Welding Dana 60 axle tubes

What is your preferred method of welding the axle tubes? Some say stick arc with 7018 rod, others say tig with er-70 rod, some say just mig it er-70 wire. Most say to preheat the carrier some.

I tig mine

I stick welded mine back in 1975

Tig with ER70-S2. Clean it and then clean it some more. Use a torch to heat the joint and remove any remaining oil and contaminants. Heat the center section and keep it warm. Weld some, heat, weld some, heat. When it's done, use the heat to keep it warm and let it cool down gradually.

Did mine with a Mig. Do heat the section to burn out any oil between the housing and tubes. Been this way 5 years, 500 passes, 60ft as quick as 1.240
Doug

All good.
Shim it into the jig, and let it cool down there.
Weld in opposing spots as if torquing wheel lugs: 12 o'clock, then 6, then 11, then 5 (not in clock rotation).

Get it hot tanked first, then you need a welder that puts out a lot of heat. Any of the 70 series rods and filler will work, it just depends on what you are comfortable with. Tim

i have only narrowed a few rears, but when the housing and brackets are done, i use a 2" diameter ground bar with steel pucks. 2 of which are bolted to the gear center bearing location. these have a .0015 id clearance for the bar to pass through. then the other 2 at the axle bearing location. they have .001 id clearance for the bar, and .002 od clearance for the bearing bore. i chain the housing to a piece of 12" I beam that has a very thick web and flanges. i test the axle bearing pucks for a super easy "slide in" fit with the round bar installed. if they don't just "flick" in using just tiny finger motion, i heat the housing and use a bottle jack to apply pressure to move the tube in the desired direction. let the tube cool, then try the puck. repeat as necessary until i have the puck fit to my satisfaction. let cool over night, then try puck fitment again. if satisfactory, then assemble rear and install. never had any tire wear, or tracking issues, doing this way of insuring housing was straight.

Thanks for the help, Think I will preheat and tig. Any particular reason to use -2 instead of -6 rod?

Watch for the tubes pulling.
Mine moved quite a bit tig welding them.

Tig welded many narrowed Danas and 12 bolts with nickle arc rod. Knock the flux off it and welded continuous around tube. Did the same as everyone else: grind the cast and the tube, preheat to burn out contaminants, and had it jigged with alignment bar. Let completely cool before removing bar. You can check your final alignment with how easy the pucks slide in and out of the housing ends. Nickle rod is designed for dissimilar metals. Good luck

I stick weld mine with 7018 rod and alternate right to left tube
Gus

I haven't welded the ends on yet, so I can straighten things out after all the welding is done.

You don't need nickel rod to weld a steel tube to a cast steel housing. A cast iron housing, yes. But the Dana is supposed to be cast steel.

R.

-2 is typically used in TIG welding where the material is or should be very clean. -6 is usually used for MIG wire but is available in precut TIG wire also. -6 has a higher silicon content which helps pull impurities from the puddle when the material is slightly contaminated. Other than that they are pretty much the same. Some people like the -6 for TIGing. I use -2 since it is the most widely recommended for clean 4130 which is usually what I do. I don't do much "dirty" stuff.

I would check the tubes with an alignment tool before welding it up, just to verify the thing is not bent before you do anything. While you can put the ends on to match the differential centerline, if they are way off, it creates all kinds of other goofy problems with the wheelbase being moved, etc. Mostly on sheetmetal housings, but I would still look at it.

I did a dana 60 for my truck 20 years ago used 8011 for the root and then used 7014 with the final pass, worked perfect