I was told that the front axle housing is cracked in 2 places and that it also has spider cracks everywhere. The thing is, they told me that they cant weld the 2 major cracks. So they told me it will need a new axle housing. Has anyone had to have this done, if so how much am I looking to pay to have it fixed? Also, can I just put some JB weld on it for now and just save up the money to do it later? Thanks

 

Are you talking about a hub?

 

It sounds to me like he's talking about the front drive axle "banjo" housing.

A pretty critical safety related structural part!

In the past, I have welded minor stress cracks in some Mack axle housings around the axle housing/differential interface, these cracks were causing oil leakage but were not in a place subject to supporting the weight of the truck.

Any cracks elsewhere in a weight supporting area would be cause for replacing the housing.

No, JB weld just won't work in a situation like this. If there is enough stress present to crack the steel housing, the JB weld sure as hell ain't gonna hold!

Bottom line: Get it fixed properly, even if it involves replacing the housing.

 

How much does something like this usually cost to replace? Also, has anyone heard of a lemon law for trucks??

 

I know this will not answer your question in today's dollars. In the late 1970s, I burned a wheel bearing and had to replace a banjo housing. I bought a new one for $160.

Here is the story about the burned bearing. I bought a new IH 4070A in 1973. We operated short wheelbase tractors in those days due to the length laws. With a 152 inch wheelbase, the drive axles were tilted for driveline alignment. Tilting the front of the housing upward rotated the fill hole downward, thus causing the lube level to be about two inches lower. I never received the service bulletin, nor did any IH shop notice that my tractor was in jeopardy of running the wheel bearings dry.

The solution was a two inch pipe elbow installed in each fill hole.