Alright, I might be out in left field here, but last night I had a thought.

I was pounding out the junk u-joints, of my junk dana 44 last night when I noticed that the yokes looked really thin. I don't know if this is common, or if mine are an exception. I'm not talking about the hole being worn, just the outside (strap?) seemed really thin. Anyway, a thought crossed my mind to take my mig, put it on a realtively low setting, and run several beads over the outside of the yoke to thicken it up a little. I then figured I could take the die grinder to it afterwards, and clean up the weld, and grind it down to a relatively smooth, but thicker yoke. Would this ruin the heat treating the shaft has, or coudl it cause residual stress, making the thicker joint weaker? I don't know for sure, but figured it was worth asking. I know I need warn shafts (or a 60 or a rockwell or a...) but right now, I'd like to beef these up if possible without forking over more dough until I get the axle swap completed. Any opinions would be appreciated...

TIA

chad

ah... come on someone has to have a comment... dumb idea... I can't believe how cheap you are...D44 are a waste of time...

Come on, the least someone could do is flame me...

chad

Yeah, Dana beefed up the 44 yokes, but they started calling them 60s. :flipoff2:

Ask yourself how many times the shaft or the ujoint have failed compared to the yoke.

Squash

IMO leave it, yokes are evey where and easily replaceable

I've done that before with .120 flat stock shaped to fit the perimiter of the yoke. Whatever you add, assemble everything and turn to lock both ways while checking for interference between yokes and axles, If it doesn't bind, you're good to go. Seems to help the yokes from "egging" out but not much else. You can also "shrink" an egged out axle for a tighter fit on the ujoint this way too, because welding in this area seems to shrink the ujoint hole from the heat associated with welding.

I hadn't thought about actually adding stock. Like I said, I just planned on running a couple of beads around the yoke, then grind everything off smooth, then check the joints motion, make sure it won't interfere, and grind off a little more if necessary. I just don't know if the heat of welding would have adverse effects on any heat treatment to the shaft.

I wouldn't quite say that 44 front axle shafts are everywhere, I hope to find a set of spares, but either way I don't want to have to replace them all the time (i know i know warns D60...). I'm just curious if adding to the yokes would provide any more strength..., and or would cause any other problems.

chad

Do it! It might work great, or it might not. Besides, if no one ever tries new things, we get no where. Just because it doesn't seem like it will work, doesn't mean it wont. If you have ever broke one then you obviously need to do something.

Welding on them will cause the hole to shrink though. And it will not be round when you are done. I wouldn't worry about it though, just have someone bore them out on a mill when you are done. That is the only way I can see to make sure they are the right size and shape.