best way to weld on to diff - advice please

[Elmo]

just fabbin up my 4-link rear at the mo, whats the best way to weld on to the diff, what sorta metal is it, reccomendations on the best welding rods to use, any advice would be very much appreciated

[ZOOK60]

its just mild steel 6mm i think thants what my cruser diffs are anyway

just make shaw both surfaces are clean and weld away

or get a mig

[Elmo]

oh thats alright, mild steels pretty easy to get a good weld on

cheers bud

aaahhhh mig, oh how i do ever so want one

[Doggy]

My guess would be to use a welder

[Elmo]

are you sure, cause im sure i read somewhere that you had to use bubblegum and superglue

[Doggy]

Bubblegum and superglue will work, however....the bubblegum must be chewed no more then 27 times and the superglue must be mixed with the gum after being stirred anti clockwise for 17.5 turns then 89 turns clockwise....after the silicone has been added to the bubblegum/glue mix. The silicone must be added while holding your left foot above your head and biting your tongue

[Elmo]

ah huh, so thats where i was going wrong before, i was always holding my right foot above my head cheers mate

[mickyd555]

does the centre and axles have to come out b4 you weld to a diff housing?? and hubs i supose too??

[-Richo-]

You might want to drop the oil, especially if it needs doing. Otherwise undo the filler cap to let off any pressure that will build up or it will try and push through the seals if your breather is blocked. Take your time with the welding so it doesnt heat up the oil inside too much. You can even dowse the welds with water after each weld to help cool it.

[Eddywelder]

I did heaps of stick welding on my rear 60 series diff with everything still attached and in one piece and had no trouble with it at all....welded the spring perches (for the spring over conversion)and track bar mounts.

[Red_Zook]

aaahhhh mig, oh how i do ever so want one

Dont we all!!!
Phil

[mickyd555]

You might want to drop the oil, especially if it needs doing. Otherwise undo the filler cap to let off any pressure that will build up or it will try and push through the seals if your breather is blocked. Take your time with the welding so it doesnt heat up the oil inside too much. You can even dowse the welds with water after each weld to help cool it.

i definately wouldnt cool it with water...............i got taught that early on when learning to weld, and spring mounts would be the last thing id want to fatigueing and cracking. how about laminateing a diff, can that be done while its all together??

sorry for the hijack elmo, but im sure its all useful info for you too

[Rainbow Warrior]

just fabbin up my 4-link rear at the mo, whats the best way to weld on to the diff, what sorta metal is it, reccomendations on the best welding rods to use, any advice would be very much appreciated

Welding to the axle tubes or diff, the diff housing is usually cast iron and a pain in the arse to weld, no chance for a beginner.

[Slayer]

just fabbin up my 4-link rear at the mo, whats the best way to weld on to the diff, what sorta metal is it, reccomendations on the best welding rods to use, any advice would be very much appreciated

Welding to the axle tubes or diff, the diff housing is usually cast iron and a pain in the arse to weld, no chance for a beginner.

diff housings will be cast steel not cast iorn... specialy the ones in question which i believe are 80 series

[ZOOK60]

just fabbin up my 4-link rear at the mo, whats the best way to weld on to the diff, what sorta metal is it, reccomendations on the best welding rods to use, any advice would be very much appreciated

Welding to the axle tubes or diff, the diff housing is usually cast iron and a pain in the arse to weld, no chance for a beginner.

diff housings will be cast steel not cast iorn... specialy the ones in question which i believe are 80 series

if he has 6.11s they will most likely be 40 or 60s diffs

[largesuzy]

remove all the oil and weld small amounts at a time use a big fan to cool the welds

[hypo]

aaahhhh mig, oh how i do ever so want one

Dont we all!!!
Phil

nope i got 1

[suzy]

aaahhhh mig, oh how i do ever so want one

Dont we all!!!
Phil

ha ha ha got about 25

[Wendle]

this thread has some humour in it.
leave the oil in there, it is a good heatsink. just make sure your breather is clear. tack the whole thing first, then finish weld by doing one axle mount, one chassis mount, one axle mount, one chassis mount, etc. stops the housing from getting too much concentrated heat into one area. alternating each burn into the axle from the left to right hand sides of the car can't hurt either. don't cool it with water, that's asking for trouble.

[suzy]

diff welds

[hiluxv8]

You can even dowse the welds with water after each weld to help cool it.

DO NOT DO THIS. You will actually bend your diff housing.

[Bartso]

on the same topic what about welding a box section on top of the pumpkin part of the diff same principle? as the diagram can i do it with centre in?

[suzy]

You can even dowse the welds with water after each weld to help cool it.

DO NOT DO THIS. You will actually bend your diff housing.

if you dio this it will suffer fatigue cracks.

it also depends on the welder and setting,mig (GMAW) will produces less heat in a more concentrated area,but a stick(MMAW)will produce more heat.if you know how to minipulate steel with heat you won't bend any thing,i have about 3 shock location's on my diff and all i did was weld a HT bolt onto the diff housing were it joins the two halfs,but welding a spot so small you wont bend an diff housing.you would probly have to lay a decent weld to one half to bend it,if your that worried just weld in the same spot but oppasite.

[ludacris]

If you weld with the oil in it will fatigue your rubber seals if it heats up to much.

LudaCris

[-Richo-]

Using water to cool the welds wont bend your housing its probaby not a good idea though, what Wendle said is a good idea, dont weld all in one spot to spread the heat over a larger area. Come to think of it using water to cool the welds will probably crack it, i just remeber the teacher at tech getting us to do this to cool down our welds, but these were just scrap metal so i guess it wasnt an issue, my bad...

[Bartso]

If you weld with the oil in it will fatigue your rubber seals if it heats up to much.

LudaCris

well i need to weld right on the pumpkin part and im too lazy to take the centre out should i leave oil in or out should i just weld in parts to keep the heat down a bit will it affect the locker

[Rainbow Warrior]

If you weld with the oil in it will fatigue your rubber seals if it heats up to much.

LudaCris

I suspect if you are putting enough heat near the seals to heat 3 litres of oil to a rubber damging temperature then you would have probably melted the seals without oil anyway.

[suzy]

If you weld with the oil in it will fatigue your rubber seals if it heats up to much.

LudaCris

I suspect if you are putting enough heat near the seals to heat 3 litres of oil to a rubber damging temperature then you would have probably melted the seals without oil anyway.

true,just take your time,at work we put lpg heaters under thick steel to stop it cooling to quick,to get a little better penatration pre heat the rods and even stick some of the parts in the oven,pre heating opens the grain in the steel for a stronger weld,pre heat bis to about 150deg so i would probly go about 50deg for wild steel.evan wave a little heat over the diff just enough so you get the mosture out of the steel,evan a quick drive.

[hiluxv8]

Using water to cool the welds wont bend your housing its probaby not a good idea though, what Wendle said is a good idea, dont weld all in one spot to spread the heat over a larger area. Come to think of it using water to cool the welds will probably crack it, i just remeber the teacher at tech getting us to do this to cool down our welds, but these were just scrap metal so i guess it wasnt an issue, my bad...

I'm presuming you are a tradesman as well. So you've never straightened a bent universal beam with heat and water then??. Yes a small weld cooled with water wont make any difference but if it is hot enough it will bend, depending on location of course.

[-Richo-]

the heat we are talking about isnt that bad, it will boil the oil if you do it all in one hit in one spot, i would be very very surprised if you tipped water on it it would bend the housing, but ya never know. Weaken the welds? possibly but i dont know for sure. Ive welded on housings full of oil and not had probs so long as you take your time and let it cool, welding on an empty housing would be ideal though IMHO. I retract my water statement, you shouldnt need to use water if you take your time with it.