welded front or rear

[ryna]

Hi everyone

I see a few ppl with welded front, saying that its ok cause u just unlock the hubs on road, then i see ppl with welded rear saying "front makes it a pig to steer offroad" and they rekn a rear is totally driveable on road.

If the back is fine on road, and the front u can turn off, why not just do both?

Is a welded diff weaker than getting a locker?? Im trying to find out if welding a diff is ok then why doesnt everyone do it, surely they must break or something, there must be some reason why ppl pay alot of money for lockers.

I want to weld both but i realise that you know more about diffs than me and so i need reasons not to.

[christover1]

I have been running both diffs welded for over a year, the rear has been welded for 3 years. I have now fitted an open diff back in the front, until I can afford power steer... then it will be welded again..I have not had any more breakages than I did with open diffs.
Welded rear has been the best mod I ever done, and $10 fer oil is all it cost.
But you will have to be careful, until you get used to the different handling characteristics. My first roll was straight after my diff weld
If you can afford a proper locker on the front I would say do that.
I recommend a welded rear, I don't recommend welded front, unless you got stronger arms than me
diff centres are cheap, try the rear, then decide on the front later, easy enough to change back if desired.
It was a bit annoying jumping out to unlock hub evey time I needed to steer, but the extra traction was excellent. I will miss that till I get the front welded again...
I'm sure it would strain a lot of parts, but I ain't busted it yet, and welded is all I can afford.
ARB is best if you have the dosh.
christover

[droopypete]

What he said!
Peter.

[RB zook]

hahaha yeah i put mine on its side to after rear locked

sometimes i turn the locker on when on rd its driable just get a few little chirpies

but other than that its rite, go 4 it

[roc box]

both welded works fine sometimes a little hard to steer mainly down hills when weight is over front up hill i can steer it with one hand usually.best thing as christover said its a cheap fix

[ryna]

How cheap are diff centres if i weld the front and hate it?

[lay80n]

Have a look through the for sale section, they are probably the cheapest diff centre to buy second hand. Lookin real hard might find you a centre with locker already installed too.
Layto....

[stumped]

depends where ya buy em from tho... the wreckers round newcastle wanted $350 for a 3.7 centre.... but i picked one up from here for around $150 i think..

[Rhett]

Weld the back its great But I wouldn't weld the front I did it and took it back out for a open centre. But I too will probly put it back in when I get power steer. That one extra wheel driving gets U a lot more places. (sometimes places U don't want to be)

[roc box]

i agree the amount of extra drive from one more wheel is amazing.As for steering its not that bad really i wont be taking the locker out the advantage it gives far out weighs any steering problems.

[xtreem]

I welded my rear and absolutely hate it, I don't even drive it anymore as its a pain in the arse. Dont do it, just save until you can air lock it.

[stumped]

some ppl reckon that the front is good cos it'll pull you up stuff when you get your front wheels up steps etc. possibly safer cos it'll pull ya up something instead of pushing you up til ya roll? might be talking out my butt here tho


haven't seen this idea myself, so dunno. i got ez-locker in the rear of mine, works good. one thing i wonder 'bout the front locked....not having much weight on it will ya get much traction anyway? i've had to drive around in front wheel drive a couple of times cos of rear diff dramas, and i found that on uphill slopes just on the road i had traction problems

[stumped]

just read your other thread, seeing as you've decided to weld the rear my previous post is useless...



could delete it, but this one ads to my pad count

[markil]

i've had my rear welded for about 6 months now? and it's great! absolutely love it!
goes so many more places now. and the occasional churps in carparks and tight turns don't bother me the least.
DO IT!

[roc box]

i reckon its far safer with the front locked,it settles the front down and stops a lot of bouncing too

[markil]

i think i'll do the front of mine 1 day soon too. then when there's enough money one day, some hilux or other diffs with airlockers

[Elmo]

definately do it i reckon, had the back done in my old truck, had a ball and NEVER been stuck since, still building up my new truck, but i've already done the back and am seriously thinking about the front too

i would, went anywhere and no steering dramas on the road, but then again i had mongrels, so the steering was fairly light on the road anyway

[ryna]

ive got mongrels too

[ryna]

ive already got a very nice description of how to do it from christover (thanks mate)

But how have you all done it, are u good at welding, anyone wanna offer their skills??? lol im in perth

Some say weld side gears to carrier, someone else said not too

Give me some suggestions, also the thing is i dont know anything about welding really so dunno wat welder to use, wat amps etc etc, should i just get someone else to do it or is it real easy

Thanks
Ryan

[roc box]

when i welded the rear i dismantled the centre bridged planetary and sun gears then pretty much filled half the centre with weld [overkill probly but it wont break ]then filled out into inspection holes.With the front i removed the planetary and sun gears and just welded side gears to housing[figured being a 1ltr diff itll break a cv before the welds break] had it done for a year now and nothings broke yet touch wood

[Rhett]

I done pretty much what roc box said. As for what welder to use I used a big stick with case hardening rods. I have also heard of ppl filling the housing with lead. I wouldn't recomend it thoe.

[roc box]

mine is mig welded.