How to properly heat and bend a shifter.

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The shifter for my Ford L8000 hits the dash for whatever reason. It's not sloppy or broken just possibly was swapped somewhere along the line. My question is in the past I have heated shift levers and bent them and then had them become weak and snap where I bent them so I am not sure what I did wrong .Before I do this one what is the best way to attack it ? I have a rosebud. Should I heat and bend and let it cool by itself ? Should I cool it with water ?Should I cool it with oil ?Also how far past the point I want to bend should I heat  ?Thanks.Lincoln Ranger 8Lincoln 140c MigLincoln Tombstone(doesn't everybody have one ?)Miller 200Diesel/Heavy Equipment MechanicLead Plant Mechanic Municipal Water
Reply:I will bet that you quenched the other shafts, the ones that broke. Quenching truns most steel harder and more brittle. To keep it relatively soft, let it cool slowly. No water, no oil. That is my GUESS. If you can find out the type of steel that was used, that would help a lot. But you would have to do some researching to come up with that info! http://www.moldmakingtechnology.com/...es/110002.htmlThe heat affected zone should be as uniform as possible, I would personally try to keep the area affected only large enough to make your bend.Last edited by tanglediver; 10-02-2009 at 01:46 AM.City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny
Reply:Thanks. Yeah I thnk I used a wet rag on the other ones which is what I suspected as the problem.Lincoln Ranger 8Lincoln 140c MigLincoln Tombstone(doesn't everybody have one ?)Miller 200Diesel/Heavy Equipment MechanicLead Plant Mechanic Municipal Water