Whats the grade of steel the hustler axles are made of? The guy im working with on the springer project wants to do new inner axles but the only thing we can find in 1 3/16" is 1010 or 1018 rod, will this suffice?
Whats the grade of steel the hustler axles are made of? The guy im working with on the springer project wants to do new inner axles but the only thing we can find in 1 3/16" is 1010 or 1018 rod, will this suffice?
I'm still rebuilding my first 6x6 so I'm far from an expert, but as I looked to answer that same question for my Max, I kept hearing that 4140 was the stuff to get. The thing about 4140 is that it needs both pre-heat and post-heat when welding or it can crack.
Yesterday I talked to a mechanical engineer at work who also used to race dirt bikes and ATVs so he has both the theoretical and practical knowledge. He said that the 4140 without hardening is about twice as strong as the mild steel, but when properly heat treated it becomes about 3x as strong. He also said that back when he was racing and wanted every possible advantage he made a lot of stuff out 4140 or 4340 that could just as well have been made from mild steel. He suggested that my axles might be in that category. He said that the only time he could see an axle breaking would be if I got stuck, spun the wheels at full speed, then only 1 wheel got traction and took all the power at once. His advice was don't do that.
Since the chrome molly also requires special care and skill to weld, he suggested that the mild steel would also likely be better because mild steel won't be prone to failure the way improperly welded or heat treated alloy would be.
If strength is really an issue, he said to just bump up the material one size instead.
After all that advice, I'm still not sure if I'll listen or go ahead with the 4140 anyway.
That's what I was told to about the breaking axles, if one gets all the power on its own it might snap. I would use 4340 or 4140 but I cant find it in 1 3/16" and don't want to upgrade axle size at this time.Originally Posted by phabib
His other suggestion was to use a stainless instead of a mild steel. That would be stronger than a mild steel, but easy to weld and not require any special heat treat. We started to talk about specific stainless types, but didn't finish. I think he was leaning toward a 304, but he didn't get to the conclusion before we got interrupted.
If memory serves me correctly the hustler axles were made out of 1144 stress proof. The 1 1/4" is not that expensive around here in either 1144 or 4140. You could have your sprocket tubes reamed and go with the 1 1/4" material. The 4140 (cold drawn annealed ) seems to be the preferred material due to its flex and strength.
Last edited by Model Citizen; 07-11-2016 at 07:34 PM.
Thanks Bridget, that's the info I was looking for, as far as the 4140 TGP in 1 3/16 Ive looked all over the net and a local shop and is all 1 1/4. Don't want to upgrade yet as Ive bought all near bearings and seals for the original axles
I got 113 Million results for the Google search "4140 1-3/16" in about .3 seconds. here are a couple to start you out.
1 3/16" OD 4140 G&P Round Rod - AlcobraMetals.com
Size 1 3/16, 4140 Aircraft Annealed & Cold Finished Alloy - Rounds On Fay Industries, Inc.
4140 HT Alloy Round | Key Metals
ADAIR TRACKS, WITHOUT 'EM YOUR JUST SPINNING YOUR WHEELS
REMEMBER KIDS, THE FIRST "A" in AATV STANDS FOR AMPHIBIOUS
[QUOTE=kghills;148915]I got 113 Million results for the Google search "4140 1-3/16" in about .3 seconds. here are a couple to start you out.
Interesting lol, thanks I guess my search engine sucks.
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