Bye bye air bags hello hendrickson walking beams

[workshoprat92]

Well after breaking the second sq100 rear this season I decided to re axle the truck and at the same time get rid of the air bags in favor of hendrickson walking beams. This has been a pretty interesting project so far. Got truck stripped downdonor rear ends. Arvin meritor 20145s
donor hendrickson off of an international. Removing beam end bushings by torching of flanged ends of caps and driving through with jack hammer suspended from the forklift.

 

[workshoprat92]

Assembled Hendrickson after re bush, new spring packs and sandblast and paint.
Newly fabricated cross member and related parts

 

[workshoprat92]

Now for the fun stuff. I need to weld the beam end axle hangers on the new axles. After much searching i finally found the information i needed as to how far apart to put them. All Hendrickson RT suspensions in the 40k category usea 35.875" center to center axle bracket and beam center to center spacing. The frame width is determined by which spring hangers you have. So now knowing how to space them the next question is how to install them so the bores are inline. This is where i decided to make a jig which should pay off as i dont plan on this being my last swapout!
Using an alignment bar to set up the jig
Alignment bar removed and axle brackets installed. Now ready to try and fit the axle to it all and position for welding on the brackets
Thats where im at so far

 

[Nige]

Keep posting. At the standard you've set already this will finish up as the "How To" thread for getting an appropriate rear suspension under any truck that has a body pivoted at the rear end of the chassis and that goes up and down on a hydraulic pogo stick.........

 

[Truck Shop]

Good job, that's the best way to install the hangers. Just make sure the width is dead on-otherwise it will be a bitch trying to install the beams. I've done around twenty or so of those
through the years. Too bad you couldn't find a cut off with beams and housings for the 40-145's you have with 34" frame width.

 

[Truck Shop]

Nothing against the way your setting it up, but the way I do it is set both housings up-upside down on four
jack stands and square them plus triangulate them. Then use two pieces of flat bar and bolt them to the
brake spider flanges to keep the housings from rotating and square. Then install the hangers on the beams
and set them in place on the housings making sure the distance between the center trunions are correct.
then weld them up. Just my two cents.

 

[workshoprat92]

Good job, that's the best way to install the hangers. Just make sure the width is dead on-otherwise it will be a bitch trying to install the beams. I've done around twenty or so of those
through the years. Too bad you couldn't find a cut off with beams and housings for the 40-145's you have with 34" frame width.

According to my part numbers my hangers are for a 34" frame. The problem I have is a freightliner has a 33.5" frame. All the parts catalogs I look at there are no frame hangers for a 33.5" frame. They makeem for 34 and 34.5" frames. I even called hendrickson and no one there could give me an answer on what to do as they dont make hangers for 33.5" frame width. All the old school knowledge is gone and they have a guy that just regurgitates info of computer pages. Non of which is helpfull. Anyhow found a guy in MN that told me they put a 1/4" spacer plate between the hanger and the frame for a 33.5" frame width. He says he has even seen them come from oem factory installs that way also. I think I csn move my axle hangers but I really want to keep standard dimensions to save confusion and keep interchangabity in the future. Im planning on going with the spacer between frame and hanger to keep everything correct.

 

[workshoprat92]

Nothing against the way your setting it up, but the way I do it is set both housings up-upside down on four
jack stands and square them plus triangulate them. Then use two pieces of flat bar and bolt them to the
brake spider flanges to keep the housings from rotating and square. Then install the hangers on the beams
and set them in place on the housings making sure the distance between the center trunions are correct.
then weld them up. Just my two cents.

My thought on the jig was now I can just set the width and line bore alignment. All i have to do now is install brackets and set axle in and make sure its centered. I can install them perfectly aligned without all the motion of having to set out axles align square and level andd so on. Just plug and play and go. I dont know if its right or wrong. I was just trying to figure the fastest esiest way to do this for future projects. Usable housings with good heavy duty diffs already set up for hendrickson are getting so hard to find. There is such a surpluss of late model axles all set up for air bags or spring suspension that I figured it would be worth my time to build the tool.

I hear ya on the 40-145s this set of 20-145s I got the whole cut off on purple wave auctions for $480. It looks like they put all new brakes and drums on it before the truck was wrecked. Id like a heavier set but for the price its still gona beat the hell out of the old sq100s! And i wont have to beat the heck out of the axle shafts to get em out because of those damn tapered wedges lol!

 

[AllDodge]

Following

 

[workshoprat92]

Truck Shop whats your thoughts and experience on welding the brackets on to the axle tube? I am thinking on super good root pass with 1/8" or 3/32" 7018. Then do a finish filler pass with wire feed with er70s wire. Its hard to get a bead as thick as the factory weld was using stick. I like 7018 for anything you absolutly gotta count on. Im just not sold on doing the multiple passes it would take to do it with stick. I think 7018 root pass with final wire feed filler pass is a good compromise to doing multiple 7018 passes and risking crystallization from to much heat issues! Plus I dont like the shoulder affect multiple passes makes where the beads overlay on one another. Maybe im over thinking it?

 

[Truck Shop]

Below are some photos of one of nine trucks I lengthened frames on and installed walking beam in the winter of 2001. I reconfigured these for a Freightliner dealer in Hermiston Or.
All came off lease from Or. DOT. All had Freightliner air ride. I turned one out every five days by myself. I've lengthened 73 trucks over the years. Not profitable anymore.
Sorry to high jack the thread.

 

[Truck Shop]

The wire is 7018 anyway, I've welded them with stick and wire, For the last 25 years 035 wire only only both passes. Those housings are only 3/8 thick, and there really is no difference between
a 20-145 and a 40-145 they both take the same parts. A Eaton 404 is the same drive as a Spicer SP40-Identical.

 

[RZucker]

.035 ER70S-6 with CO2 is all I use too for that stuff. Chipping slag and cleaning up rod stubs is for the birds. Plus you don't need an oven for wire.

 

[workshoprat92]

.035 ER70S-6 with CO2 is all I use too for that stuff. Chipping slag and cleaning up rod stubs is for the birds. Plus you don't need an oven for wire.

Im not sold on just co2. I seem to do better with co2 argon mix. Airgas used to sell a co2 argo helium mix in eaqual thirds ratio. Man thats tuff welded really nice but man it was expensive!

 

[workshoprat92]

Below are some photos of one of nine trucks I lengthened frames on and installed walking beam in the winter of 2001. I reconfigured these for a Freightliner dealer in Hermiston Or.
All came off lease from Or. DOT. All had Freightliner air ride. I turned one out every five days by myself. I've lengthened 73 trucks over the years. Not profitable anymore.
Sorry to high jack the thread.

View attachment 209686 View attachment 209687 View attachment 209688 View attachment 209689

Looks like you did the spacer plate between the frame and hanger. Was it a 33.5" frame width? And yes es70 wire is basically 7018 equivalent. Still think ya get better penetration and less contamination with stick 7018. Hence why i figure its best for root pass. Guess it realky dosent matter which process one uses as long as its done correctly for that process. And no its not hijacking the tread. There is not much out there at all on doing a hendricks seap and install. Its all good information that needs to be shared so others can benifit from it all also!

 

[workshoprat92]

Truck shop I do like how your spacer plate is bent and covers the bottom of the frame all the way between spring hangers. I wasent sure weither to do that or not but looking at your pictures im gona incorporate that into mine!

 

[RZucker]

Im not sold on just co2. I seem to do better with co2 argon mix. Airgas used to sell a co2 argo helium mix in eaqual thirds ratio. Man thats tuff welded really nice but man it was expensive!

I've been using the stuff for 35 years or more, done a lot of trailer frame splices, truck frame work, and even a bit of heavy equipment work. Guess it just comes down to what your comfortable with.

 

[Truck Shop]

Freightliner's are all 33.5", That lower flange plate is what Freightliner used, it only covers the hanger through the two bottom bolts, you will need to cut a spacer plate for the top bolts on the hanger.

 

[Truck Shop]

In your photo the two lower plates go to the outside then a piece of flat bar the same thickness as frame rail acts as a spacer between cross member and lower plates. real simple.

Then Truck Shop Say's [DRILLER UP} and {SLAM THE BOLTS TO HER}

 

[workshoprat92]

I've been using the stuff for 35 years or more, done a lot of trailer frame splices, truck frame work, and even a bit of heavy equipment work. Guess it just comes down to what your comfortable with.

Yea pretty much. Guess im just old school. I was always told real critical stuff to use 7018. The machine shop I used to work for if it was super critical and had to hold we used 7018. All the heavy equipment stuff I weld I use 7018. Never had a failure yet. Guess im just to stubborn to try it any other way lol!