What's new
By:
Filters

Axle alignment bar and pucks

Snoop dogg

Saturday Night Special
Joined
Aug 19, 2020
Member Number
2747
Messages
408
Loc
not in PDX
I need to pull my front 44, but pretty sure the housing is bent.

Searching around to buy a setup and they seem $$ for what it is. Also on youtube you see alot of guys making their own setup and no issues. From nicely machine aluminum and stainless to 3d printed pucks and string line.


This is not a road warrior but i do want to drive it straight when i do get on the road lol.

That being said. Getting a 70" solid mild steel bar and have my buddy turn some aluminum pucks will be a 3rd of the cost of the kits on summit racing. Plus im not in business for this, just a wheeler.

Am i missing anything?

I see people use STAINLESS 70" bar, why stainless? Just bc resistant to rust? Less drag on the puck sliding into housing end?

I can see using purer materials for a race shop, but foe the garage dude i dont want to drop that $$ on a tool that might get used 5 times in my lifetime lol.

I tried looking at poly perf, ruff stuff and couldnt find any kits...thought they had them. Most of the pricing i found is summit racing mittler bros $$$. I do remember i think it was 66cjdean made some too but still coukdnt find his site.

​​​​
 
Are you trying to verify that it's bent? Or trying to straighten it out?
 
Second question, how are you going to straighten the housing?

I don't think it matters what the pucks and bar are made from. I made some pucks out of aluminum then used some poo pipe for a straight bar and it worked out just fine. The advantage to using a ground bar is that you can make the fit between the bar and pucks tighter which helps reduce play at the end of the bar if you want to be real accurate.

Kevin
 
Ghetto Fab. said:
Second question, how are you going to straighten the housing?

I don't think it matters what the pucks and bar are made from. I made some pucks out of aluminum then used some poo pipe for a straight bar and it worked out just fine. The advantage to using a ground bar is that you can make the fit between the bar and pucks tighter which helps reduce play at the end of the bar if you want to be real accurate.

Kevin
Click to expand...

​​​​​​

If i need to straighten. I have 6" i beams, chain, bottle jacks, oxy/acy for heat or a weed burner for heat.

Thats the info i was looking for, regarding the homebrew alignment setup. Not needing it to verify the axle is bent, but if i can do a cheap alignment bar setup and not wait on shipping.

I would say that if it was bent bad, it would be obvious. Like leaking oil at the Cs or at the diff. Or smiling at you. Tie rod and drag link are bent, so i removed those visual barriers.

What im dealing with is my horrible vision and a potentially tweaked housing.

I have the resources and time, and dont feel necessary on droppin cash for an alignment bar setup that trophy truck teams use lol. Plus when i pull the axle out of the truck, im gonna weld the diff to the tubes so why not have an alignment bar. Hell the heat from welding the tubes to the diff could pull it one way, in that case i would be better off with the bar/pucks on hand and not sit and wait.
 
SLOWPOKE693 said:
Same question. First post is confusing....
Click to expand...

Well i think i just asked if i was missing anything regarding a cheaper lower quality alignment setup.

From guys 3d printing to polished 6061 aluminum. Thats a broad stroke, and while youtube is great...i know that guys here actually wheel and build.
 
Like mentioned, anything round and straight will work. Cold rolled solid may get expensive in ~1.5" size, I'm honestly not sure. DOM tube would probably work fine.

String line is an interesting idea. Might be hard to be super accurate with it, but in my experience, so was the alignment bar.
 
I have only successfully straightened one rear end with a torch and water to heat and cool it to get it to pull one time. So if that is what youre doing be patient and not in a rush and it's doable for sure
 
I bought some pucks on ebay a few years back and used some 1.25" stress proof rod from a local steel supplier to build my bar. Used it on my 14 rear steer build. When I was done building it, one side was slightly out of straight. Used a rosebud and quenched it a few times till it was straight.
 
I'm in the middle of this for fabbing a Toyota housing. I'm using a 40mm precision-ground turned 12L14 steel bar, 40mm ID bearings as pucks in the third member, and the OEM Toyota bearings/pockets for the outer pucks.

You need a bar with certified diameter and straightness tolerance, and that usually means something precision ground. If the OD varies you won't have consistent puck engagement, and even mild steel DOM isn't rated for any straightness tolerance. It looks like 4130 tubing is rated pretty well for straightness though (per McMaster). Since you're working with an American axle and custom pucks you have more options for off the shelf tubing/bars that aren't metric.
 
How’s this for precision?

6393FF6C-37CC-418F-8B11-F7C684E045E3.jpeg


9E664C1C-20F9-4B5C-9715-6EED60C6FCC0.jpeg
 
Oh and I forgot where I read this, but if you have any industrial equipment or hydraulic shops around you might be able to find a used shaft from a long hydraulic cylinder.

For the material of the bar I see no reason for anything other than steel. Stainless is nice for a shop tool that will get used often.
 
And of course, huge shoutout to Mr Stubs for the help and info for my axle build.

My rig will see street and highway miles so I'm going as precise as possible on axle alignment. For a trail-only rig the tolerances can be a bit more forgiving.
 
Snoop dogg said:
Is the polished area beyween the "puck" and hub just turned down material on the puck? For a tolerance fit?


Thanks for the pics. I can come up with that.
Click to expand...
That is nothing fancy. It is a piece of 1.25 x .120 dom with a piece of 1.5 x .120 dom slid over it. The 1.5 had been turned down to slide into the splined section of the unit bearing.
 
Mr Stubs said:
That is nothing fancy. It is a piece of 1.25 x .120 dom with a piece of 1.5 x .120 dom slid over it. The 1.5 had been turned down to slide into the splined section of the unit bearing.
Click to expand...

Awesome. Nice lookin axle too.
 
Stubbs that’s a good idea for an alignment bar instead of fucking with carrier bearing pucks.
 
How much axle bend is too much? I mean, at what point do you say "Ok, NOW I need to straighten it"?
 
D_JEEPER said:
How much axle bend is too much? I mean, at what point do you say "Ok, NOW I need to straighten it"?
Click to expand...

Street rig or trailer queen?

Semi-float are less forgiving than full float. Tires will wear funny long before the axle itself has problems. SF will kill the bearings in an unreasonably short time if it's too bent. FF can tolerate more but eventually you start wearing out the splines and/or keeping the bolts tight.
 
I can imagine the cyclic working of the axle would wear out a FF axle/splines/etc.

I welded up my own axles for my build and was afraid to look, but when I checked down the axle tubes it was still plenty straight haha. I also took my time and welded many sections over a long time to reduce warp. I assume you had a small amount of forgiveness though.
 
D_JEEPER said:
I can imagine the cyclic working of the axle would wear out a FF axle/splines/etc.

I welded up my own axles for my build and was afraid to look, but when I checked down the axle tubes it was still plenty straight haha. I also took my time and welded many sections over a long time to reduce warp. I assume you had a small amount of forgiveness though.
Click to expand...

My last rig I had to beat the long side axle shaft into the carrier with a hammer. Got irritating quick.
 
Aisin said:
My last rig I had to beat the long side axle shaft into the carrier with a hammer. Got irritating quick.
Click to expand...

Hahaha damn man. Jump much or was it from welding on the tubes? What axle?
 
KIMG1143.JPG
arse_sidewards said:
Street rig or trailer queen?

Semi-float are less forgiving than full float. Tires will wear funny long before the axle itself has problems. SF will kill the bearings in an unreasonably short time if it's too bent. FF can tolerate more but eventually you start wearing out the splines and/or keeping the bolts tight.
Click to expand...

Well this isnt a trailer queen or a street rig...kinda in between. Want to drive it on the road when headed to close trails.

This is what i got. Went the stubbs route. But only had 1.25 od hrew. Straight enough to use. So i can slide it from spindle to spindle, BUT it aint easy. I have to wiggle it a bit and line it up through the inner seals. Its snug and i think its only because its hrew tube that i could work it through. When it comes out the end of the tubes at the Cs it looks way off, but i can wiggle it through the spindle:rolleyes:


So right now would be the time to pull it out and straighten it. Is it worth straightening if i can run that bar from spindle to spindle now? Will i just wear out the inner spindle bearings quick? Will the inner axle seal? The plan would be to straighten and weld the tubes to the diff centersection once aligned.

KIMG1148.JPG
KIMG1145.JPG
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Back Refresh