Golly, Dude, Mr. Bonefish. As a 49 year old farm hand I would say your modification didn't affect it much. But, it in my opinion doesn't look strong enough to begin with. And. it's hard to tell from the pictures but, the original design doesn't look to have very good welding at all. There is a lot of side load on these axels during a turn. There does not seem to be a lot of structural support for a side load on this design. But,,,, remember I'm a old farm hand and we need things to be overbuilt. And, again, pictures do not do things justice. Have a nice Day,