Front axle hairline crack

[yomax4]

In any event, You will need to stop the crack. If you just weld it, It will likely keep moving under pressure from using it. There is an old Welco product called Krack Sealer. Looks like a big black crayon. It was designed to seal poor cast iron welds. You heat up the part and rub it in and it will plug the leak. The problem of the crack expanding will still be there. Most cast cracks will require you to drill a small hole at each end of the crack to stop it's progression. Stick welding will suck so much oil out of the cast you will likely have to weld/grind/weld/grind until you get a good looking repair. I like spray powder cast repairs but you would have a nice fire going with all the oil..Try a high quality stop leak like Lucas.. If it doesn't work or if it gets worse, Have it done right..

 

[ishiboo]

$50.00??
This is specialized welding. You can't even buy a box of electrodes to do this task for that. You have to preheat and post heat this metal. You have to grind the affected area out...then build it back in. Seeing how I've worked on these type tractors and seen this before, all the way back to 1986, the axle housing will make a good door stop nothing more. You have to disassemble the axle because there are seals and bearings in the vecinity of this area. You are looking at 300 or 400 dollars for this repair. An end axle housing like this is not that expensive.

I was assuming he would remove it and take it to someone with cast experience ready to go. I can't imagine charging $300-400 for doing an inch weld but I could be wrong, never hired someone to do cast before. What's the price of a new axle housing?

The Kubota's I own and have seen would have been perfect, you just unbolt the planetary/etc off the end of the axle with 4 bolts, pull out the axle shaft (no retainers) and you're left with a big cast only area to weld on. The seals/etc. on the other side handle the pre/post-heat.

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

Mudstopper, that was for 10 pieces of 3/32. That crack is probably 2 inches long. For any strength and permanence you 'll have to ground it down, cut out the slag between the two cracks, preheat, postheat, and lay bead ontop of bead to fill the gap back in.

It's more than 1" in my estimation, knowing the rough scale. But maybe the OP can put a tape on it for scale. It looks like the crack is spidering off on the left side up and to the left. Cast iron repair takes special skills...You don't go to your family doctor for a heart by pass, and a cardiologist definitely charges more for his expertise. Chinese seals don't hold up to temps very well, not the ones that are in this unit. The whole assembly needs to be heated if possible for best results.

 

[Arc weld]

If it was cast steel, it's unlikely it would have a casting flaw. If it is a casting flaw on cast iron, which it most likely is, it would be almost impossible to do a repair with stick welding without cleaning all the bad section out. A carbide burr would be best as a grinding wheel messes with the carbon in cast iron. Trying to do a quick fix on bad cast isn't going to work. Can it be repaired? Probably by someone with experience but it's certainly going to cost more than $50. If the whole axle has to be taken apart because a lot of heat is needed, I can see it costing several hundred dollars. Clean it up really well with a wire brush on a grinder and then carefully inspect it.

 

[muddstopper]

I went back and looked at the pics again, thought about the process of how I could fix this at the lowest cost to me if it was mine. This is the process I came up with, if it was mine.

First I think the crack is most likely a casting flaw, sand pocket or some such, and not a failed structual defect. Cant really tell by looking at the picture. With that in mind, i would remove and disassemble the axle. Pressure wash to get rid of any excess oil and grease. Then I would take my air grinder and a good burr bit and start grinding out all the bad metal, until I got out of all the grit and gobble guke that would prevent a good weld. From the look of the defect, it appears to be about 1in wide so i would probably endup with a pretty good hole. I would then take my weed burner and start preheating the metal, all of it , not just around the hole. this should get rid of most of the oils that have soaked into the metal. Once properly preheated,(meaning around at least 600deg, but closer to 800 deg.) I would Surprise! Fire up the mig and start filling the hole. I would use 100%argon gas, your already going to have some carbon in your weld from the burnt oils. Make a pass, check heat, ping with hammer, make another pass, ping with hammer, check heat and repeat until the hole is completely filled. Always maintaining a temp of 600-800 degrees by using the weed burner. Once the weld is complete, cover in a heavy layer of sand and let cool. Check for cracks grind smooth, paint and reassemble. This may not be the way some of the professional folks would do it, but I'm just a hack.

Another thing to consider, since i dont think this crack is structual and more a casting flaw, My only real concern is to just stop the oil leak, If that is the real goal, one could just clean it up and apply JBWeld. If once i got the thing disassembled and i found the crack was more structual and not just a casting flaw, I would probably still weld , but would use one of the ziplock cast welding systems which would run up the welding cost of the repair a significate amount. Before going that route, i would start comparing the cost difference between the welding and replacement.

 

[SPYDERLK]

When you get to the metal and can see the metal fault; If its a casting flaw --- porosity covered by filler, and NOT actually a crack, you can stop the seep by solvent cleaning, drying and applying Loctite wicking compound. It will impregnate the porosity and cure. Total cleanliness for application isnt necessary.
larry,

 

[crazyal]

As an ex level 3 NDT technician my advice would be to talk to a certified inspector. There are a couple of tests that can be done without taking it apart to check for cracks and better tests that can be done if you disassemble the axle. Right now you have no idea if there is porosity and if so how much there is. It's also possible that you now have a crack. Do you want to waste time and money trying to blindly fix the axle only to have it break a second time?

 

[Desert Bred]

When you get to the metal and can see the metal fault; If its a casting flaw --- porosity covered by filler, and NOT actually a crack, you can stop the seep by solvent cleaning, drying and applying Loctite wicking compound. It will impregnate the porosity and cure. Total cleanliness for application isnt necessary. larry,

The last fee days I've moved a bunch of dirt and i haven't checked on it but had a front wheel almost come off and a back tire gone bad but nothing vis a vis the front axle. Thanks for the responses I will have to sit down this weekend and re-read them/again and I wanted to write because I appreciate the help guys. DB