47-55.1 welding axles to redrill new bolt pattern

[hogfarm]

I have the tools and technology to do the job, just wanted some input as to if it will be safe or is it a bad idea. There is not enough room to squeeze new bolt pattern in without welding old holes

[mr48chev]

Welds are usually harder than most drill bits that you would drill it with.

From what pattern to what pattern?

If you don't have someone who can do it lined up you might check with Richies machine shop in Harrah. It's either 89 or 106 miles depending on which road you take.
http://ritchiesmachineshop.com/ I need to talk to them about doing one of my nine inch rears.

Hellsgate hotrods in Idaho https://www.hellsgatehotrods.com/ Has the drill guides that Rotton Lenoard developed to drill your own but they don't have any that go from 6 to five. They aren't cheap but guys have had good luck using them. https://www.hellsgatehotrods.com/pro.../drill-guides/

Dutchamans moved to Boise but a pair of their axles all ready to go might not be any higher than having a set redone when all is said and done.

[dsraven]

what are the axles from and what pattern do you need to end up with? like Mr48 says, the weld will likely be hardened so a little tougher to drill and keep the bit centered in the spot it needs to be, especially if the new hole is on the edge of an old hole. if it is an old axle really look closely at the inside end of it where the C clip resides and also the hardened tip where it butts against the diff pin as these areas tend to wear and sometimes chip. also look at the wheel bearing area for signs of wear and pitting etc. in the end, if you need to get a different bolt pattern and your old axles are not that great, you could use the old axle as a test to see if you can make it work. whaddya got to lose, right?
I am not a pro welder or anything but have spent some time around commercial shops with welding repairs needed on hard to source parts at times so I have picked up a few pointers over the years. if it were me I would thoroughly clean the axle flange area, sand/buff the area around the weld spots and quickly drill the old holes so you start off with nice bright clean steel all around the weld zone. a slightly countersunk look to the hole may help you weld the deeper section easier with no porosity and you will likely need to weld from both sides to get a flat flange on both sides when done. a back up plate of copper would also possibly help in that area to keep the weld from "falling through" the hole. wrap the axle behind the flange with some sort of heat sink to keep heat and weld spatter from the main part of the axle shaft or possibly insert the axle into a tube of water deep enough to cover your areas of concern and disperse the heat. then heat the flange area prior to welding, weld the holes one at a time but keep heating the flange between welds to keep a uniform heat across the whole flange area, then decrease heat slowly when the welding is complete to keep the flange from warping or the welds from shrinking and cracking around the edges. once it has cooled off, clean up the welds so the flange is smooth and flat on the front and rear sides again, then lay out the pattern and try drilling some small pilot holes. try to get this done in a lathe or on a drill press so the holes will be at 90 deg to the axle flange. a cobalt drill may help if you find the welds are hard to drill. try to get some wheel studs that will match the other wheel studs you plan to use on the truck and something readily available that possibly comes in different lengths in case you need a longer or shorter stud down the road. don't forget to get the correct stud hole size required from the supplier so the stud will press in properly. press the stud into the hole instead of hammering if possible to eliminate the chance of bending the flange or accidentally bumping the wheel bearing surface with the hammer. I usually wrap the wheel bearing surface with some tape to help with that.
I drilled a chevy pattern on some ford 8.8 axles but they were 5 stud to start with so I simply drilled a different 5 stud pattern between the ford pattern. I used a ford brake rotor that came with the ford axle to start with. cut off the brake flange so all I had left was the actual mounting flange. this fits the ford axle centering flange tightly and also the wheel bolts pretty tightly. I laid out the chevy pattern between the ford pattern, actually I had a buddy do that quickly in his lathe so it is precisely centered and spaced correctly. he marked the spots for me and then I drilled those spots in a drill press with a 1/8" drill. the I sprayed the axle flange with some layout ink and bolted the pattern part onto the ford axle using the ford studs and nuts. it fit perfectly centered on the flange center bump and studs. then I could use a 1/8" drill to slip through those predrilled holes in the pattern and mark the new stud locations on the axle. since the brake rotor flange is fairly thick this worked pretty well but would suggest to anyone doing this to be careful about just dimpling/marking the flange with the drill, don't linger on the drill trying to make a hole or a deep mark on the flange. that is the reason for the layout ink on the flange prior to installing the pattern, so a quick drill mark will be seen in the ink. drilling too long through the pattern may cause the bit to enlarge or elongate the pattern pilot hole which can easily become untrue to it's intended center. then disassemble, center punch and drill the new holes, push out the ford studs and press in the new studs.

curious if you have got back on the task force truck after the paint fiasco.

[layinrocker65]

Really depends on the axle. 8.8s are really easy to do as stated before. If you have a 9" or a car 10/12 bolt, buying new axles is probably the best route since they are easy to find and reasonably priced compared to paying someone to redrill your setup.

[dsraven]

I'm assuming you are working with the old stock 6 stud axle. If it is something different you may be able to buy a blank axle with no studs drilled yet, or find a different application with the correct pattern already on the correct axle length.
Update on whatcha got?

[greg_h]

Personal experience is pretty much what is listed. I sent mine to Moser and they decided not to try it as welds would be too tough to drill through. Found an old machinist in TN willing to tackle the job and he started out great guns welding and machining. Then he has decided re-drilling is a difficult progress. We agreed it was a spare time project but it is almost 4 years now. I think in the long run, I will be forced to buy new axles...time will tell.

[hogfarm]

I'm working on a ford 9" so the bolt patteren needs to go from ford to chevy. after Mr48 reminded me about Dutchmans, I looked it up, they only want $60.00 to weld and redrill the axles. Rather than destroy the axles and maybe a friendship, I'm going to recommend my friend send them there.

[mr48chev]

That would probably be for the best. I miss having them in the Portland area. It isn't very expensive to take my gets good mileage ride to Portland to have something done. Quite often what I eat on the trip costs more than the gas round trip.