Jetboy
New member
Bringing this back from the dead.
Does anyone have a good image of how the spindle bent? Meaning in what orientation did it fail?
I've been planning to gusset my spindles after going up a size to 34" tires. But I would like to better understand the mode of failure of the OEM spindle first. I think a bolt-on gusset could be built that would save me the effort of removing the spindles to weld on them. Also I would rather keep low profile and/or reversible so I can still run OEM wheels without spacers if I want.
I also don't love the idea of welding on them and creating heat affected zone that would possibly be prone to failure. I think that's where the cracking is occurring. I don't have a proper forge/oven to pre-heat them and anneal them in a controlled way. The best I can do myself is to warm, weld, then heat with a torch and redneck anneal by cooling in sand. It might work well enough. It's better than nothing. But it's not ideal. It may not even be necessary. I just have no idea what type of steel they are. I can't say for certain that they're forged or cast, but I'm pretty sure they're forged.
Since I have KDSS I believe I can use the sway bar hole as a primary attachment point for a small truss design that would also bolt on at each end and provide significant additional rigidity. The base area needs some thought on how best to attach it, but I think it's at least possible do.
I had also thought about possibly just using carbon fiber to gusset them. For me - that would be the easiest by far. If I can just wrap the upper portion with a few mm thick carbon/epoxy, that would be great. I already have all the stuff to do that leftover from another project. I'm just not sure if it's a viable solution here. The problem is that you don't know until it's too late. And Carbon tends to be extremely rigid until it fails catastrophically. Not really a great property in this use.
I may be overthinking a simple gusset. I just don't want to have any issues with them.
So... does anyone have a good idea of what orientation or direction they tend to bend in?
This is about the only thing I've found. Is it representative of everyone's bent spindle?
Does anyone have a good image of how the spindle bent? Meaning in what orientation did it fail?
I've been planning to gusset my spindles after going up a size to 34" tires. But I would like to better understand the mode of failure of the OEM spindle first. I think a bolt-on gusset could be built that would save me the effort of removing the spindles to weld on them. Also I would rather keep low profile and/or reversible so I can still run OEM wheels without spacers if I want.
I also don't love the idea of welding on them and creating heat affected zone that would possibly be prone to failure. I think that's where the cracking is occurring. I don't have a proper forge/oven to pre-heat them and anneal them in a controlled way. The best I can do myself is to warm, weld, then heat with a torch and redneck anneal by cooling in sand. It might work well enough. It's better than nothing. But it's not ideal. It may not even be necessary. I just have no idea what type of steel they are. I can't say for certain that they're forged or cast, but I'm pretty sure they're forged.
Since I have KDSS I believe I can use the sway bar hole as a primary attachment point for a small truss design that would also bolt on at each end and provide significant additional rigidity. The base area needs some thought on how best to attach it, but I think it's at least possible do.
I had also thought about possibly just using carbon fiber to gusset them. For me - that would be the easiest by far. If I can just wrap the upper portion with a few mm thick carbon/epoxy, that would be great. I already have all the stuff to do that leftover from another project. I'm just not sure if it's a viable solution here. The problem is that you don't know until it's too late. And Carbon tends to be extremely rigid until it fails catastrophically. Not really a great property in this use.
I may be overthinking a simple gusset. I just don't want to have any issues with them.
So... does anyone have a good idea of what orientation or direction they tend to bend in?
This is about the only thing I've found. Is it representative of everyone's bent spindle?
