Aluminum welding

[Frank Downey]

I have a couple of semi-truck wheel hubs that are aluminum and the old bearing race if 12 thou. larger than the new ones.I need to weld them up and turn them back down to fit the new race.Do you think that I could use arc rods or use the wire welder?Tig is out of the question as I don't have hi freq. unit.

[J. R. Williams]

I would bore them out and locktite in a sleeve.

JRW

[Ozcad]

I would bore them out and locktite in a sleeve.

JRW
loctite may not be the best option as it softens with heating. I would bore hub out an make an slightly over size sleeve heat up the hub so you get a shrink fit and possibly run a weld bead on the edge of the join

[radkins]

One solution would be to use Loctite Sleave and bearing retainer, it takes longer to set up than Loctite thread locker but it will stand a lot more heat and is even used for air cooled engine cylinder sleeves.

[b1vogt]

I have a couple of semi-truck wheel hubs that are aluminum and the old bearing race if 12 thou. larger than the new ones.I need to weld them up and turn them back down to fit the new race.Do you think that I could use arc rods or use the wire welder?Tig is out of the question as I don't have hi freq. unit.

Check with a good bearing supply. They may have a bearing with the same spindle size and a slightly larger o.d. Then you can turn the hub to fit. I have done this and it makes a safe and sturdy repair.