Front axle hairline crack
- Thread starter Desert Bred
- Start date
- Views: 9138
jel1988
Gold Member
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2014
- Messages
- 316
- Location
- Elliot Lake, ON
- Tractor
- 2012 Mahindra Max 22, John Deere D120
Looks like 2 cracks of flaws, someone was definitely messing with abrasives. Will it affect the structural integrity of the part? Has it grown?
OP
Desert Bred
Silver Member
Well I will clean it off of all residue to get a better shot in detail. I just noticed tonight after quick inspection I hadn't noticed it before but that's what life's all about. I've been moving some extremely heavy loads with the loader thirteen total and nothing breaking but the fork once..
Would've thought itta snapped by now.
Would've thought itta snapped by now.
Attachments
Mark @ Everlast
Advertiser
Double post.
Mark @ Everlast
Advertiser
It likely a crack that resulted from around a porous casting. I've seen this multiple times before in some of the lower quality Chinese tractors back in the 80's and 90's... They would also grind the castings to smooth out outward defects. Fei Dong made a decent tractor, better than many of them...But anything is possible. You'll likely need an axle housing before it's over if you have a front end loader on it. I have a dealer friend that specializes on Chinese parts and has a warehouse full of them. He's in FL but sells all over the US. IF you need a housing or parts pm me and I'll give you his contact info.
ishiboo
Platinum Member
Like any crack, both ends of the crack need to be drilled before it gets any larger. Then you have time to look at repair options.
It appears to be repairable.
It appears to be repairable.
ThomasH
Gold Member
I think it depends on how heavily the front end loader is used, as that puts a lot of extra stress on the front axle, but you might consider getting the axle brazed. Brazing is a very strong fix, but it may not be strong enough if the axle is at it's max and simply not engineered to be carrying those loads while moving across ruts, etc.
Mark @ Everlast
Advertiser
If it's a porous casting and a crack that has resulted around it, brazing might work for now, but in my experience, the oil that has penetrated the metal and "infused" it will not allow for a good bond.
Gary Fowler
Super Star Member
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2008
- Messages
- 11,917
- Location
- Bismarck Arkansas
- Tractor
- 2009 Kubota RTV 900, 2009 Kubota B26 TLB & 2010 model LS P7010
That is my opinion also. One may be able to burn the oil out of the pores with a rosebud enough to stick weld it. I would think that the casting is cast steel rather than cast iron and is more easily welded. I have welded on rear axles with good results using E7018 rods but not over oil soaked material. You would have to get all the oil out and then heat it sufficiently to vaporize the oil leaving only the carbon residue in order to make any weld metal adhere. I would either try to fix it or replace the axle now rather than wait for it to fail under heavy load as this could create a dangerous roll over situation.
Mark @ Everlast
Advertiser
It's definitely cast iron. Most tractors are even the name brand ones unless they get high horsepower. I've worked on a lot of different brands. Unless it gets over 100 hp, you'll see mostly cast iron...and if it's chinese...its cast iron.