Knuckle reinforcement

POTTSY 79 · Mar 16, 2017

OK, I've got a question about reinforcement of my knuckles on my king pin Chevy dana 60... I like the idea of it.... But my question is do you have to pre heat it like you do when welding a differential... Or is it worth the time and effort.... Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated... Thanks again

tonybolton · Mar 16, 2017

Back when I looked into it, I remember seeing that they needed some pre-heat. Now, if I could weld manly stuff, I woulda done the reinforcement route. In the end, I didn't fee like ****ing with **** that holds my rig up and keeps it rolling so I did a "one and done" with the Solid knuckle / double sheer steering arm / 6 bolt / bronze bushing setup.

I always thought the 4 bolt thing was sketchy on stock knuckles. With that said, I've seen some monsters on the trail that are using OE knuckles with a mismatch of bolts/studs (sometimes just 3) shot in there taking a beating and keep going.

My luck...thats just not option, even for my bypass trail taking ass.

It's a chunk of money, but you hafta ask yourself how much is your peace of mind worth? Peace of mind is an area I don't mind tossin' Pholman cash at. I like to chill when I'm clearing out the bypass's.

BrokeCJ · Mar 17, 2017

Save yourself some trouble and buy some Solid or Reid knuckles

sleepsontoilet · Mar 17, 2017

http://diy4x.com/product.php?productid=17681

For $42 I went ahead and did them. They've held with 39" Reds full of water for a couple years, although the steering arms is tied into the knuckle. I baked the knuckles at 400* and welded them with a mig. Then I buried them in a bucket full of sand for the evening. If you're gonna stay stock knuckles, it's only $42.

stano · Mar 17, 2017

I've done 2 sets. First set already had hair line cracks, but I was in a hurry and did it any way. Ran them for 1 year like that and kinda forgot about them. Finally remembered and played another set and keep those for spares. I preheated to 350 on my BBQ grill. Welded up and let cool in a bucket of oil dry. If you have the coin, buy Reid's. If you'd rather buy something else, and you are trail riding, save your $ and do this.

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tonybolton · Mar 17, 2017

Re:

Damn....nice knuckle work!

baldduck74 · Mar 17, 2017

I didn't preheat mine, just started welding an didn't stop till welding was done.
Went from 4 bolt to 6 yet to be tested though.

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Red97 · Mar 17, 2017

For best results,Get a charcoal grill, use hardwood lump charcoal.

Weld the knuckle once it gets 300-400* if it gets below 250* warm it back up.

Once finished welding toss it back in the coals overnight.

Plain mig will work fine.

Tossing it back on the coals will help relieve some of the stress induced from the welding.

Ideally the knuckle should be brought up to 1000-1100* then slow cool for a full stress relief.

Rjhoward32006 · Mar 17, 2017

I'm a shitty fabricator/welder and I made it work lol. I also did the diy4x kit, stock chevy knuckles and built a hi-steer tie in kit after I bent one of the arms.... arp studs in the knuckle. 39" reds on a light Toyota buggy but I beat the piss out of it, enough that it bent a 1" thick steering arm. Pre-heating works better, but I just turned the welder up Lincoln 180hd and went to town. after it cooled overnight sitting on the work bench I noticed a crack in one of the welds so I ground it out, pre heated and welded it back in. no problems so far. I will say if you are running stock brakes make sure the plate on the back side of the knuckle is close as you can get it and make sure your welds don't stick out far or the caliper will hit. if it does hit it just took a min and a grinder to make it fit.

POTTSY 79 · Mar 17, 2017

Holy ****,thanks guys ......I appreciate all the input......looking forward to getting off work so I can go play in the shop.....

blacksheep10 · Mar 17, 2017

PLate that ****. We quite breaking after plating. I made a plate kit that girdled the top to the bottom so they can't spread and break off. I like quite a few of the ideas that are in here. Mainly the ones that put a vert plate off the factory steering webbing up to a flat plate to bolt the steering arm to behind the steer point. keep that lift/spread at bay

onepieceatatime · Mar 17, 2017

Re:

Has anybody broke a plated knuckle? Just curious just how tough they are. Mine is plated and I'm always worried about it because they're not bling knuckles.

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tonybolton · Mar 17, 2017

Re:

I've seen one cracked on the inside before but not sure if it was done before plating.

TBItoy · Mar 17, 2017

tonybolton said:
I've seen one cracked on the inside before but not sure if it was done before plating.

Don't listen to tony he got dat solid bling

I think you could weld enough metal to them to make the C the weak link. Especially if it's an old ford 60

Whatever you do make sure to paint it kubota orange or safety green so people know you got knuckle beef

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tonybolton · Mar 17, 2017

Re:

Lol....it was on a big beefy buggy I saw at windrock. Lotsa motor....cut to the cord boggers...carb...propane...

Looked it'd seen some rough **** but it was gettin it done.

TBItoy · Mar 17, 2017

tonybolton said:
Lol....it was on a big beefy buggy I saw at windrock. Lotsa motor....cut to the cord boggers...carb...propane...

Looked it'd seen some rough **** but it was gettin it done.

I'll second ya on one thing. I've seen big block buggys with cut turfs running 3 mismatched bolts in standard hi steer arms hold up to brutal beat downs, and also seen buggys with bling knuckles blow the arm off and destroy a wheel.

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1tonrenegade · Mar 17, 2017

Save yer 600 dollars an plate them has worked on mine for a few years. :****:

stano · Mar 17, 2017

This is how the crack looked before and after I plated mine. The Rydel fab kit I used comes with little moon shaped gussets for the inner c's as well.

I don't race or shoot hills, but wheel the big rocks and get in some hard spots where the steering is moving the rig around and I didn't have any problems. I even took it to KOH last year and got some speed out of it.......

And the orange paint adds 1.000037% strength........

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tonybolton · Mar 17, 2017

Careful with that paint...

mckeddie · Mar 17, 2017

When we played my old jeeps, we preheated, welded w nickel rod, and cooled w a welding blanket. I was missing a chunk out of the rear of the knuckle where it broke. Held up to 2 years of abuse on 39 reds, the 42" boggers for a year in Tennessee, and the newest owner is running 46" claws on it in Texas. Last I knew, it was still holding up good.