Technical Would you be afraid

to use this ? Dis***embled torque tube and this what I found. Was about half way between center bearing and trans end. Think I should weld it up?

 

I would look for another one. Welding would probably bend it.

 

Welding will most ***uredly bend it. I doubt you could make it straight afterwards, either.

 

Yep, been looking, no luck so far.

 

What's the car? Probably last forever if it's not a hot rod with slicks on it

 

What is the diameter? Looks like a tie rod that should be s****ped. Bob

 

Make a jig and clamp it down. Weld it up. If you can't find a replacement then that's what you have to work with.

 

39 ford pickup .

 

It is thr drive shaft out of 39 ford torque tube. Not sure of diameter.

 

kinda thinking that , would you tig or mig this, I can do either.

 

TIG would control the heat better. Stock Flathead? Even a mild build it should never break.

 

Yes, it is stock, have possibly 2 flatheads in the works and one will prob end up in this truck, one is at machine shop , waiting on initial report the see what they find as far as cracks , another I might purchase, guessing either one will prob be 120 hp at most so they are mild .

 

an alternative would be convert to open drive but in meantine I will pit out a want add just to see what I might find.

 

Ideal deal would be to swap it for a good one with some that is going to cut one for a short wheelbase car. Bob

 

The bad news is its probably out of balance with that much material missing. The worst news is if you weld it, it will probable still be out of balance, and also no longer straight.
Maybe it can be welded up, turned true, and then straightened and balanced.
I think maybe its time to convert to an open driveshaft. Gene

 

I'd p***.

 

That is a purty good idea, have a buddy that might have one , gonna check tomorrow

 

Yeah, I was thinking, this thing has to be somewhat out of balance but the truck seemed to be pretty smooth in my opinion.

 

Clean it up
Place it in a lathe
Weld it
Clean up with lathe
Check with a dial indicator
Hit with a hammer until it’s true again

 

Well, I have a plan. I will reach out to a couple folks tomorrow that are fairly close by, might get lucky. In the mean time I will go ahead with my banjo rebuild and if all else fails, I will stick it back in truck and take it easy, ( easy to do with a -85 hp engine ) till I get ready to stick a different engine in truck which could be in next couple of months, will keep looking for a good shaft and if no luck by then I will convert to open drive.

 

A fellow hamber has contacted me , says he might have a shaft. Dang you folks are purty cool.

 

That shaft is made from an SAE 6000 series steel and should NOT be welded in high stress applications.
As a last resort if you can't find a good used one, you could have a new one made.

 

How did it get diffuculated like that?

 

JB weld?

 

Good to know , thanks

 

Good question, noticed ther was a slight bit of rust right beside where the center bearing sits , very minimal compared to this , noticed too side of tube was a bit rusty , didn't pay a lot of attention, but perhaps water was getting in tube about where cab and bed sit , or perhaps condensation, gathering there, it is a mystery, truck has no rot rust anywhere . Edit , the location of this in the tube is right at where the radius rods bolt on and also about where the tube diameter changes. there was some grease on the bottom of the tube so my theory is moisture, be it condensation or water intrusion was held in this particular area because the thick grease sorta dammed the bottom of torque tube holding water . I will say that the rusted area is bone dry as was the whole shaft other than old grease , no moisture at all, this damage is purty old , could have been like this 40 years ago or more

 

Id put it back together and run it and never think about it again.

 

When you fine a replacement, take a grinder to that one. I would like to see how far into it the rust has penetrated. I would think most will be surprised how deep the rust is.

 

Ha, I say this a lot but I was thinking the same thing , inquiring minds gotta know right?

 

No one is going to agree with me. I don't care really. I would cut it out and sleeve it. That is how they used to shorten them.