pitman arm...

[justtorchit]

so for a lil project of mine i wana start getting all my steering into double sheer.
ive seen a thread on pirate where a guy took a stock arm and cut the section that goes onto the steering box out. then welded plate onto it to create his double shear pitman arm. I am also in need of a twisted arm like shown in above picture so my heims dont max out.

it will be some time before i go about this because i really dont know too much about welding as far as type of rodz and whatnot. so i see this as a nice little project to learn some good TIG skillz on. and it will also beef my steering up and prep it for hydro assist.

-To weld the cast section to plate steel what type of rod should i use??
Im under the impression pre-heating the metal is a must and am curious to how i should go about doing this...


any input would be great. thnx

[Danksters]

The basic problem with welding cast iron is that it is, as everyone knows, brittle. It will crack if subjected to tensile forces. As your weld contracts it will tend to crack the iron due to differential thermal contraction.

The first way to avoid the "differential" bit and to pre-heat the whole thing to as near the melting point of the filler rod used as practicable.

The second way is to use Nickel or Stainless Steel rod without preheat and slowly stitch weld everything.

a lot of good welding info about this subject in this thread if you read through it:

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showt...=753139&page=3

[justtorchit]

now here is a question... whats the difference between cast iron and cast steel??

and is the arms cast iron or steel?? haha

[Danksters]

now here is a question... whats the difference between cast iron and cast steel??

and is the arms cast iron or steel?? haha

Cast steel has less carbon in it than cast iron, and and the carbon is distributed differently on the molecular level. The arrangement of the atoms in the crystal form of steel is such that the atoms are closer to one another, making their attractive forces act with more force, in turn making the material more resistant to fracture.

Casting steel is much more challenging than casting iron as the steel is very viscous when in the molten state. It doesn't like to flow into the mold very well. When steel is cast, it is usually done using investment casting. I have seen this process done for P&W compressor and turbine blades, but those are Inconel high nickel alloy which is very expensive. So it's probably cast iron.

[Even]

ive seen a thread on pirate where a guy took a stock arm and cut the section that goes onto the steering box out. then welded plate onto it to create his double shear pitman arm.

If you are talking about Action Fab's build, he just pre heated and used a regular MIG, then let it cool down slowly. He looks like he knows his shit and said using a MIG works just as well as nickel rod if you pre heat correctly.

[Zullock Holmes]

i wanted to test welding to cast and i believe that we got some really good results.

i preheated the steel to above 600 degrees, used Ni 55 nickel rod because Ni 99 is about 70 bucks for 18 rods, and controlled the cooling of the weld over the next two hours, only letting it go down about 30-40 degrees every ten minutes. btw good laser thermomators work wonders for doing this. and the weld was as strong as any i've ever seen, we beat it to shit, put it in the press, grinded it, put it back in the press. it held outstanding well. just take your time and do it right. also cast is porous so preheating it helps to get alot of the oils that settle in out and this reduces the amount of impurities it can cause in the weld.

[Ktmracer419]

im pretty sure i have seen these made outta plate steel.

ill have to do some searching, but someone does sell such a product

[justtorchit]

I know that a company actually makes these.. but they sell for 180 bucks...

me being cheap, i wana try to make one... im thinking ill take a peice of DOM and round the steering box end of a pitamn arm to slide into the DOM then weld it up.. then i can easilly weld plate steel onto it DOM and hopefully it works... the way i see it is.. if it does fail atleast i tried and i can go back to my waggy arm.

[Danksters]

I know that a company actually makes these.. but they sell for 180 bucks...

me being cheap, i wana try to make one... im thinking ill take a peice of DOM and round the steering box end of a pitamn arm to slide into the DOM then weld it up.. then i can easilly weld plate steel onto it DOM and hopefully it works... the way i see it is.. if it does fail atleast i tried and i can go back to my waggy arm.

You won't know unless you try it. Post up some pics when you do and let us know which method you end up using.

[customcreationsllc]

I don't believe pitman arms are cast iron they should be forged steel. you should have no problem welding to it with regular mild steel rods.

[ninetysix-ex-jay]

After you weld it can't you just aneal it? (heat the whole part up uniformely then let it cool naturally)