Re: [ihc] Front Spindles Heat treated?

[Howard R Pletcher <n9ads@xxxxxxxx>]

My notes say "8 inch white spoke wheels with hardened front spindles
offered" in 1977.  Before this, the 7" chrome rims were the widest
offered and as I recall, the hardened spindles were theoretically
required for the wider wheels. 

I have no comment on the fact that many of us have run wider rims on the
earlier spindles.

Howard

On Sat, 13 Mar 2004 15:34:02 -0800 "Jim or Ginger Aos"
<jaos@domain.elided> writes:
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "James Lidberg" <jameslidberg@domain.elided>
> To: <ihc@domain.elided>
> Sent: Friday, March 12, 2004 8:55 PM
> Subject: [ihc] Front Spindles Heat treated?
> 
> 
> > Dana 44 front axle: are the spindles heat treated?
> 
> I THINK that they are. That is usually why you see a very fine grain
> structure in the broken sections, when they do break.  The higher 
> the carbon
> equivalency rating, ( higher alloy steel), the higher  the heat 
> required to
> weaken it.  Or soften the heat treatin effect.  What happens when 
> you do
> overheat a heat treated object is anneal or soften it.   This 
> reheating is
> called drawing the brittleness & hardness out to make tough and just 
> hard
> enough without being too brittle or too soft.  How much depends on 
> alloy
> content.  I had to take one pice of steel up to 1200 F in order to 
> soften it
> enough to work (machine ) it.  The color range( severity of 
> oxidation) of
> steel is approximated below.  This reheating is referred to as 
> tempering,
> ( temper means control).  Lose your temper = lose control.  A file 
> is made
> out of all the same steel but; the file cuts other steel and the 
> tang that
> will bend is of the same steel, and a similar file will cut the tang 
> of
> anothe file.  The difference is in the heat treating
> 
> Lt. straw             400 degrees F
> Dr.    straw         450 degrees F
> Lavendar            500 degrees F
> Dr. blue              600 degrees F
> Lt. blue               650 degrees F
> Dull red on a dark day 1,000 degrees F
> 
> These are approximate and are dependant on a failing memory, and 
> this is
> more than you asked for Jim A.
> 
> >
> > My bearings got so hot they cracked the hubs from the inside out 
> and
> turned the spindles blue, a rather dark blue, in
> > bands just where the inner bearing races contact them.
> >
> > Are the spindles toast? Do they need to be replaced?
> >
> > The bearing rollers themselves are OK, the inner and outer races 
> drew off
> the heat, tuned black in spots,  and put the
> > heat to the hubs and spindles - new one on me. I've always seen 
> the
> rollers disintegrate first before the heat built up
> > so high.
> >
> > I think it was the grease that did them in. Morey's Red.
> >
> > Here is a quote from their corp web site, it sounds like the best 
> grease
> there is, and that it is great for wheel
> > bearings, doesn't it?
> >
> > http://moreysoilonline.com/products.htm
> > "Morey's Super Real Premium Multi-Purpose EP Grease protects 
> equipment
> worldwide. The ultimate in multipurpose grease,
> > providing stability and performance for agriculture, industry, 
> marine,
> automotive & fleet applications. Suitable for
> > all types of bearings: ball or roller/sealed or open/truck & 
> automotive
> wheel bearings/boat trailer bearings."
> >
> > I read from another site that distributes Morey's, and I read that 
>  the
> bearing rollers are not supposed to go past
> > 5000 RPM, (I think they exceed that at 70MPH):
> >
> > " NOT RECOMMENDED FOR SMALL ANTI-FRICTION BEARINGS OPERATING OVER
> 5000RPM."
> > http://www.unitedbearing.com/MOREYSsuperred.html
> >
> > I used this stuff at the recommendation of a local drive shaft 
> repair
> place, guess now that I should have calculated
> > the roller RPM first, oh well, Live and learn, or better yet: 
> "Burn and
> Learn".
> >
> > I've got to say I am lucky to have caught it before it got worse, 
> the
> wheels showed no sign of being loose nor did I
> > feel any roughness while spinning the wheels and listening for 
> broken or
> rough bearings, that is becasue they were
> > still intact.
> >
> > The hubs cracked, inside, along the casting marks.
> >
> > The only reason I caught it was that I was hunting the source of 
> an
> intermittant "ooohh" sound, usually in 4LO, on
> > rough sections of trail. It sounded like a spring bushing or 
> spring teflon
> pad or a loose ubolt/spring plate or such. I
> > had taken all of those things totally apart and put them back 
> together in
> the last 2 months, and there was no change.
> > The last thing was the bearings.
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > - Jim in Mesa
> > **************
> > Jim In Mesa - James Lidberg
> > jameslidberg@domain.elided
> > '79 Scout II/4X4/345/Edelbrock 1400/727/D20/3.07 
> open/PS/PB/4"Trailmaster
> > Copyright 2004 All rights reserved