jacwjames Posted June 18, 2023 Share Posted June 18, 2023 Getting ready to take a trip next week and a lube job was on my to do list. Drove the rig up the six ramps that I build and stared in the back working my way forward. Did the driveshaft and the rear axle grease points. All Good. As part of the lube job I drag a drop light underneath and do a good visual inspection of everything. I pay particular attentions to the axle supports because over the years I've seen a number of posts of cracks/failures. Looked at the welds from the back looking forward. Crawled to the other side and found signs of a crack, passenger side, metal support on the inside. Faint line of rust going across the top just above and in the weld. To get at it good I had to remove the angle iron used for the ride height valve and moved the link arm out of the way. Used a small grinder to clean up the crack, grooving out to good metal and then used a wire brush on the grinder. Once I got that done I could see the crack went all the way across the top of the axle but not all way through the support. My neighbor is going to bring is welder over on Tuesday and weld it up for me. Confident he can do it, he's into cars and modifies/builds his own chassis. Maybe I will be able to leave Wednesday as per my original plan. So just a word to the wise, take time to look at the critical welds, particularly the axle supports. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmw188 Posted June 18, 2023 Share Posted June 18, 2023 Good catch Jim. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr4Film Posted June 18, 2023 Share Posted June 18, 2023 Barry at Josam in Orlando discovered cracks in the axle supports of my Windsor back in July 2017. Made a return appointment to have the new drag link installed which he had found to have loose joints. They did the welding at that time. No more cracks were ever discovered. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacwjames Posted June 18, 2023 Author Share Posted June 18, 2023 (edited) 48 minutes ago, Dr4Film said: Barry at Josam in Orlando discovered cracks in the axle supports of my Windsor back in July 2017. Made a return appointment to have the new drag link installed which he had found to have loose joints. They did the welding at that time. No more cracks were ever discovered. Yours were much worse then mine. I guess all those trips to Alaska took it's toll. 🤬 Did Josam's add any plating or did they just groove it out and weld it up? Glad I took a second look at it from the other side, I didn't see it looking from the back. Edited June 18, 2023 by jacwjames 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill C Posted June 18, 2023 Share Posted June 18, 2023 What rig do you have Jacwjames, I didn't see it anywhere? Just asking to better understand about when the quality of Monaco might have gotten worse? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jdw12345 Posted June 19, 2023 Share Posted June 19, 2023 I had a cracked drive axle housing on my first truck back in about 88 or 89 (87 Peterbilt), and as a former welder at Butler Tank I was curious when it was welded what rod was used, I do remember that the axle man at the Peterbilt dealership used a 7018 rod, technology might have changed a bit but that’s what we used back then, fyi. I’m somewhat surprised that there’s no gear lube seeping out! That’s how I noticed it back then. Good luck! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacwjames Posted June 19, 2023 Author Share Posted June 19, 2023 It's on a 2002 Windsor which is the same chassis as a Dynasty. The crack is across the support, not in the axle housing itself. I'm going to do a little more grinding on it tomorrow. I have the rig backed up on ramps, blocks under the jacks and the air dumped. I did most of the work today from below but I found in the end there was enough room to lay across the top of the axle. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmw188 Posted June 19, 2023 Share Posted June 19, 2023 Jim or Richard did either one of you tow a large trailer often? How many miles was on your rigs when you discovered the cracks? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacwjames Posted June 19, 2023 Author Share Posted June 19, 2023 I've only towed my Jeep. I know Richard towed a large enclosed trailer all across the Lower 48 and up to Alaska quite a few times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmw188 Posted June 19, 2023 Share Posted June 19, 2023 5 minutes ago, jacwjames said: I've only towed my Jeep. I know Richard towed a large enclosed trailer all across the Lower 48 and up to Alaska quite a few times. I thought he had but I didn’t know about you. His was much worst for sure. I’m waiting to hear his mileage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr4Film Posted June 19, 2023 Share Posted June 19, 2023 @jacwjames & @tmw188 Josam's did not add any plates, just laid down the welds. I hauled a 30 foot 12K trailer for about 8 years. The coach had over 100K by 2017 when the cracks were discovered. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96 EVO Posted June 19, 2023 Share Posted June 19, 2023 14 hours ago, jacwjames said: I did most of the work today from below but I found in the end there was enough room to lay across the top of the axle. Sounds comfortable 🙁! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacwjames Posted June 20, 2023 Author Share Posted June 20, 2023 So the neighbor brought his welder over this afternoon to weld the crack. Had to change out my 50 amp 4 prong outlet to a 3 prong, luckily he had one and just swapped it out and plugged in the welder. He's a little bigger then me and strained to get into a position to weld. He did 3 passes, considering where it was I think it turned out pretty good. I'll keep an eye on it but doubt I'll any more problems (fingers crossed, knock on wood)!! I did spray it with some undercoating after it cooled down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmw188 Posted June 20, 2023 Share Posted June 20, 2023 Glad you got welded up sure looks like it should be good. Will you be able see if it cracks in time with the undercoating on it? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dl_racing427 Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 16 hours ago, tmw188 said: Glad you got welded up sure looks like it should be good. Will you be able see if it cracks in time with the undercoating on it? Looks like a good weld repair. I think I'd have just used paint. Undercoating could hide a future crack. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert92867 Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 Hard to tell from the photo of the finished weld... Is the throat thickness of the fillet equal to the base metal thickness? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacwjames Posted June 22, 2023 Author Share Posted June 22, 2023 I did the prep work prior to welding. I used a small grinder with disc. I did not want to grind down into the axle casting too much so I made a horizontal cut above the axle, I got pretty deep on this, almost through to the other side, and then a ~30-40 degree and cut to for a "V" above it. On his first pass of weld he actually blew through a couple times. Then two other passes on top of this to finish off the weld. I was familiar with how welds like this are prepped. I was Maintenance Manager in a previous life for a mining complex with 4 mines, 2 processing plants. All large HD equipment that the operators would find ways to contort and damage. The complex at one time, when I first hired on in 1981, was pretty self sufficient with a good size machine shop where we could replicate almost anything. I've seen some pretty impressive work over the years, and also some pretty sloppy stuff. When my neighbor came to weld he complimented me on the prep work. BUT time will tell if the weld holds. One issue with the design is that the outer support closest to the outer hub had good welds on both sides. The inner support was then welded in place with only a weld near the ring and pinion. So I would suggest that anyone with this type of chassis does a good visual inspection on the axle supports. Richard posted some pictures of worse cracks, I paid attention to these and other posts showing the same type of problem. I caught mine early, I bet others, if they look, may see the same thing. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacwjames Posted June 24, 2023 Author Share Posted June 24, 2023 So not sure what will happen long term but drove the rig ~1000 miles over some pretty rough roads E TN to N WI and the weld seems to have held. I crawled under the rig this AM to check for my own well being and it looked good. I did loose one of my half moon front hub caps though, probably in Indianapolis, lots of construction with lots transition bumps on and off good/bad pavement, narrow lanes. Real butt clencher type driving. Lots of crazies on the road, seems like the only people who had common sense were the truckers. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacwjames Posted July 22, 2023 Author Share Posted July 22, 2023 Got back from my trip, another ~1000 miles over some really (I mean really) rough rodes. Hit some really bad transition in construction zone, especially in Indianapolis. Hit one that jarred the coach and part of the microwave trim fell off and broke. So I crawled under the coach and looked at the weld again. All OK so after ~2000 miles I believe the weld will hold. I'll still inspect during my maintenance. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddie4ne Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 Jim, Definitely on our “todo” list to check. Thanks for the heads up. sharon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgia Mike Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 I was just at Josams this Thursday and Friday. I had an air leak fixed and the all the wheel bearings and chassis lubed. I always tell Barry to have his mechanics inspect the chassis for frame cracks and so far hasn’t found any. He ended up replacing the front wheel bearings. I have a ring camera mounted on the outside by the door and saw quite a few other Monacos there getting worked on. I told Barry about this site and that he was well known and a lot of good things were said about the shop. Lost of free advertising 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96 EVO Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 2 hours ago, Georgia Mike said: I was just at Josams this Thursday and Friday. I had an air leak fixed and the all the wheel bearings and chassis lubed. I always tell Barry to have his mechanics inspect the chassis for frame cracks and so far hasn’t found any. He ended up replacing the front wheel bearings. What's your mileage Mike? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacwjames Posted February 25 Author Share Posted February 25 2 hours ago, Georgia Mike said: He ended up replacing the front wheel bearings. What type of wheel bearings, grease or oil bath? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jim Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 Just a curious question... I had a sticker on the battery door of my previous coach that indicated that lots of precaution needed to be taken before welding on the frame in order to prevent damage to the transmission electronics. Is that something that still applies? It seems like the current would mostly flow from the ground to the weld site??? I suppose some current could go elsewhere, but seems pretty unlikely. Again, not planning on doing any welding, but just curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacwjames Posted February 25 Author Share Posted February 25 Yes, I did take the time to disconnect both battery cables. It also suggests disconnecting the transmission computer, mine is located in the front drivers side electrical bay, I didn't do that but probably should have considering a new one is $3500. The welding ground was connected to the support. I didn't have any problems but my coach doesn't have nearly the number of computer components that later models have. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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