It wouldn't be cast iron, too prone to crack and fail with the attendant liability issues involved, even in the late 50s they were aware of that kind of stuff
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Cast iron or cast steel?
- Thread starter tjb
- Start date
Okay, we have closure on this one. Thanks to all who responded and confirmed my suspicion that the axle is, indeed, cast steel. MIG welded it, pounded on it with a dead blow hammer, and everything was fine. Assembled the axle, took it for a test drive without the fuel tank on it, and it looks like we're good to go. Final assembly with the tank probably this weekend.
Again, thank you to all who shared your knowledge. If the project was anything other than a trailer - and a FUEL trailer at that - I probably would have just tried it and changed it if necessary. The thought of a trailer axle breaking with 80-100 gallons of off-road diesel in the tank is pretty scary.
Thanks again.
Terry
Again, thank you to all who shared your knowledge. If the project was anything other than a trailer - and a FUEL trailer at that - I probably would have just tried it and changed it if necessary. The thought of a trailer axle breaking with 80-100 gallons of off-road diesel in the tank is pretty scary.
Thanks again.
Terry
Yes, it's simply regular diesel with a dye in it and is generally used for farm equipment and other machinery that does not travel on surface roads. Off-road diesel is subject to significantly lower usage tax, so the price is usually 20-30 cents cheaper per gallon (at least in our area) than regular diesel. If it is used in a an over-the-road truck, it gives off a smoke that is a dead give-away that it's the wrong kind of fuel. The fines for using it that way are HUGE - I've been told in the $1,000+ range. I've personally never known anyone that tried to save a few bucks that way because a., it's not the right thing to do, and b., it's a high stakes gamble. Do you have such a system your country?
Regards,
Terry
FYI...
If you have a tig welder available, it is easy to test whether something is cast iron or steel. Clean a spot and strike an arc on it just enough to get a puddle. Shut down and let it cool, then hit it with a file. Cast steel will file easily, cast iron will become way too hard to file. The file will just slide across cast iron.
This won't work with mig or stick welders because when you strike the arc, you are adding filler, which will be soft enough for the file to cut.
-Bear
If you have a tig welder available, it is easy to test whether something is cast iron or steel. Clean a spot and strike an arc on it just enough to get a puddle. Shut down and let it cool, then hit it with a file. Cast steel will file easily, cast iron will become way too hard to file. The file will just slide across cast iron.
This won't work with mig or stick welders because when you strike the arc, you are adding filler, which will be soft enough for the file to cut.
-Bear
It is the same here, it's colored red, it doesn't gives off smoke, that said there is no emissions requirements at all and almost all cars have there catalytic converters removed and the older vehicles do smoke. It's not uncommon for people to use that red diesel in their older mechanical diesel cars, price difference is around 20-25% cheaper and sometimes quality is better, as the underground tanks are less used and there is less water in them. About a year ago i filled my car at a private fill station with regular diesel and just as was going to set off my car started smoking white smoke and it died, i know my car extremely well i've traveled more than half a million kilometers in it, first thing the staff there started to act nervous and shout no repairs here, which made me suspicious, no one is approaching to help, so i drain the fuel filter and found only rusty water. I took the bottle to the cash register and they said no no that not from this pump, knowing water is heavier than diesel i know that they have filled my fuel tank with water, so i continued to drain the water in bottles i had in my car and i've seen a black jaguar park in the employee parking, it was the owner or the owners attorney, he come and talk to me, by that time i had 4-5 clear bottles filled and stoked with rusty water he ask couple of questions to see what kind if a men i i'm when i told him cut the bull he turned to business and ask how much to repair your car and don't tell anyone about it, but the way he said it insulted me, i filed a report with the police for bad fuel and for trying to bribe me, i don't think they faced anything, too much corruption. My car was fine and i still drive it.
Whoa! Try that around here, and it's likely the police would be called for another reason!
Regards,
Terry
Converted mine over to Firebird front-end, PS, PDB, AC. 4.3V6, 700R4. Fun ride.