I've done a lot of 9 in Ford rears both narrowing and installing floater spindles. You nailed it with your methods of measurement and locating where you need to cut/weld. Really the only place where our methods differ is instead of cutting the tubs with a whizz wheel is I use a pipe cutter and instead of a tape measure I use a 3 ft. vernier caliper. Since most of your listeners will probably only do this one or two times in their lives , renting these tools is more practical than buying .The pipe cutter doesn't start cutting until you are happy with your location , makes a square cut , makes no dust or a lot of chips and when the cut is finished the weld bevel is already there.
Damned good set of videos, you cover the process really well. I was curious as to how you were going to align the two cut tubes and, as said by others, a brilliant idea. I appreciate the fact that you know that we all don't have the funds to buy the latest and greatest tools for doing the job and it's this fact that makes your videos both valuable and entertaining. Thanks Justin.
You may be on to something. A large pipe cutter would cut it no problem. Some pipe is 3/8" wall or more on extra heavy but more people have access to an angle grinder.
I read a lot of the remarks below. I too have spent 52 working on car, trucks, and all type of machine. Yes I could point out things that I though could be do differently, but, it's my opinion you did a very good job of explaining the how's and why's! Your welding was good. The tensile strength of 309 SS rod is more than enough for this application. Nice job, take care.
Awesome video! I'm putting an 8.8 from an Explorer (4:10 limited slip with disc brakes) under my 1936 Chevy pickup and narrowing it as in this video will give me the perfect track width. I consider myself to be a fairly skilled fabricator but one of my mentors told me many years ago "when you stop learning you start forgetting" so I really enjoy watching videos like this. Thanks!
O.K. . . so I'm late to the party by a few years. . . This set of 2 videos has provided more know-how and hands-on techniques than a plethora of other videos I've watched over the last few days on narrowing a rear end. I'm going to attempt your instructions to narrow the housing of a 1972 A body 7 1/4 Rear End. Yes, the axles will need to be cut to length but I'll take them to a machine shop as I don't have precise machining capabilities to re-cut the splines. Excellent technique and narration. Congrats from the heart!
That was one of the best axle videos I've EVER seen. Well done. Will be watching more of your videos. Even liked your tig habits. So many people are NOT welders. Again well done. Very informative.
Watching this, I’m glad I’ve grown up in the metric system in Australia, Im at a age where they introduced it in my first year of school. As I’m working on a lot of USA cars, my metric/imperial calculator gets a good workout. Nice job, I fitted one of these to my 67 mustang, but left it standard length.
That’s exactly the way I’ve always done it. One difference is I picked up a 6” pipe cutter. Perfect cut every time and I get a slight bevel for the weld. I also used old tube pieces for the clamps and a 6 foot threaded rod through the housing to keep it straight.
Awesome, I’ve had one of these sitting in my garage for a couple years now, you showed me exactly what I needed to do, and I don’t have to buy an alignment bar. Thanks!!
This is by far the easiest video to follow I've seen for this process. Poured a lot of hours into research and thought into the project, nice to find this before putting wheel to the tube. Thx!
Great vid! I don't know anything about anything, but I'd sleve the joint to add some strength. That way you're not completely depending on your weld strength, and it'll help you keep things lined up.
I thought the same thing maybe add a collar. But if it is tried and true and strong enough it's good. Adding a coller is also 3 points of weld and 3 break points though. Who Knows except for time tested
Hi Justin. Thanks for the good video. A few comments if I may. 45 years in industry has taught me that work related damage to your body may be subtle, but cumulative. We enjoy your video and want to see more for a long time to come. Take care of yourself Man. Use PPE: Skull cap, face shield, ear protection, dust mask, leather gloves.... Your method to shorten this axle is sound and completely adequate.As long as you V the joint surfaces deep enough, the filler rod puddle will penetrate to the inside diameter of the tubes. The er70 rod is actually stronger than the tube metal. Even if a locomotive crashed into the thing, the tube would bend before the welds broke. The axle splines are designed to be a slip fit. They can actually tolerate a small amount of misalignment . Manufacturers work to specified tolerances, often times to tenths of an inch, rather than thousandths or ten thousandths. Chances are your modified tube is straighter than what the factory built. As far as bearing life goes, the really critical work would be to disassemble the axle and completely clean the housing and 3rd member parts. Precision bearings do not tolerate ground up metal and sludge very well.
Good job with your "alingment" jig and as usual very good welding. One possible tip may be to use a chop saw on the tubes as you can align them perfectly.
the 8.8 is okay for racing, but everyone I know uses the 9". Setting up a removable chunk is easier than removing the entire housing. I also agree with using the mittler tool is more accurate. But, you got your point across. GOOD JOB!!
Actually, you should have a very slight gap in order to get 100% penetration of the weld. Tube and pipe welds should always have 100% penetration. If you are trying to fuse the root pass you may or may not get that penetration.
Problem with that is it gives it a chance to shrink. No gap can still shrink but you at least have the Edge of the tubes touching to help ensure your dims
I like that you were very careful with the measurements, how worried you were about the axle tube not warping but then it looked like you leaned all your body weight on the outside shaft while tack welding the 3rd and 4th tack.
There was a couple of points in this video he said some stuff that sounded wrong but I watch part 1 and 2 fully and I give it to the man. He is a true fabricator. Real fabricators are picky and may measure a dozens times to make sure somethings right before they "all-weld" it up. I appriciate that. And that time in the 1st video portion of this when he took time to clean his work space for continuing I definitely I repeat DEFINITELY relate to. I'm OCD as a person in general and I've always believed that the best fabricators are ocd. Because just close enough ain't good enought. If it ain't perfect why waste ur time.. love it love the work and the precision I commend u my brother
There's an easier way to find the center measurement of the sway bar. If you measure from the outside edge of one tab to the INSIDE edge of the other that will give you the center to center measurement.
I used this video to widen the Explorer 8.8. Same principles applied, but added a section of tube and used 2 long side axle shafts. Thanks for the inspiration.
Narrowed my rearend this morning using the exact directions. I forgot to make an alignment notch. I can tell you that if you forget there is a factory seam on the inside of the axle tube. I used it to reference making a notch after the fact. The rearend turned out perfect. Exactly 17 3/8" to the outside flange all the way around. I used a 99 Explorer rearend and it had identical specs to the one in the video.
Suggestion for the next 1? Or 100? Cut the tube like you did, but do a final prep on the diff side of the tube so you don't have to keep removing the c channel. You then only have to grind and fit the shorter outside part of the tube and you won't be fighting those clamps every damn time you remove a tiny bit of material. Love the vid! I learned a lot!
I'll be honest - I never thought it would be that confusing. I would have shown in greater detail that it was never centered from the factory if I knew haha.
Hey man when I did mine I used a cheap tailpipe expander tool with a sheet of copper wrapped around it to completely center my axle tubes cost like 20 bucks total but it was completely true and gave full access and allowed me to weld fully all the way around unimpeded and I left it in for it’s cool down and worked like a dream
I will never do this, but I thoroughly enjoyed watching you work, and listening to your quality tradesman words of wisdom - thanks for sharing!! Cheers.
Where you been all my life!?! Lol Cant wait to share your channel with my Pops. He's 76 now and doesn't get to do as much anymore. He will love this. We used to do a lot of this together when I was growing up, and I just know he will enjoy pointing out all your "mistakes"! Lmao!!! Great series guys! Thank you.
Hi All I’m from the UK and love your sense of humour I just know if we ever met we would get on and talk for hours about your welding skills, just wanted to say how much I appreciate you going over and over how crucial it is to get the measurements right first time so thanks for the tutorials peace from UK Scoobs.
Just one piece of advise from a fabricator with 40 years experience. Leave the convex bead on the weld-do not grind it off flat. That adds a LOT of strength to the weld; more than you think.
I had an 8.8 posi ready to go in my 1960 C10, even redrilled for the 5x5 then I noticed that the drive shaft hit the X bracing and the drive shaft tunnel. Wish I would have seen this before I sold the axle! Oh, well, got a refresher on how to set up a 10 bolt ring/pinion and carrier. Great job!!!! Saving this for later for sure!!
Thank you for this great video. I was going to pay like $1200 for someone to do this for me but after watching you, I feel I can do this with the help of a buddy who is a skilled welder.
People are doing a ton of 8.8 hybrid rearends for 4th gen Camaro and Firebird. They combine the axle tubes from the 4th gen diff with the Explorer 8.8 and weld on the Hiltsy Torque Arm mount. You should do one of those builds. It's also very common to narrow that setup 2-3" per side.
Great video. You need a porta band tho. Best 300 bucks you’ll spend. Cut off wheels get old. ...take it from a pipe fitter welder of 15 years. Also, grab a 10 dollar pipe wrap and some soap stone. Then you won’t need to mess with tape and markers.
This would be a great High School shop project. If you can do this as well this guy, then you have learned valuable skills. If your dad or someone gives you a rear axle assembly, and want to build your first hot rod, or truck project, it's great. If you need to purchase a rear from a junkyard, don't. I'd buy a housing from Moser, Strange, or Currie, to your specs. Great video. Thanks for posting.
As was some previous comments and suggestions, I preheated the housing prior to welding. Also as a guide to indicate deflection, I inserted the axle into the housing. By sliding the axle in and out of the center section and seating it into the outer bearing, you can feel any binding caused by welding deflection. When narrowing mine, the axle on the shortened side actually slid more freely, than the factory side. Worked as good as a $600 alignment kit, for one or two rear ends.
,,,,I'm impressed.....Your video is direct and clearly concise.....I do metal work, and respect your talented style. You would make a great shop instructor.....I'm still not a fine weldor,,,,,You are....I'll check all your videos......Thanks ......
my friend built oval track engines and countless street engines, he bought an old lathe to cut/shorten axle housings and drive shafts, Justin is a very good fabricator, I bet he could build a simple lathe just to cut axle housings
Good job!! I've tubbed somewhere around 100 cars and that's how I've been doing it for years accept I use two pieces of angle with pads welded on it for the clamps. This method works on any rear end with a round tube. Some ford 9" rearends the tubes are not perfectly round and I have a jig tool for doing them.
Fantastic job and great video. As good as your welding skills are (and they are very good) what impressed me most was how you kept the face of the cuts so square using the cutoff wheel. I have nowhere near the experience that you do but the few times I've tried to cut a cylindrical tube with a cutoff wheel and keep the faces square - lets just say some of the cuts haven't been pretty. I'd also recommend keeping the guard on or face protection using the thin wheels as they can come apart pretty easily if you screw up
You really did an excellent job making this vid, great editing, no BS just the facts. Great how-to ideas too. Appreciate the emphasis on quality and craftsmanship. Thanks, I learned something. JD in MO
mathew shackelford : Hello Mathew. I love watching these videos but I don’t understand why people shorten these axels. What is the advantage of doing this? Thanks. Beobout6
@@Beobout6 It's because they are putting them in different vehicles than what it came from and the pinion isn't "centered on the axle. BY shortening them for their specific application, they are putting the pinion in the center. The original axle was 27" on side and 30 on the other. So, they shorten the long side, get two passenger side axles and boom, they have the same length axle on each side...pinion is where it needs to be.
nice man, i like the way you did that. i've narrowed & sleeved axles before and the way you did it works just fine. i will be doing the same on our F250/100 project. thanks!
Really good video , keep up the longer ones I prefer those, I know they take longer to do and edit , just finished watching the Time Attack rollcage parts 1&2 , really good got some very helpful info, I have the same bender as yours and the info you give explains it some much better than anyone else. so a big thumbs up and keep them comin . Keith from the land down under where we pay way to much for any decent tools..
Keith J Thanks, Keith. We decided to make the jump back to the longer format for the most part. There's still going to be some quick episodes due to production scheduling and content, but it will be a good mix at least.
I would recommend tacking top and bottom as well before quarter welding the axle. Just move your clamps 90 degrees and tack top and bottom. You really need 4 tacks to ensure proper fit.
I like to put a piece of tube about 4 to 5 inches long inside the housing as a reinforcement sleeve (machined and press fitted) placing the center of the sleeve right where the weld is going to be. Doing this actually helps align axle tubes.
Great video. I wish this video was out when I was contemplating doing this but I couldn't find anything this good. I may have to look into this again later down the road. You got a new subscriber!!
quick question: I went back over the video a couple time but didnt find the answer...I love the use of C channel for jigs but when you were setting up the swaybar perch did you first square up the face of the rear end casting to the table (so it was at the proper "clock" position on the axle)? It looked like it was but didn't see that step covered. Awesome video.
Last customer had me turn up sleeves to press into the tube to support join. Couple of rosette welds on either side of join too,guess he did not want it to break! The recutting the spines on the shafts takes longer to do. Have seen shafts that have been cut down and joined quite successfully but not a big fan of doing this.
Great video i enjoyed watching. I have been doing this type of auto fabrication and restoration for about 40 years. Only thing i would not do is grind down the welds. But good job fun to watch.
One thing I have found which seems to work a little cleaner on the cut is to use a hand operated pipe cutter, it leaves a much straighter cut and better welding surface. Also for welding the center section to the axle tubes I prefer to us 308 or 309 stainless wire with a mig instead of tig. When welding the axle tubes (butt weld) i like to use .035 mig hard wire. You do not need to use a tig to do tubing work, if you are a good welder you can do a great job with a mig. I have been a certified welder for over 40 years an have a lot of work still on the road.
You could buy two housing ends, cut the tubes to length and weld on the ends and not try to line the tube up again. Doing it that way reduces the amount of warping that WILL occur. Welding the end doesnt warp it, welding the tube will move that summbitch all over the place. You can go one step further and run 9" ends on it and be able to get rid of the C clips.
Matt B You can only do that if you follow this same procedure in the vid. Each axle tube tapers down on each end which means you still have to shorten one axle tube to achieve an equal length assembly.
I acquired a $6800 hospital bill from using a 4"grinder with a 1/16" cutoff wheel with out a guard. It cut my leg 4"long and 1"deep. I have a new found respect for them. I'll use one with a 1/4" grinding wheel with out a guard but not thin cutoff wheels.
Darrell Blanchard. Outch that must of hurt. The injury & the medical bill. Would be a time im glad i live in the uk free health care. But in your case i would have sown myself up & saved 7k. 😀
Mine was $258 and on my index finger. I got lucky and didn't go to the bone as I did have leather gloves on. It was with the only grinder that I didn't have a guard on and I knew I was doing a sketchy cut. Listen to your gut.
I can say you did a great job. I like the 9 inch Ford rear end for circle track racing so much easier to change gear ratio and dependable as heck. But great job
For finding center.. measure from the left side(or right) of each bolt hole. As long as both holes are the same size. Vs approximating the center or subtracting brackets.
Each welding point creates a weakness in manufacturing. You could separate the axle sleeve from the differential box. Because the end of the axle sleeve is threaded and connected in this way to the differential box. If you had removed the axle sleeve and shortened it on the lathe and connected it after opening a new thread, you would not be doomed to the weakness of the weld seam.
I'm no expert when it comes to cutting metals, but provided the ID of the tube was symmetrical, wouldn't a pipe cutter have been a more appropriate tool? Using a grinding wheel really opens the door to errors and/or continuous adjustments.
i cut 3 in out of each side my 9 in ford with a pipe cutter, I rented from home depot, took. about 3 minutes per cut. No grinding, no wheels to change, no mess, one mark for each cut, all cuts perfect and square. My buddies would not listen used a saw and ginder, had a real mess
If it ends up off kilter a bit when you're done, heat the longer side with a torch cherry red and then quench it with a wet towel. That shrinks that side up a bit...
I agree with you JW,I've been a mechanic/bodyman for almost 50 years and can't stand people who say OH GOOD ENOUGH ,To me it's not gOOd enough if it isn't the best work you can do,if not your just a hack that gives the gOOd mechanics a bad name.I say If your not gonna do it right,than don't do it.I have always put the extra time into my work.I clean and paint anything and everything I work on so anyone will know who did the job.I was called all kinds of crap on the job,BUT after a while all the mechanics to after me and my way of doing things.That was a feather in my cap.Always do your best.
The goal is not just to narrow the housing but to eliminate the c-clips and get larger bearings outboard on the axles. Spend the extra time and money to cut where the tubes taper and install big-bearing housing ends.
Last time I did this I used a Harbor Freight horizontal band saw. Once you square the saw up and get the housing jigged up it literally takes 30 minutes.
Thank-you for this series, car mags etc especially like keeping it ambiguous and mysterious when it comes to this and other mods to motor vehicles, Cheers bud :-)
Use a chain pipe cutter big one able to cut right through would be best but a light one can be used to grove the axle all the wat around which makes it easier to cut square with the disc.
I've done a lot of 9 in Ford rears both narrowing and installing floater spindles. You nailed it with your methods of measurement and locating where you need to cut/weld. Really the only place where our methods differ is instead of cutting the tubs with a whizz wheel is I use a pipe cutter and instead of a tape measure I use a 3 ft. vernier caliper. Since most of your listeners will probably only do this one or two times in their lives , renting these tools is more practical than buying .The pipe cutter doesn't start cutting until you are happy with your location , makes a square cut , makes no dust or a lot of chips and when the cut is finished the weld bevel is already there.
That C-channel jig is brilliant!
simple but smart wasn't it
Putting a lot of confidence in the trueness of that c-channel. Still, that’s a good rig. I like your welds...
@@Mr572u Hey, as long as the tape measure backs it up lol
Damned good set of videos, you cover the process really well. I was curious as to how you were going to align the two cut tubes and, as said by others, a brilliant idea. I appreciate the fact that you know that we all don't have the funds to buy the latest and greatest tools for doing the job and it's this fact that makes your videos both valuable and entertaining. Thanks Justin.
You may be on to something. A large pipe cutter would cut it no problem. Some pipe is 3/8" wall or more on extra heavy but more people have access to an angle grinder.
I read a lot of the remarks below. I too have spent 52 working on car, trucks, and all type of machine. Yes I could point out things that I though could be do differently, but, it's my opinion you did a very good job of explaining the how's and why's! Your welding was good. The tensile strength of 309 SS rod is more than enough for this application. Nice job, take care.
Randall Summers yep the key word you said is “more than enough”? I’ve done a lot of welding repairs on truck frames, more then enough is not better
Awesome video! I'm putting an 8.8 from an Explorer (4:10 limited slip with disc brakes) under my 1936 Chevy pickup and narrowing it as in this video will give me the perfect track width. I consider myself to be a fairly skilled fabricator but one of my mentors told me many years ago "when you stop learning you start forgetting" so I really enjoy watching videos like this. Thanks!
O.K. . . so I'm late to the party by a few years. . . This set of 2 videos has provided more know-how and hands-on techniques than a plethora of other videos I've watched over the last few days on narrowing a rear end. I'm going to attempt your instructions to narrow the housing of a 1972 A body 7 1/4 Rear End. Yes, the axles will need to be cut to length but I'll take them to a machine shop as I don't have precise machining capabilities to re-cut the splines. Excellent technique and narration. Congrats from the heart!
That was one of the best axle videos I've EVER seen. Well done. Will be watching more of your videos. Even liked your tig habits. So many people are NOT welders. Again well done. Very informative.
Watching this, I’m glad I’ve grown up in the metric system in Australia, Im at a age where they introduced it in my first year of school.
As I’m working on a lot of USA cars, my metric/imperial calculator gets a good workout. Nice job, I fitted one of these to my 67 mustang, but left it standard length.
mm rock.
That’s exactly the way I’ve always done it. One difference is I picked up a 6” pipe cutter. Perfect cut every time and I get a slight bevel for the weld. I also used old tube pieces for the clamps and a 6 foot threaded rod through the housing to keep it straight.
Awesome, I’ve had one of these sitting in my garage for a couple years now, you showed me exactly what I needed to do, and I don’t have to buy an alignment bar. Thanks!!
This is by far the easiest video to follow I've seen for this process. Poured a lot of hours into research and thought into the project, nice to find this before putting wheel to the tube. Thx!
Great vid! I don't know anything about anything, but I'd sleve the joint to add some strength. That way you're not completely depending on your weld strength, and it'll help you keep things lined up.
or two near half sleeve plates to make getting it on easier. I'm also not a good welder, so I'd just do it as insurance for the joint.
I thought the same thing maybe add a collar. But if it is tried and true and strong enough it's good. Adding a coller is also 3 points of weld and 3 break points though. Who Knows except for time tested
Hi Justin. Thanks for the good video. A few comments if I may. 45 years in industry has taught me that work related damage to your body may be subtle, but cumulative. We enjoy your video and want to see more for a long time to come. Take care of yourself Man. Use PPE: Skull cap, face shield, ear protection, dust mask, leather gloves....
Your method to shorten this axle is sound and completely adequate.As long as you V the joint surfaces deep enough, the filler rod puddle will penetrate to the inside diameter of the tubes. The er70 rod is actually stronger than the tube metal. Even if a locomotive crashed into the thing, the tube would bend before the welds broke.
The axle splines are designed to be a slip fit. They can actually tolerate a small amount of misalignment . Manufacturers work to specified tolerances, often times to tenths of an inch, rather than thousandths or ten thousandths. Chances are your modified tube is straighter than what the factory built.
As far as bearing life goes, the really critical work would be to disassemble the axle and completely clean the housing and 3rd member parts. Precision bearings do not tolerate ground up metal and sludge very well.
Good job with your "alingment" jig and as usual very good welding. One possible tip may be to use a chop saw on the tubes as you can align them perfectly.
Chop saws are misaligned a tad, nothing beats a straight edge
the 8.8 is okay for racing, but everyone I know uses the 9". Setting up a removable chunk is easier than removing the entire housing. I also agree with using the mittler tool is more accurate. But, you got your point across. GOOD JOB!!
No doubt 9" is great man, but Try getting a Ford 9 in with two right side axels for 100-250... Can't beat 8.8 for the money
Need an episode about finishing the rest of the rear end, axles, bearings and seals, gears, cover, and brakes please...
I have no intentions of narrowing a Ford rear end but I needed to watch this video. Thanks for the info.
Same. Lol
Actually, you should have a very slight gap in order to get 100% penetration of the weld. Tube and pipe welds should always have 100% penetration. If you are trying to fuse the root pass you may or may not get that penetration.
Problem with that is it gives it a chance to shrink. No gap can still shrink but you at least have the Edge of the tubes touching to help ensure your dims
I had so many "How are you going to make sure that " moments and you addressed each one! Nice, great content!
I like that you were very careful with the measurements, how worried you were about the axle tube not warping but then it looked like you leaned all your body weight on the outside shaft while tack welding the 3rd and 4th tack.
rbspider The 3rd stack was in front of my face. The 4th tack had my body hanging over it. You sure you watched the right video?
Honestly a 10/10 video on how to narrow all axles Great job.
There was a couple of points in this video he said some stuff that sounded wrong but I watch part 1 and 2 fully and I give it to the man. He is a true fabricator. Real fabricators are picky and may measure a dozens times to make sure somethings right before they "all-weld" it up. I appriciate that. And that time in the 1st video portion of this when he took time to clean his work space for continuing I definitely I repeat DEFINITELY relate to. I'm OCD as a person in general and I've always believed that the best fabricators are ocd. Because just close enough ain't good enought. If it ain't perfect why waste ur time.. love it love the work and the precision I commend u my brother
There's an easier way to find the center measurement of the sway bar. If you measure from the outside edge of one tab to the INSIDE edge of the other that will give you the center to center measurement.
I used this video to widen the Explorer 8.8. Same principles applied, but added a section of tube and used 2 long side axle shafts. Thanks for the inspiration.
Did u do this for a new edge mustang? I believe my stock rear end is also 20.25” on each side...
@@obran003 For a Jeep project.
Narrowed my rearend this morning using the exact directions. I forgot to make an alignment notch. I can tell you that if you forget there is a factory seam on the inside of the axle tube. I used it to reference making a notch after the fact. The rearend turned out perfect. Exactly 17 3/8" to the outside flange all the way around. I used a 99 Explorer rearend and it had identical specs to the one in the video.
Suggestion for the next 1? Or 100? Cut the tube like you did, but do a final prep on the diff side of the tube so you don't have to keep removing the c channel. You then only have to grind and fit the shorter outside part of the tube and you won't be fighting those clamps every damn time you remove a tiny bit of material. Love the vid! I learned a lot!
I can't believe some of the comments about uncentering the 8.8 obviously some people just can't PAY ATTENTION. Great informative 2 videos
I'll be honest - I never thought it would be that confusing. I would have shown in greater detail that it was never centered from the factory if I knew haha.
Hey man when I did mine I used a cheap tailpipe expander tool with a sheet of copper wrapped around it to completely center my axle tubes cost like 20 bucks total but it was completely true and gave full access and allowed me to weld fully all the way around unimpeded and I left it in for it’s cool down and worked like a dream
How many miles so far, master fabricator? And if you've already done this, done it differently and done it better, why are you here?
DEEREMEYER1 lol wow been 3 years and I was merely sharing a different method or point of view jackass
I will never do this, but I thoroughly enjoyed watching you work, and listening to your quality tradesman words of wisdom - thanks for sharing!! Cheers.
Again before i forget, tge vudeos are always top notch, the workmanship as well. Thanks again.
Where you been all my life!?! Lol Cant wait to share your channel with my Pops. He's 76 now and doesn't get to do as much anymore. He will love this. We used to do a lot of this together when I was growing up, and I just know he will enjoy pointing out all your "mistakes"! Lmao!!! Great series guys! Thank you.
Hi All I’m from the UK and love your sense of humour I just know if we ever met we would get on and talk for hours about your welding skills, just wanted to say how much I appreciate you going over and over how crucial it is to get the measurements right first time so thanks for the tutorials peace from UK Scoobs.
Just one piece of advise from a fabricator with 40 years experience. Leave the convex bead on the weld-do not grind it off flat. That adds a LOT of strength to the weld; more than you think.
Ditto
I agree and to hell with looks,strength is everything on a rod
I had an 8.8 posi ready to go in my 1960 C10, even redrilled for the 5x5 then I noticed that the drive shaft hit the X bracing and the drive shaft tunnel. Wish I would have seen this before I sold the axle! Oh, well, got a refresher on how to set up a 10 bolt ring/pinion and carrier. Great job!!!! Saving this for later for sure!!
Thank you for this great video. I was going to pay like $1200 for someone to do this for me but after watching you, I feel I can do this with the help of a buddy who is a skilled welder.
Ive taken the cut off and slid it inside after I "C" cut it , It aligns perfect ,strengthens the seam and gives you a backer to weld against.
How do you get the cut off out after its welded?
People are doing a ton of 8.8 hybrid rearends for 4th gen Camaro and Firebird. They combine the axle tubes from the 4th gen diff with the Explorer 8.8 and weld on the Hiltsy Torque Arm mount. You should do one of those builds. It's also very common to narrow that setup 2-3" per side.
You are a great teacher, talking to us not down to or at us. Thanks again!
Great video. You need a porta band tho. Best 300 bucks you’ll spend. Cut off wheels get old. ...take it from a pipe fitter welder of 15 years. Also, grab a 10 dollar pipe wrap and some soap stone. Then you won’t need to mess with tape and markers.
This would be a great High School shop project. If you can do this as well this guy, then you have learned valuable skills. If your dad or someone gives you a rear axle assembly, and want to build your first hot rod, or truck project, it's great. If you need to purchase a rear from a junkyard, don't. I'd buy a housing from Moser, Strange, or Currie, to your specs. Great video. Thanks for posting.
I agree a big pipe cutter works great and straight .
As was some previous comments and suggestions, I preheated the housing prior to welding. Also as a guide to indicate deflection, I inserted the axle into the housing. By sliding the axle in and out of the center section and seating it into the outer bearing, you can feel any binding caused by welding deflection. When narrowing mine, the axle on the shortened side actually slid more freely, than the factory side. Worked as good as a $600 alignment kit, for one or two rear ends.
Good work . Very well presented . Some very good advice for anybody doing fab work in general ,not just an 8.8 . Thanks for sharing.
When you are marking the tube i used a plumbers pipe cutter to give me a straight line like a lathe will give you.
Toledo Pipe H6S 4"-6" Heavy Duty Hinged Pipe Cutter US $129.99.
Small investment, perfect, clean cut to the mm every time.
And it can cut an axle that clean?
plus a nice 45 degree edge perfect... for welding
@@daltonisrael9588 it'll do the housing, you'd want to do the actual axles in a lathe anyway.
@@MrRotaryrockets 37.5 degrees is proper pipe bevel angle! 45 is too laid back!
@@bulldog45k correct
,,,,I'm impressed.....Your video is direct and clearly concise.....I do metal work, and respect your talented style. You would make a great shop instructor.....I'm still not a fine weldor,,,,,You are....I'll check all your videos......Thanks ......
my friend built oval track engines and countless street engines, he bought an old lathe to cut/shorten axle housings and drive shafts, Justin is a very good fabricator, I bet he could build a simple lathe just to cut axle housings
Good job!! I've tubbed somewhere around 100 cars and that's how I've been doing it for years accept I use two pieces of angle with pads welded on it for the clamps. This method works on any rear end with a round tube. Some ford 9" rearends the tubes are not perfectly round and I have a jig tool for doing them.
Fantastic job and great video. As good as your welding skills are (and they are very good) what impressed me most was how you kept the face of the cuts so square using the cutoff wheel. I have nowhere near the experience that you do but the few times I've tried to cut a cylindrical tube with a cutoff wheel and keep the faces square - lets just say some of the cuts haven't been pretty. I'd also recommend keeping the guard on or face protection using the thin wheels as they can come apart pretty easily if you screw up
You really did an excellent job making this vid, great editing, no BS just the facts. Great how-to ideas too. Appreciate the emphasis on quality and craftsmanship. Thanks, I learned something. JD in MO
,,,,yes,,,I feel the same......excellent presentation......
Love your series man! Just getting into TIG myself and actually working on a Ford 8.8 for my El Camino.
mathew shackelford : Hello Mathew. I love watching these videos but I don’t understand why people shorten these axels. What is the advantage of doing this? Thanks. Beobout6
@@Beobout6 It's because they are putting them in different vehicles than what it came from and the pinion isn't "centered on the axle. BY shortening them for their specific application, they are putting the pinion in the center. The original axle was 27" on side and 30 on the other. So, they shorten the long side, get two passenger side axles and boom, they have the same length axle on each side...pinion is where it needs to be.
nice man, i like the way you did that. i've narrowed & sleeved axles before and the way you did it works just fine. i will be doing the same on our F250/100 project. thanks!
If you want center to center on you sway bar brackets you can measure inside to outside and that's your C To C No math needed. Great video!
Your new camera operator deserves a raise.
I don't know he didnt catch the smoky and the bandit reference.
Really good video , keep up the longer ones I prefer those, I know they take longer to do and edit , just finished watching the Time Attack rollcage parts 1&2 , really good got some very helpful info, I have the same bender as yours and the info you give explains it some much better than anyone else. so a big thumbs up and keep them comin . Keith from the land down under where we pay way to much for any decent tools..
Keith J Thanks, Keith. We decided to make the jump back to the longer format for the most part. There's still going to be some quick episodes due to production scheduling and content, but it will be a good mix at least.
The whole series was fabulously done, math wizard, lol - you were great, keep them coming.
Great instructive video, Very good teacher. You laid it out nice and methodical. Constant measurements make it a pleasure !
Like the channel deal. Cheaper and easier than an “alignment tool” that probably comes with a bent ass bar. Be cool to check the run out
New Subscriber.....glad to see someone letting cutting wheel pull. Sign of fabricator with experience
I would recommend tacking top and bottom as well before quarter welding the axle. Just move your clamps 90 degrees and tack top and bottom. You really need 4 tacks to ensure proper fit.
I would recommend watching the video and not skipping the part where I did what you recommended.
I like to put a piece of tube about 4 to 5 inches long inside the housing as a reinforcement sleeve (machined and press fitted) placing the center of the sleeve right where the weld is going to be. Doing this actually helps align axle tubes.
Great video. I wish this video was out when I was contemplating doing this but I couldn't find anything this good. I may have to look into this again later down the road. You got a new subscriber!!
You do nice work. I don't agree with all your methods, but they seem to work well for you. Kudos.
A true craftsman makes the job look simple! Thanks for sharing Justin!
Very educational video, cheers! And I agree with you, red sway bar bushings are cooler than black sway bar bushings.
This is one of the best vid on how to do this thanks attempting to do my own now good skills
quick question: I went back over the video a couple time but didnt find the answer...I love the use of C channel for jigs but when you were setting up the swaybar perch did you first square up the face of the rear end casting to the table (so it was at the proper "clock" position on the axle)? It looked like it was but didn't see that step covered. Awesome video.
Last customer had me turn up sleeves to press into the tube to support join. Couple of rosette welds on either side of join too,guess he did not want it to break! The recutting the spines on the shafts takes longer to do. Have seen shafts that have been cut down and joined quite successfully but not a big fan of doing this.
Man, what a master class in fabrication. Great video!
Great video i enjoyed watching. I have been doing this type of auto fabrication and restoration for about 40 years. Only thing i would not do is grind down the welds.
But good job fun to watch.
I still prefer the 9 inch.
Hey man if you dont mind me saying, the gap you pointed out @ 2:50 is called a kerf. Planning on doing this to my rear axle, thanks for the help.
One thing I have found which seems to work a little cleaner on the cut is to use a hand operated pipe cutter, it leaves a much straighter cut and better welding surface. Also for welding the center section to the axle tubes I prefer to us 308 or 309 stainless wire with a mig instead of tig. When welding the axle tubes (butt weld) i like to use .035 mig hard wire. You do not need to use a tig to do tubing work, if you are a good welder you can do a great job with a mig. I have been a certified welder for over 40 years an have a lot of work still on the road.
You could buy two housing ends, cut the tubes to length and weld on the ends and not try to line the tube up again. Doing it that way reduces the amount of warping that WILL occur. Welding the end doesnt warp it, welding the tube will move that summbitch all over the place.
You can go one step further and run 9" ends on it and be able to get rid of the C clips.
Matt B You can only do that if you follow this same procedure in the vid. Each axle tube tapers down on each end which means you still have to shorten one axle tube to achieve an equal length assembly.
A chop saw with a big enough cutoff disk would slice them tubes nice and straight in one pass. Just use cutting lubrication to keep the stuff cool.
I acquired a $6800 hospital bill from using a 4"grinder with a 1/16" cutoff wheel with out a guard. It cut my leg 4"long and 1"deep. I have a new found respect for them. I'll use one with a 1/4" grinding wheel with out a guard but not thin cutoff wheels.
Darrell Blanchard. Outch that must of hurt. The injury & the medical bill. Would be a time im glad i live in the uk free health care. But in your case i would have sown myself up & saved 7k. 😀
i know what you're saying i have an 8'' long scar across my chest as a reminder...worst pain i have ever felt
Safety first
No Obamacare?
Mine was $258 and on my index finger. I got lucky and didn't go to the bone as I did have leather gloves on. It was with the only grinder that I didn't have a guard on and I knew I was doing a sketchy cut. Listen to your gut.
I can say you did a great job. I like the 9 inch Ford rear end for circle track racing so much easier to change gear ratio and dependable as heck. But great job
I know someone who is putting 1,500 hp on a 8.8 Ford Rear End in Drag racing so your not gonna break a 8.8 on a 500 hp Circle Track Car.
The axles won't stand it on an 8.8 Plus change the center section is so much easier with the 9 in the
This is a excellent vid, lots of info on technique that we can all use. Shows what a guy can do with minimal jigging.....thanks a lot....
For finding center.. measure from the left side(or right) of each bolt hole. As long as both holes are the same size.
Vs approximating the center or subtracting brackets.
Each welding point creates a weakness in manufacturing. You could separate the axle sleeve from the differential box. Because the end of the axle sleeve is threaded and connected in this way to the differential box. If you had removed the axle sleeve and shortened it on the lathe and connected it after opening a new thread, you would not be doomed to the weakness of the weld seam.
I'm no expert when it comes to cutting metals, but provided the ID of the tube was symmetrical, wouldn't a pipe cutter have been a more appropriate tool? Using a grinding wheel really opens the door to errors and/or continuous adjustments.
That's a damn good idea, thanks.
I just mentioned this same this ….. sorry to double post
To thick
This is such an easy way of explaining, thank you so much
Hell yeah man, you forgot the air horn noises. I though I was the only one the sings Jerry reed.
Some great tips and tricks Thanks Justin
i cut 3 in out of each side my 9 in ford with a pipe cutter, I rented from home depot, took. about 3 minutes per cut. No grinding, no wheels to change, no mess, one mark for each cut, all cuts perfect and square. My buddies would not listen used a saw and ginder, had a real mess
I use angle iron for pipe but c channel is brilliant
If it ends up off kilter a bit when you're done, heat the longer side with a torch cherry red and then quench it with a wet towel. That shrinks that side up a bit...
The c channel is the greatest thing since sliced bread.
Great work
Great video and instruction my friend! Very clear and easy to follow.
Good to see you checking your measurements. I work with “Hacks” that have the it’s the “ITS” good enough on everything they touch. Makes me sick.
I agree with you JW,I've been a mechanic/bodyman for almost 50 years and can't stand people who say OH GOOD ENOUGH ,To me it's not gOOd enough if it isn't the best work you can do,if not your just a hack that gives the gOOd mechanics a bad name.I say If your not gonna do it right,than don't do it.I have always put the extra time into my work.I clean and paint anything and everything I work on so anyone will know who did the job.I was called all kinds of crap on the job,BUT after a while all the mechanics to after me and my way of doing things.That was a feather in my cap.Always do your best.
The goal is not just to narrow the housing but to eliminate the c-clips and get larger bearings outboard on the axles. Spend the extra time and money to cut where the tubes taper and install big-bearing housing ends.
Very nice Job on the rear
Last time I did this I used a Harbor Freight horizontal band saw. Once you square the saw up and get the housing jigged up it literally takes 30 minutes.
Who the hell gave this a thumbs down? Great video Sir
"Scrapping the whole project"? Sloppy: Hold my beer while I weld this gap and run 9's.
Great video Justin
Thank-you for this series, car mags etc especially like keeping it ambiguous and mysterious when it comes to this and other mods to motor vehicles, Cheers bud :-)
Use a chain pipe cutter big one able to cut right through would be best but a light one can be used to grove the axle all the wat around which makes it easier to cut square with the disc.
Awesome video...learned a boat load of tips and tricks for my axle!
Ain't fabrication fun? You make it look easy. Thanks man.