4 wheeler drive shaft

Tue, 31 Aug 2021 15:35:31 GMT

go to see Welding Machine for 4 wheeler drive shaft

My buddy is in the process of streching the swing arm on his honda rancher. of course the  driveshaft needs lengthened. his dad took a piece of stock and bore out a hole in each end. after the shaft is cut in half each piece will be pressed into the extension. any suggestions on welding this? it will be a fillet type weld around the shaft. I was thinking just hit it with a mig gun.
Replyrive shaft may be hard and welding will make it brittle.  You could always shrink fit the extension and then pin it for good measure.My name's not Jim....
Reply:Another thing about a drive shaft is balancing.  If you warp the shaft during welding, it will be out of balance and can become a problem.  Ask me how I know.  .Lincoln Power Mig 216Lincoln AC/DC-225/125Miller  625 X-Treme PlasmaMiller 211 Forney 95FI-A 301HF 91110Victor Journeyman O/PMilwaukee DaytonMakita  Baileigh NRA Life Member
Reply:We and thought about balancing. It doesn't need much. Just something to keep it from slipping in thevextension
Reply:Minor balancing could be as simple as putting a worm gear hose clamp in the right place with the adjusting screw on the "light" side.Probably need less than 1/2 inch clearance to do this.
Reply:Here is what I done on my buddies 86 350. Same as you, cut and bored a piece of 3/4" stock for a press fit. Thinking about the hardness of the shaft as Not Jim suggested. I preheated the shot out of it and then Tig welded with ER70S, then a quench in oil. As for balancing, Meh, its just a mud buggy. So far he hasnt had any problems.The front drive shaft was a different beast. Ended up with this creation using a impact swivel socket.  We stretched both swingarms 6" on this thing. (typical legal disclaimer. larphead assumes NO responsibility if you is dumb enough to attempt to recreate any modifications seen here )If you cant fix it with a hammer, it must be an electrical problem."Boy, everyone starts with a full bag of luck and an empty bag of experience. The trick is to fill the bag of experience before the bag of luck is empty."-Grandad circa 1990ish
Reply:thanks for the info... balance wasnt a huge issue I was worried about... the rancher will have a gear reduction and will not be seeing lots of high speed. How long have you had that setup? and good call using a craftsman socket.... just bring it in to sears if the joint fails
Reply:He has had it for a few months now, hasnt be able to do any hardcore mudding yet tho, been too cold. The steering geometry has been one of the biggest hassles. Right now the steering is somewhere between 'sucks' and "damn scary'  He also has a gear reduction kit coming for it. If you havent found it yet this site is full of lifted ATVs http://www.highlifter.com/If you cant fix it with a hammer, it must be an electrical problem."Boy, everyone starts with a full bag of luck and an empty bag of experience. The trick is to fill the bag of experience before the bag of luck is empty."-Grandad circa 1990ish
Reply I like the impact swivel fitting idea. Shoulda gone with a 3/4" drive one though.Welding/Fab Pics: www.UtahWeld.com
Replyriveshafts need to be straight and reasonably balanced.The closest place near me is a truck "spring works" that apparently makes springs for big-rigs and does a lot of dump truck repair.I've bought them plenty of driveshafts that they have retubed and blanced for prices ranging from $75 to $125.  Not sure what they charge now.  But its hard to beat that if they do it right (and so far I have had zero complaints).  I don't know what the smallest shaft they can handle is.I will say that drive shaft tubes can be made from different steels.  Having broken a few off roading (mostly due to axle wrap - you'd think I'd learn).  Some have snapped clean in half, some have the pretzel thing and twisted 7-8 times and then snapped.  Clearly different steels.  I have been told I could order it made with 'spring' steel.Oh, and since a driveshaft spins at 3x-4x your rear wheels, its a high frequency vibration when you got something wrong.  And if its really wrong, you can rapidly wear out the output bearings....Con Fuse!Miller Dynasty 350Millermatic 350P-Spoolmatic 30AMiller Multimatic 200Hypertherm PowerMax 1000G3Miller Maxstar 200DX
Reply:its a solid shaft, not like a truck driveshaft. No retubing here. like larphead this is a mud buggy, I want it to last but there is some wiggle room on how "on" it is