Dana 44

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What process do I use to weld a inner C to a Dana 44 axle tube also the same for the axle tube to the housing.  I believe the C an the housing are cast steel and the tube is 1/4"  mild steel.  I've had so many suggesations I'm confused.  Can I mig it yes or no.  Do I use hi nickle rod  to stick it along with pre and post heating or just stick it and run.
Reply:The last one I fix I used 7018.What is wrong with yours. A lot of guy think they need to weld center to tubes??
Reply:First thing to do is positively ID the materials. You're safe to assume steel on the tubes, but the center and c's need to be nailed down. I'd do a spark test. If you search for "spark test" you should find the details and procedure to ID cast iron or cast steel.Ian TannerKawasaki KX450 and many other fine tools
Reply:where did you get the C gussets from, Evo, Teraflex, email them and ask. Be careful welding them on (alot of guys use MIG) be very careful with the heat  and move around a lot. Watch the heat around the ball joints also. Go to jeep forum dot com or jk forum dot com, do some searches for welding c gussets etc... there is a lot of info over there. put up some pics when youre done. I gotta do that to mine one day.......
Reply:why are the tubes so thin the one that i have built in the past were normally .375 (3/8) and turned down to fit the id of the center section / pumpkin i think they were 1/1000th or 2/ 1000th larger .  i would use a liquid nitrogen or dry ice to freeze the tubes first this will make them shrink . then for the pumpkin i use to bake them for 24hrs at 500* f this will make the metal expand. using a horizontal press we would line it all up and press it all together. you can mig or stick the center but all you are doing is there is a hole on the center where i would just weld on but the best thing to do is to drill it on 4 spots and cut some threads into it use grade 8 or 10 allen head bolts for this..for the inner c i normally just mig weld them be very cautious about the positioning both have to be to the degree exact for good tracking i normally use 6* leaning back and also remember about the pinion angle that you need on your drive line to keep it from binding good luck hope you have all that you need to do this job if not take it to a machine shop!Lincoln Power Arc 4000 Thermal Arc Fabricator 252 iThermal arc 186Thermal Arc 26 tigTweeko 200 amp spool gunHobart AirForce 400WP-17V-12R
Reply:The c's should be forged. You should have no issues welding them. Do a spark test to verify on the c. My 60s c is steel but the center is cast ironHTP Invertig 201Lincoln Idealarc SP250Miller 180 AC StickBy farmall:They should have held the seagull closer to the work, squeezing evenly for best deposition.
Reply:Thanks for the replies.  The axle is a narrowed waggy chief Dana 44. I have done all the narrowing (4") and relocated the long side spring mount (3 1/5") and shock mounts to match the CJ factory mounting width.  The Cs are rotated for 6 deg caster and a direct pinion to the transfer case for a CV. THe Cs are the original ones and are tacked in place.  I had received such a wide variety of opinions as to how to weld the inner Cs, It threw me to a point of wondering if my less than professional welding skills would cause me to ruin this project. I am sure the C is steel, long yellow sparks. I am just woried about cracking during the cool off.  I hace seen or read where people have mig welded the Cs when rotating them but I am concerned about the localized heat.  If I am coccect from what I have read, I can pre heat the C to 500 deg + and stick it with hi-nickle then post heat the C to allow it to cool at the same rate as the tube. In response to one reply, you are correct the tube is 3/8".
Reply:Dana 44 centers are nodular or grey iron. You can braze or use nickel rod with preheat for tubes to center. Careful of causing tubes to distort and ending up with a warped axle. The c's are forged low carbon steel and easily weldable. I like to do a tig weld on outside of tube and tig root on inside followed by mig while rotating housing on rollers while its nice and warm.Millermatic 252Lincoln 175 plusTA 185tswTA 161stlhypertherm pmax 45Victor torchHenrob torchAn S10 for each day of the week