Can a cast metal front axel be welded to repair it?

[bknight]

I was trying to do spring maintenance and get it ready. I had had a little problem with turning and straightening up after a sharp turn. I had made an adjustment and thought it was doing better, and I was happy until some sound distracted me, and I ran it into a curb! I broke the axel on the left side on an long angle. Cub Cadet parts says there are none available!!1

Does anybody have experience with trying to weld it back together? Is it a fool's erand? Do I need to find a used part? Do I need to post a picture? I can if it might help. Thanks for your attention. Bill

 

[digger]

Nothing in your profile indicates that you have a MTD/CCC machine and you didn't say what machine you broke the axle on, so yes, a picture, model number or something would be prudent about now.
Unless you have a tig welder to weld it back with stainless wire, And yes, tigging with stainless is the big thing now days, BTDT. You would be better off finding a used one. Taking it to a welding shop would probably cost 3 times what you could buy a used one for.

 

[dcalkins]

as Charlie said ,not enough info ,and if its cast iron ,yes it can be done ,with a buzz box .using [ni rod] thats for cast iron ,there is other rod as well ,but if you take it to a weld shop .i would say over $100.00 .just look for a used one .

 

[bknight]

Oh Heck! Im' sorry I did completely forget some info! 1862 CC MTD 1992 year. Repowered about three years ago with new engine. In it's day was a very good tractor and did several acres a week for at least fifteen years. It has about a hundred hrs on the new engine. I have a 149 and a 100 Real CC that I still use a little bit on one and lot on the 149. What a machine that one is!

 

[jchamberlin]

William, my 149 came to me with a welded front axle, and I'm still using it. From what I understand welding cast iron is tricky; you're supposed to heat the cast iron until it is almost molten before you weld it. As others have said, it is probably not worth it. I made the seller provide me with a spare, which I still have on hand.

 

[bknight]

Had it welded yesterday, because I could not find a used one. A friend welded with a tig I believe. he said He did it on his own large tractor and it is working well. The repair looks good and he worked slowly and took a bit of time to heat it up. He said an old timer told him to ping it with a small hammer after welding each successive time and it helped to keep it from cracking. Then when he was done we let it sit until completely cold. I will let everyone know what happens. I have everything back together but am waiting on a ball joint to complete the repair. I guess the test will come in using ! Ha!

Getting the tractor into my garage was fun with no steering! I went to Norther tool and bought two 10 inch caster wheels and mounted them on a small piece of 3/4 plywood. The tractor has a homemade front bumper and I used the plywood and some inich bords to form a groove to trap the edge of the bumper after jacking up the tractor. An attached 2x4 about five feet long then served as a steering pole to guide and turn the front end with the wife easing the machine along I got it into the shop/ garage. Supporting the tractor using floor jack and the stands was a bit tricky while removing the axel and putting it back but it worked out ok. I had a tense moment when I realized on one side the tractor was not resting on the stand at all. I had to thank the Lord, He was looking out for me! I thought I was being very careful too!