Outer Limits 4x4 Board

How many of you guy's have/ or have had welded fronts?

I'm thinking about doing it to my new 91 sierra. do you lose much steering offroad? also- how bad is it on the front cv's?

cheers

welding the front is a bad idea makes turning with the hubs in verry hard/near imposible

its not hard at all my welded front was the same hardness to turn as my lockrite front now,if u strugle to turn it u have girly arms man up and do it

the issue is basically increased understeer... if you're ok with understeer then go for it...

or Unlock one hub when you dont need it!

joshnz1 wrote:its not hard at all my welded front was the same hardness to turn as my lockrite front now,if u strugle to turn it u have girly arms man up and do it

Not having a go, but your lockright must have been setup super tight. Welded fronts are super hard to steer. Lockrights should be transparent until you're descending. and you can free the steering with some throttle stabs, which again, never works with a welded diff.

I am not a fan of a welded front. They are effective but they make the car a PITA to drive 90% of the time offroad for the 10% that it makes a difference.

You'll wear your door hinges out getting in and out locking and unlocking hubs to go round corners.

it unlocks and locks u can hear it ticking, being a mechanic im sure i set it up rite,i welded my front a bit diff to most people,i filled 2 teeth with weld on each gear that the axle goes into in the hemisphere it self,so it helps big time while turning,if u just weld it all up how most people do it it would be harder to turn

Get power steering for extra help and be prepared for shit turning circles.... I dont unlock my hubs I normally go back to 2HI.. then back to crawl if i need to

Weld the front, eat your spinach and grow arms like Popeye
You'll be right

It makes steering seriously heavy and you end up with the the turning circle of a double B semi
Pain in the bum with the steering, last weekend I have a navi pushing the wheel from the outside and the steering wheel was still flexing but not much movement of the steering


Works well though but I would persnaly prefer a lock right

*takes a deep breath*

OK, I'm not trying to be controversial here, (or have a go at you fool-injected at all) but I do find what constitutes "works well" interesting, mostly because I have heard it a lot. Yes, both wheels do turn at the same speed, but beyond that, i don't think they really "work"

I haven't (and wouldn't) own a car with a welded front, but I'm fine with welded rear.

What does "work" mean? I would say a car that can't steer, pinballs on greasy hills, takes three (or four, or five) point turns when everyone else can just drive around the corner, and a reduced CV life, is a big price to pay for the added traction.

Have a think about what an average day's 4WDing is made up of - normally airing down just off the tarmac, then some high range/2wd work, and then a range of tracks linked together with some more 2WD/high range. During the average day, if you had twin airlockers, you might use the rear a dozen times and the front maybe 3 or 4 (or whenever you went for the rear, you might go for both, which is what I do in my G)

If this is kinda what a normal day for most of you, (like me) then the case for a welded front looks pretty slim. Sure, it will give you bragging rights on a couple of obstacles, but for the rest of the time you just have to suffer through it, either running with one hub unlocked, or in 2WD, or whatever, so you can steer the car.

We have had a number of welded fronts in the club, and I just don't think they actually "work" for what most trips are made up of.

even in mud, they load the front end up so badly that it is hard to carry momentum because the car starts to pinball from side to side.

If you drive lots of private property so you just drive obstacles or something, maybe they're ok, but IMHO in general use, they aren't worth the hassle.

Just my 2C

Steve.

ive run welded and unwelded.
if you weld the front be praperd for broken cvs and bad turning circles.
i used to run mine with one hub locked in very good when the power is on if your idling down hill you obvielsy only have engine breaking one one front wheel can be a downfal when it pulls you off and onto the track, wasnt any better on cvs just kept breaking 1 side.
with unwelded front and welded rear in my oppinion was more capable just cause you could turn when you wanted to and the wheels wouldnt get any slip when turning.
i wouldnt weld another front centre again after you add up time and breakages you could of got yourself an airlocker.
ok im shore other ppl have differnet oppinions this is just mine sorry to any one out there that is running welded front that steers good and you dont break stuff.
yeah there good for poser shots to you can put one wheel on anything.
if you put it in 2H isnt it still gana turn like crap?the fronts still locked.
my 2c.
thanx
mick

bigmick wrote: with unwelded front and welded rear in my opinion was more capable

I agree Mick- it's what I'm running now, and once complete I will be minispool rear/airlocker front. I think this is the best combination of simplicity and performance, and is actually pretty good value- cheaper than a pair of lockrights.

Steve.

i got my 2 lockrites for $100 u can pick them up cheap,i would neva say a zook is more capable with just a rear locker,you must be driving alot different tracks than i do coz if i didnt have a locker in the front id be getting no way near as far as i do with my front locker,if ur car is pinballing your obvously hitting it to hard or dont have crawler gears,hense proberly why your breaking stuff all the time

Steve, never take anything you say as 'having ago'
Work well is a broad description, maybe i should of been more concise
What I should of said bang for buck it works well
As with ANY mod there is pros and cons it is up to each individual to weight them up
I only run it because it was in the diff when I installed it
It suits the rock crawling which I mostly do

I did finish my post by effectively saying after experiencing a welded front they are not exactly my preference
BTW I actually have been making enquiries about lockrights this week

BBM has lock rite lockers on sale for 399 it is just as easy to put that in. As it is a pain to pull the front diff out, may as well do it right

joshnz1 wrote:i got my 2 lockrites for $100 u can pick them up cheap,i would neva say a zook is more capable with just a rear locker,you must be driving alot different tracks than i do coz if i didnt have a locker in the front id be getting no way near as far as i do with my front locker,if ur car is pinballing your obvously hitting it to hard or dont have crawler gears,hense proberly why your breaking stuff all the time

My argument is that a car is more capable with a welded rear than a welded front only.

I know there is no substitute for twin lockers.

As for "pinballing?" Maybe you can make a call like "obviously hitting it too hard" from 2000km away Sometimes you just have to hit stuff. we have some evil muddy hills and there are lots of places where all the tyres and gears in the world won't give you enough grip and you just have to get on it. I don't like doing it, but if it works.. it works.

Who said I'm breaking stuff all the time?

Steve.

wasnt just talking to you mate.

Well just to add fuel to fire I went out today with a welded front and open rear
Surprisingly it went quite well, drove a few obstacles which dual locked trucks got stuck on.

just read this cause i was thinking of welding the front in mine but you talked me out of it Gwagensteve.

another one of these personal preference topics hey.i myself have a welded rear in my zook and i love it but there are times where i know the front welded aswell would get me there a hole lot easier.but after driving my two mates zooks with welded fronts they are ruff,the turning is way worse than my hilux.at the end of the day an airlocker in the front would be ideal but with how cheap welding is,its worth a go.Power steer makes it a hole lot better as i found out last weekend.

i also think sometimes climbing things my rear locker only gets me in a bit or trouble digging in and raring the front rite up,where i believe a front locker mite help hold it down and claw you up the hill.Do what suits your budget or driving areas



matt

frke

ok,so i wanna show off my pics from today but also show what i was saying i have found with mine.sometimes with full rear drive and none up front i have found this a often occurance.most the time its on purpose for the camera but it can get you by surprise.A locker up front is all i think they need to finish off a good truck

cheers guy's.. I've got two zooks and I'm about to do all the oils/swivel hub seals on one.. my as well rip the centres and weld them at the same time.. they are just play toy's anyway.. It will be more for braging right's beating all of my mate;s bigger dollar truck's and getting more wheel's in the air..
for me the whole idea of the suzi's was just a cheap base to get into 4bying and have a shitload of fun, on the cheap- and not having to worry about breakages- they cost nothing!
cheers.