How to tell a cast axle to a forged axle

After reading another post how do you tell if your axle is cast or forged?

 

Cast iron axles have a thin parting line... Forged steel ones have a thick parting line and are more heavier for the same size axle..

 

From Super bells catalog !!
I-Beam Axles
Cast from high strength 65-45-12 ductile iron, Super Bell's I-Beam axles are designed to accept '37-'48 Ford passenger car or Econoline spindles. Applications include '28-'34 Ford. 1/2 ton Ford trucks up through 1941, and '35-'36 Fords when you split the original bones. Split wishbone kits and instructional sheets are also available.

 

Just curios, what year econolines? disc brakes?

I would love to swap the ch*by bolt pattern discs for Ford Truck bolt pattern since I have a sheet load of steelie and aluminum truck rims in all shapes and sizes


.

 

I really don't know. Maybe a call to Pete and JAkes would be in order??

 

WINNER!

A Cast Iron axels Parting Line will be around 1/16th or so, whereas a Drop Forged axel will have a Fin Line around 3/16-3/8th. Both will have grinding marks and they can be confusing, so check areas where not much grinding was done.
Sometimes you can also tell by the texture on the cast piece, it will often show evidence on the surface of the sand used in the casting process.
Also, sometimes by looking at a machined surface you can see different textures between the smoother forged piece and the coarser cast piece.

 

Thanks Fe! ... By the way.. How is Sydney doing these days?? I haven't been down there in 39 years... My old stomping grounds was at Port Kembla beach in Warrawong. Damn, it's been a long time.

 

WTF??!!
who would use a diff with a cast axle in 2010?

 

I think he asked about a front axle....

 

a diff? i believe he's asking about front beam style axles

 

Just to be clear about what is meant by a cast axle.
A cast axle is not a "cast iron" axle at all.

The axle if cast will be cast in steel not iron.
In my book the best axles are forged but economics has probably killed that nowdays.

 

Cast axles snap, forged axles bend and distort.

 

Easy to tell when it's brand new...but after it's been smoothed for paint, or if it's been chromed, good luck...

It helps to be familiar with the aftermarket axles just to recognize what you're looking at. Superbells typically always have their logo cast into the center, and will always be a 4" drop. Those are cast of course. The new so-cal axles are easy to recognize because they are so damned ugly, but are forged. All magnum axles are forged as well, but are also available in a 4" or 5" drop.

And it nearly goes without saying that a Henry axle is forged, and those are easy to identify...and the best looking axle of all.

 

ouch!

 

Hit it with the handle of a big screwdriver, if it rings like a bell it is forged; if it goes 'thunk' then its' a cast piece.

 

So lets say you just bought a finished rod with a chromed dropped axle. How can you go about testing it to determine if it's cast or forged? Break out the grinder and test for the sparks? There's gotta be a better way. Waiting to see if it bends or breaks obviously isn't an option! I'd want to know BEFORE that happens. That's the whole point of this question!

 

The thin/thick parting line rule goes for cranks also. Unless is is a billet crank. JC

 

Yep!!

 

Most Guys that are "In The Know" can tell an Aftermarket Axle from a Real Ford axle any day of the week.

I my book there are 2 kinds of Axles :: Original & Aftermarket

Buy Original & you dont have to woory about Cast Axles

I ONLY Buy & Use ORIGINAL axles be it for my Model A, '32 Sedan , Or my 1922 Dodge.

Buy & Used ORIGINAL Axles and you NEVER have to worry about an Off Shore Junk Breaking or just Plain Looking UGLY under your Vintage Rod.

 

Just for info, the famous 37 Ford tube axles were cast steel.

 

Thanks for all the replys. Lets hope nobody else ever brakes an axle again.

 

All this talk about Cast I Beams being junk is nonsense. If done correctly they are fine. In 1980 Ford changed the Twin I Bean front end on the 2 WD F Series from forged to cast and they stayed that way until they went to A Arm front suspension in 95. Literally MILLIONS of them have been built with Cast Beams and thousands of those have been beat to death in the desert without failure. I personally jumped my Wife's F-150 many times when using it as a Pre Runner for my Ranger Off Road Race efforts with no ill effects.
NO, it's not exactly the same, but it does show that properly engineered a cast axle is fine.

 

The tube axle was two forgings connected by a formed tube...nothing cast in it.
The Ford beams I have all have EE-1 forged ito the web inside one of the four end areas.
Some Model A ones will have AA there. These denote the the Ford grade of steel...I posted the alloying stuff and one of the heat treat procedures used for these axles on here a year or two ago. EE was electric furnace, AA some other kind.

 

Hmm,every `95 I ever saw still had twin I-beam. Half the `96`s still had em still yet. I`ve seen many broken ones too.

 

I have replaced MANY cracked twin i-beams on late model Ford F series trucks. Forged is better than cast and it's not an opinion its just a fact. Is cast good enough? Well YOU might never break it, but why risk it?

 

Problem is that Henry engineered it to be a forging. today's aftermarket has produced cast copies as a cost cutting measure. forging dies are expensive.

 

The design is a big spoiler here...you can't design a casting to take forging loads without shaping your design to put metal where you need it. Cast early Ford axles are made to be nearly identical in section and appearance to the forged originals, and that just cannot be right in my book.
Cast OEM suspension parts (I think many modern spindles are cast upright and flange with a forged spindle pin inserted) are designed as castings with metal placed to meet the load needs.
Original Ford axles are not just forged from special steel, they had elaborate heat treatment as well. I would assume this heat treat to be gone from axles that have been heated enough to be dropped, but whatever remains is still damn strong.
An extra thought here...on a hotrod, that axle is going to be the first really strong bit to take the impact in a frontal collision. On a modern suspension, once a collision reaches the front suspension, three feet of car have absorbed a lot of the shock and the vehicle probably isn't moving fast enough for the fate of the suspension pieces to matter much.

 

True story, but fords twin ibeam is mounted with rubber bushings at all ends, and an early ford is solid, run a stock wishbone and a cast axle is fine, split the bones in any way shape or form and the axle has to twist to work, theres the problem, cast cant twist without breaking,

 

All this talk about cast and forged axles and no one seems to remember the tubular ones
and I am not refering to the 37 Ford.
I see about as many tube ones as I beam on hot rods. They come in stock and up to about 5 inch drop..I'm talking about a one piece tube, not a tube with welded cast ends on it...They even come in absolutely straight for those that want the race car look.
People need to get educated and remember that all parts are engineered with a DUL (design ultimate load) and if that is exceeded, the part will fail.
Strength; Cast is the least...Forged I beam has the most in 1 plane, tubing has the most in all directions.
Cost to manufacture; Cast cheapest, forged most costly, tubing middle.

 

the tube axle makers will flat out tell you DO NOT run tube axles with wishbones.