Quote: Originally posted by ssayre

not between them OVER both of them and clamps for water tight

OK,.. now I understand!!!.... I think it may be overkill, but it is a good idea. ... now you got me thinking along those lines... HMMMMMMMM...

Quote: Originally posted by ssayre

I'm sure Spencer has the repair well in hand but it's still fun obsessing over every detail.

Not yet, I bought just about everything I need today. I just hope I can stay awake long enough to go out and futz with it later tonight.

I started cleaning off the rust last night. I bought a 3/4" dia wire brush to put on the end of a drill for the inside of the Axle lugs:

Before:


After:


And the cracked one too:


I thought I had a wire brush to go on my angle grinder to do the outside, but I didn't. So I ended up using a piece of sandpaper and then the drill brush as well.

Before: (not a great pic, but you can make out the rust)


And complete with newly drilled weep holes (Sorry Sean, it was super easy), the after:


Tonight I plan to finish getting the rust off of the rail ends and maybe welding the crack.

Looks great so far Spencer.

I think my problem initially was just a dull bit. Once I got a new bit and different type it went smooth.

That's some fine looking work Spencer. It's fun to see the great photos. It's like I'm drinking beer in your garage while YOU work!

Now that's funny Steve!

Here's the latest on the repair. I've finished it all up so here are the process pics. I welded up the lug, but since I am shamefully embarrassed at the poor quality of my welds since its been a while, you will only get to see it after its been ground clean.



Unfortunately there was a lot of burn through meaning a lot of ugliness on the interior of the tube.



So I went back to the big box to pick up a grinder for the drill to take care of the inside of the Lug tubing.



From there I cleaned up the ends of the rails and repainted them,



and then got busy with the grease inside the lugs.



And now everything is back to normal:



I had a super crappy wind session on Saturday (I mean super Lame-o). So when I got it off the car, I took the axle off to che things out. I found that the weld inside the Lug had rubbed some of the paint off. So being attentive to those "markers" I ground down those spots on the rails and to make them fit together better.