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| | Hold a ruler on the tube to see where it's bent. In this case, it's bent at the areas that were welded by the previous "builder". | | Hold a ruler on the tube to see where it's bent. In this case, it's bent at the areas that were welded by the previous "builder". |
| | [[Image:Finding_housing_bend.jpg|frame|none|A ruler is used to see where the tube is bent.]] | | [[Image:Finding_housing_bend.jpg|frame|none|A ruler is used to see where the tube is bent.]] |
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| − | ==Heating and bending==
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| − | Next, rig a chain at the point of bend and put a 12-ton bottle jack under the end of the axle. To prevent bending the center casing, attach the rear cover. You can try to bend the axle tube at this point, without heat. If you want to bend the tube in this way, push the tube approximately 5 times the amount you want it bent. In other words, if your alignment is off by .030" , you need to push the end of the tube about .150" or more to overcome springback. If your axle housing end is off by more than .100" from the alignment jig, you will probably need some heat.
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| − | [[Image:Bottle_jack_and_chain.jpg|frame|none|A bottle jack and chain are used for bending.]]
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| − | If you find that you need to heat the axle tube, jack up the housing into perfect alignment with the housing end insert and heat a band all the way around the tube until it's red-hot. Let the tube cool while it's still supported by the jack.
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| − | [[Image:Heating_the_axle_tube.jpg|frame|none|Heat a band all the way around the tube.]]
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| − | [[Image:Red_hot_band.jpg|frame|none|A red-hot band indicating proper and even heating of the tube.]]
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| − | In this case, when the tube cooled, the housing end was only a few thousandths of an inch off, and was easily bent into alignment cold, using only the bottle jack. This housing was initially out by almost 1/4" on one side, and 3/16" on the other. Now, the housing end slips on with minimal effort.
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| − | [[Image:Insert_fits_properly.jpg|frame|none|The housing end slips on with minimal effort.]]
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