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Bye bye air bags hello hendrickson walking beams

Truck Shop

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This thread has turned into the WW, but many times too many passes is just as bad as not enough. I really like watching someone turn a perfect piece of steel into a banana,
warped and twisted all to hell then go dowse it in ice cold water. Hurried welds and over welding usually causes the end product to fail plus it looks like yard art.
 

Welder Dave

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Some pressure vessels that are welded with many passes of sub arc have to be closely monitored so as not to get too hot but can't cool off too much between passes either. Sometimes people figure more passes or a bigger weld makes it stronger. In the case of fillet welds the rule is the leg should equal the thickness of the thinner piece. Anything more is a waste and doesn't significantly add any strength. If you have a 1/4" plate welded to a 1" plate all you need is a 1/4" fillet. That's not to say the 1" plate may require preheat. When I went to school they wanted you to just barely leave the top edge showing when doing fillet welds on overlapping 3/8" plates. They said welding going up to the edge gives an overestimation of strength. It also requires more precision and a good eye. They seemed to have dropped this practice but I've also heard they use to teach a lot more 30 or so years than they do now. It's much easier to get through your apprenticeship today. I think it has a lot to do with not nearly as many people wanting to get into the trades. They don't even spend much time on stick welding anymore. Mostly Mig and Flux-core. Out in the field you don't always have the option of a wire feed process but the job still needs to get done.
 
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DMiller

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I am SLOWLY getting the hang on wire, looks like crap, still sticks and does as I need done, have preferred stick for AGES, can manage 7018 DC pretty functional with decent beads. Being mostly blind in one eye since '87 was not an aid for welding, that has been somewhat remedied but I dare say day late and dollar short. As a youth Mechanic did much of my work welding either Oxy/Acet then moved up to old Lincoln Buzz box AC, tapered a number of Glider end frames and replacement frame rails with a buzz machine. Much of my mid profession time welding was in field and used a Great load of Drag Rods off a SA200 or 300 or at the end Thermalarc Predators and Miller Bobcats. Just started wire feed at Ameren UE for Hard Facing only in the 90s then swapped career path. Still have my 20 year old Thermalarc, still weld 7018DC still use Drag Rod, have a well used Miller 210 Wire feed and the newer Miller Suitcase(SAWEEET) for stick.
 

Dave Z

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Interesting reads here, thanks to all that replied. Sounds like at the rate I weld (95% truck mechanic 5% welder) I should have 1/16 of this knowledge base down pat in about 100 years :(. Actually I don't have alot of issues, usually run 7018 on the truck out on the road and mig in the shop - just that job from years ago always bothered me.
 

workshoprat92

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Bois D Arc Missouri
Im getting close to the point of installing this setup on the truck and I need to start thinking about my drive line angles. There is plenty of information avalible on how to calculate drive line angle which I understand how to do. What I dont be able to find is what is the correct drive line angles for a tandem axle suspension. Do any of you guys know where there is any information on where to set one up from scratch? I think basically you want the drive yokes parrallel to one another and have at least 1° operating angle. Is this correct. And how much operating angle is to much? How much difference can you have in angles between the drive yokes out of parrallel?
 

workshoprat92

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I think that first link has the information I need. Interesting I cannot get that link to come up on a google search on my phone but I can at my local library. many other threads and site with links like these are gone and the links no longer work.
 

Welder Dave

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So how many multi-pass fillets are done at any factory now days?

Heres a hint, 99.9% are done by robots using a firehose welder. Are you trying to make yourself look good by making workshoprat92 look bad?

I guess this is part of the .1%. Shame on Cat.

Yes, as Nige says, the repair is holding up very well and kinda looks almost as good as a factory weld.:)
Thanks again to everyone for your help.
Our local dealer had a new 24M parked at the shop recently and I was admiring the welding on the machine, some of which was impressive but some was very ordinary indeed.
b0df76d2-d2fa-414a-b5e8-7076788d989d-jpeg.193207
 

DMiller

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Will need it on a Reasonably Level surface to set the angles or determine the angle the truck is sitting at prior to calculating what Driveline angle you are going to.

This is not rocket surgery or brain science, just driveline angles.

This one is a bit better quality, require no batteries

 

workshoprat92

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I have watched this video a bunch of times. He says you start at the transmission and then he measures a 4 degree down angle. But he dosent say 4 degrees from what? I guess you could use the frame to set for zero refference point. I would think the trans and engine angle should be in refference to the frame right? Anyhow I think I have a good grip on it at this point. Its been years since i have had to deal with this and its funny how rusty ya get.
 

Truck Shop

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Set your angle gauge on the valve cover, most engines set anywhere from 2* to 3* to 3.5*. The old short wheel base cab overs ran as much as 4*. If the front shaft has a steady angle of 3* to 3.5*
it will run fine. The rear shaft normally hangs in the 4* area some times 5*.
Here is a good photo of front drive line angle on my B75 Mack I'm building. The engine trans is 2.8* front drive lines 3*.

006 (7).JPG
 

RZucker

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Now I may be wrong here, but it's my understanding that the diff yokes should match the vertical angle of the transmission yoke regardless of the driveline angle. And the carrier bearing should be lowered or raised to keep the u-joint needles rolling. This is just what I've seen on factory builds and I have used that replacing torque rods with the weld together type.
 

Truck Shop

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WWW.
Now I may be wrong here, but it's my understanding that the diff yokes should match the vertical angle of the transmission yoke regardless of the driveline angle. And the carrier bearing should be lowered or raised to keep the u-joint needles rolling. This is just what I've seen on factory builds and I have used that replacing torque rods with the weld together type.

That's true but the longer the wheel base it becomes harder to achieve that on front drive shafts. The yoke angle on mine above the input on front drive is 3.5* yoke on rear drive a little over 3.5*. But the yoke on
the rear is lower than the rear output yoke on the front drive so the intermediate shaft angle is 4*.
 
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