flipping axles

[looped]

no this isnt a repo man rant about how fustrating they can be,, this is about flipping the axles to ride above the springs...


here are some shots of the axle as it sits now..










would it be wise to just roll this axle upside down and put it on top of the spring? the only notes i have for clearance as it sits is there was one spot on the fender where the bolts hit it one time,, fender inside wall sits about 1/2 inch below the frame. previous to me it was loaded up with camping gear and hauled from texas to montana and back,, from the way the previous box was built i would say it carried alot of weight.

partial shot of box that was on it. 4' x 43"x2' fenders are sitting on top they are primed.



i heard that some axles are designed to take the weight one way and dont know if this is one of those. Also when browsing through user gallerys here i saw one called a stacker that looked to be flipped in a way i am thinking for this. dont remember whose album it was tho.

Thanks

[Wimperdink]

lay a straight edge along the top of the axle. I'm willing to bet its bowed up in the center. If not, you can roll it without issue. If it is, you'll need to just put it on top without rolling it.

[looped]

so i cant just mount it on top and upside down? appears there is a threaded nub sticking out of there to bolt the springs to it.. i will check to see if it crowns but i dont think it does. it is stored at my friends house



oh and here is a shot of the fender that got hit by the bolts looks like a pothole tag to me..




Edit just re read,, i sometimes breeze through a post too fast, failed to see the if/then statement.

[madjack]

looped. most axles have a slight bow upwards...this bow must stay in the up right position...do not rely just on your MKI eyeball...put a straight along it...if it has a bow, you can not flip it...but you may simply be able to put it above the springs with addition of new spring seats.......
madjack

[Arne]

be sure you have enough clearance between axle and frame. I did for 20K miles, till I got to a construction area and hit a huge pot hole. It bottomed out so hard, it broke the tongue off....

http://tnttt.com/album_ ... c_id=20786

[angib]

It would be good to see the springs and axle disassembled.

I'm a little concerned about that axle/spindle joint:



I can't see how the inboard end of the spindle is fixed to the axle tube, and I suspect it isn't. As the axle is now, an upward force on the wheel presses the inboard end of the spindle down onto the axle tube - if you rotate the whole axle and seat on top of the spring, the upward force on the wheel is trying to pivot the inboard end of the spindle down and there may be no weld there to resist it. My guess is that it would work fine for some time, but that visible weld will be overloaded and will eventually crack, maybe separating the spindle from the tube.

So if you can get the axle above the spring, and you can't find any inboard weld on the axle tube, I would be happier if you could keep the axle in the same orientation - which would overcome any camber problems too.

Andrew

[looped]

thanks for the replies.. i guess i will leave well enough alone and leave them unaltered.


William

[Alphacarina]

Some axles can't easily be placed above the springs without flipping the axle upside down . . . . and as others have mentioned, this can't be done on axles which have any built in camber

Good news is that your axle looks like it can easily be placed above the springs with it still right side up, because both the top and bottom of your axle tube are flat and square, so either the top or the bottom of your square tube will easily clamp to the springs, therefore, putting it above your springs will be easy-peasy - Just leave it right side up as it is now and clamp away!

Go for it

Don

[Nitetimes]

Good news is that your axle looks like it can easily be placed above the springs with it still right side up, because both the top and bottom of your axle tube are flat and square, so either the top or the bottom of your square tube will easily clamp to the springs, therefore, putting it above your springs will be easy-peasy - Just leave it right side up as it is now and clamp away!

Go for it

Don

There's a little more to it than that. You will need to drill a hole in the bottom of the axle opposite of where it is now and as accurate as you can so the axle stays straight and centered. You will also need to clamp the spring pack together and remove the center bolt and put it in from the other side. The top of that bolt is round for the hole in the axle to center on. Nothing difficult about it, just requires a little patience.