Author Topic: question for you all (Read 2204 times)

yota-tota · « **on:** Jan 03, 2007, 03:15:40 PM »

ok my flat pitman arm i ordered just came in so i go to bolt it up and it's too flat for where i moved my steering box

I would have to notch like 1x1.5" outta the frame rail to get the thing to clear so that's outta the question.

Now should i heat up the flat arm and bend it down a bit? Or should i take the flat arm back and heat up the arm that came with my hysteer kit so i can have more then 2.5" of up travel. The only thing i'm worried about is both arms are heat treated already so i don't wanna weaken the arm to the point of breakage.

CTENG in KS · « **Reply #1 on:** Jan 03, 2007, 03:33:03 PM »

None of the above...do it right and move the box. If that is a sky arm then it is billet aluminum, if you heat it and try to bend it you will crack it.

yota-tota · « **Reply #2 on:** Jan 03, 2007, 03:39:22 PM »

box is already moved and i'm not moving it again.

It's a trail-gear arm so it's heat treated tool steel i think, like i said i just don't want to have it break driving to work

CTENG in KS · « **Reply #3 on:** Jan 03, 2007, 04:45:35 PM »

Well, I don't know the carbon content of tool steel, but you could cut it in half and create your own drop pitman. Welder required.

Willy Mammoth · « **Reply #4 on:** Jan 03, 2007, 04:59:09 PM »

I think tool steel would break if you tried to bend it. Of coarse heat always helps, but I would rather have an arm bend without breaking. At least it would still have control of the wheels.

Bottom line is you shouldn't have any problems if you put the steering box in the correct place, so move the box where it belongs and don't risk it with bending the arm.

boggerunner · « **Reply #5 on:** Jan 03, 2007, 05:04:23 PM »

they sell an arm that is right between stock and flat, buy that one

79coyotefrg · « **Reply #6 on:** Jan 03, 2007, 05:26:38 PM »

Quote from: yota-tota on Jan 03, 2007, 03:39:22 PM

It's a trail-gear arm so it's heat treated tool steel i think, like i said i just don't want to have it break driving to work

have you called Chris Gieger and complained to him

FIREBALL · « **Reply #7 on:** Jan 03, 2007, 05:46:57 PM »

Quote from: 79coyotefrg on Jan 03, 2007, 05:26:38 PM

have you called Chris Gieger and complained to him

Good luck with that one.

I don't know anything about their arms, but i've heated and bent many stock pitman arms. The key is to let it cool very slowly. Covering it an a bucket of sand until cool works very well.

and trail gear.....

fullthrottle · « **Reply #8 on:** Jan 03, 2007, 06:25:08 PM »

if it is steel heat it up and bend it, and then take it to a machine shop and have it heat treated most shops should be able to do that for you

yotadork83 · « **Reply #9 on:** Jan 03, 2007, 06:33:53 PM »

you cant just heat treat it unless you know what material it is. if you call tail gear and find out what material it is it would be easy to do just heat it up bend it, harden it and anneal to what ever specifications it needs. also if you have a local welding shop with an iron worker or hydralic press you can slowly bend it with out heat.

yota-tota · « **Reply #10 on:** Jan 03, 2007, 06:54:43 PM »

I got a friend of mine that might be able to get the arm heat treated sometime next week.....but i'll have to check into bending it with a hydro press like yotadork83 mentioned seems pretty quick since i only have to bend it an 1" or so.

Oh and i'm 99% sure the arms are made from tool steel

yotadork83 · « **Reply #11 on:** Jan 03, 2007, 07:10:37 PM »

tool steel means nothing and i am almost positive that it is not. it is probley a heat treatable cromoly. if it was tool steel it would most likely crack or shater if it was. take a file and see if it will make a cut. p.s. i am a machinist and i heat treat stuff daily.

fullthrottle · « **Reply #12 on:** Jan 04, 2007, 05:56:34 AM »

yotadork is right its probly not tool steel becaus tool steel is vary hard but not strong.

and you will need the sas steel spec. number cromoly sould be in the 4xxx. (you will need to know all fore numbers.)
and on thire websit it sed that it was forgd, if you heat it up ot much you will lose the grain structure created by forging and it will be much weaker

yotadork83 · « **Reply #13 on:** Jan 04, 2007, 07:06:35 AM »

read the same thing on there site and they also forge there hysteer arms and bend them.

Rocktoy2 · « **Reply #14 on:** Jan 04, 2007, 08:24:40 AM »

Tool Steel = O1, D2, H13, QRO90, A2 and many many more alloys. The Trail Gear web site says the arm is forged. This will not be tool steel but an alloy made for forging. With out knowing the alloy type heat treating can be inconsistant. Cold bending it may break it. Heating it could make it brittle. Cooling it slowly in sand would be a good idea. Bend at your own risk. If it fails on the road you become a passenger.

Patrick

yota-tota · « **Reply #15 on:** Jan 04, 2007, 02:54:29 PM »

ok i'd your right about the arm not being tool steel i just thought i heard it somewhere. I emailed the guys there about the material specs and what not so i'll have a better idea on what i can do without killing the arm.

I do however have a extra TG arm that's got a bad TRE taper that i'll give to my friend to try and bend with the press. Atleast if it breaks in the shop i wont be out any cash.

What are stock arms made of? I seen a bunch of people heat and bend stock arms all over the place and they're still holding. In fact my friend did that to a Jeep arm and has been running it on there buggy with 38.5 claws for a few years now with no problem.

yota-tota · « **Reply #16 on:** Jan 05, 2007, 07:46:03 AM »

alright i found out the material is 8620 Steel and the arms are heat treated to a Rockwell Hardness C20-28.

Oregon Crawler · « **Reply #17 on:** Jan 05, 2007, 08:11:28 AM »

I know what you mean by not wanting to move being you put alot of work doing it in the first place, but steering wouldn't be something I would be messin around with, heatin up and beding or what ever. thats your life, and 60 down the high way with no steering=death

Rocktoy2 · « **Reply #18 on:** Jan 05, 2007, 08:29:28 AM »

knowing the material type and some of the process helps alot. The heat treat is probally used to bring the material back up to strength after annealing it for processing so the arm doesn't bend during normal use. Cold bending may still cause it to break and would add stress to the part. It would be more of a luck thing if it broke. If you heat it up first you will most likely anneal it so you could run the risk of it bending in use. The best way would be to anneal then bend then heat treat again.

A little data for this material is in the following link. There is a ton more if you google 8620 steel

http://www.metalsuppliersonline.com/propertypages/8620.asp

yotadork83 · « **Reply #19 on:** Jan 05, 2007, 08:30:48 AM »

if it is that soft i would not evan worry about bending it. i think all they are doing is stress releaving it to be safe. i can get a harder reading out of free maching stainless.

yotadork83 · « **Reply #20 on:** Jan 05, 2007, 08:46:44 AM »

all right just read our heat treaters guide at work and what i would do is slowly bend it and then retemper in your oven at home. if your oven can get to 500 degrees i would keep it in there for an hour or two and air cool less than 500 will work fine as long as you are not below 300

yota-tota · « **Reply #21 on:** Jan 05, 2007, 02:04:14 PM »

ok so when you say air cool just leave it out at room temp or just turn the oven off and let it slowly cool.

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