero forged steel ones.

 

Speedway has forged axles in the garage sale currently.

 

Paul Harvey was a radio commentator and he had a show known as “The Rest Of The Story”. Speedway has noted some details about this axle, the perch holes and the king pin bores are not on the same centerline, but it’s not clear if it is the perch holes or king pin bores that are mis-located. Not a deal breaker for some but I thought potential buyers might want to know.

 

They appear to have more than one of these, as well. If the defect is workable for y'all, get you one!

 

Who's name is on it and what foundry it was cast in by who has a lot to do with the quality of a cast axle. I'd looked at the Helix axles back a number of years ago at the Portland Roadster show and they were pretty rough looking and ther "reps" were obviously college kids hired for the show for the weekend as the two I talked to had no automotive experience at all.
Back in 1975 or so I was headed to school one morning in my 48 and some guy turned into me from the right lane and took out my right front fender and bent the axle on my 48 pretty well double and broke the right front spring. Right in front of the Waco Tx VW Dealer and the owner ran out with a fire extinguisher and put the fire that had started under my truck out and pretty well took over dealing with the police when they showed up. I owe that guy because I would probably beat the guy who hit me into the ground otherwise. That axle had the hell bent out of it but after we got it back to my boss's shop and sorted it out there were no cracks or breaks in it and Waco Spring could probably have straightened it. My buddy had already found an axle, springs and fender for it before I got back from school at noon. That was my lesson in forged axles surviving a hit.
I've got an A front end drum to drum with wishbone out back that I should take apart and ship the axle off to be dropped but it can wait until I need it. I've also got a SoCal dropped Forged axle that I got a serious deal on because it was shopwork from the So Cal shop hauling it around to shows. That thing is a beast but some folks don't like the looks compared to a dropped original axle.