Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Hey guys, Ive read the faq section on welding the front diff. I have a 96 narrow track feroza. It has 30" coopers tires.
Ive heard elsewhere that this could cause damage.
What are the risks involved? I'm not particular worried about the legal side of things as it is not driven daily and is only used to go camping and offroad driving. From what ive read in the faq the only problem is a loss of a bit of steering lock. Is there something else Im missing? Anyone know of someone in brisbane who does this.

Cheers

Doug

I don't think its even illegal in the front diff as it will only affect steering when your front hubs are locked in (ie, when your offroad).

Just makes it harder to steer, and puts more strain on the CV's/Diff. Might need to change your driving style a tad.

I had mine welded Fozzy locker style. It allows 1/2 full turn
of a wheel before it locks. So far I have brought it to the trails
7 times and so far so good. Here are IMO the pros and cons.

pros
Traction has improved a lot and much better than before. compared also to other ferozas in the club, I have better traction. Feroza IFS are prone to lifting and the the welded front is a biiiiiiiiig help.

cons
Its harder to steer in the mud and almost impossible in
cemented roads. I made the mistake of locking my hubs yesterday while still in a cemented road and I have to back up twice to make a 90 degree turn in a cemented road.

You have to be light on the gas pedal as there is a higher chance you will break a differential. ( Have not happened to me so far).

Not recommended for rock crawling type of trails.

Not for racing as tight turns ( more than 45 degrees) will put you at a disadvantage.


Verdict
It has pros and cons but I am not sorry I did it. I will do it again if given
the same opportunity. My fellow members of the Feroza club are amazed at the capability of the rig.

Here are some pictures.
Here is a recent trail.


River crossing:



Here is a photo of a Feroza Front differential.
It is almost or slightly bigger than a samurai.


The spider(not sure if I got it right) gears being welded.


Here are the gears with the weld.

cheers for that, Its has been helpful.
I have been thinking about doing it for a while, and while out this weekend was able to keep up with my mates modified wrangler and fj40 shorty on most of the tracks. a couple of steep muddy tracks were no problems for them as they both have lockers but i just couldnt do it.
Like you said, the front wheels just lift so easily. I had nearly a metre under them at some points on the steep trails! It might be a bit of a strain on the diff and cvs etc, but that welded diff would help. rear lsd would be great too but its only a weekend fourby so i dont want to spend heaps of cash

A mate of mine had a MK patrol with a welded front diff and he would only lock 1 hub (usually the left) until the going got tuff then he would lock both. He never broke anything . It used to steer ok with 1 hub in

evergreen_tt wrote:cheers for that, Its has been helpful.
I have been thinking about doing it for a while, and while out this weekend was able to keep up with my mates modified wrangler and fj40 shorty on most of the tracks. a couple of steep muddy tracks were no problems for them as they both have lockers but i just couldnt do it.
Like you said, the front wheels just lift so easily. I had nearly a metre under them at some points on the steep trails! It might be a bit of a strain on the diff and cvs etc, but that welded diff would help. rear lsd would be great too but its only a weekend fourby so i dont want to spend heaps of cash

Evergreen_tt,

There are some Feroza models that came out with LSDs stock.
Here in the Philippines all the Ferozas that came out have rear LSDs.
Maybe you can locate a wrecker and try to source for a surplus
rear Feroza disfferential with built in LSds.

I have tried to locate a factory lsd but i guess they aren't as popular in Australia. I drop into wreckers occasionally but they usually don't have many feroza spares.

dai-hard wrote:A mate of mine had a MK patrol with a welded front diff and he would only lock 1 hub (usually the left) until the going got tuff then he would lock both. He never broke anything . It used to steer ok with 1 hub in

haha I hadn't thought of that. genius!
I will certainly give it a go.

cheers

doug

But no front LSD's were produced for Feroza's.

However LSD's were rare in Australia so perhpas you could do a deal ? A properly shimmed LSD is certainly lots better than nothing, but not a patch on a locker.

Leaving one hub locked in seems to be a common solution to turning when using a welded front... however if you don't remember to lock it before its needed then its an issue.

Get lazy and leave it in ... its an issue... get the picture ?

The Feroza front centre isn't particularly strong, the Salsibury style casting is the major issue as it flexes and allows the crownwheel and pinion to move which leads to breakages. An open centre just doesn't usually get enough traction on bothe wheels to stres the centre - locking / welding can and does.

It largely depends on just what type of driving your doing, being blunt most Feroza's don't get used HARD - they just aren't that capable, so welding is a real option and makes a significant improvement.

However if you have swampers, lockers gears then the front diff is a challenge

MightyMouse wrote:But no front LSD's were produced for Feroza's.

However LSD's were rare in Australia so perhpas you could do a deal ? A properly shimmed LSD is certainly lots better than nothing, but not a patch on a locker.

Leaving one hub locked in seems to be a common solution to turning when using a welded front... however if you don't remember to lock it before its needed then its an issue.

Get lazy and leave it in ... its an issue... get the picture ?

The Feroza front centre isn't particularly strong, the Salsibury style casting is the major issue as it flexes and allows the crownwheel and pinion to move which leads to breakages. An open centre just doesn't usually get enough traction on bothe wheels to stres the centre - locking / welding can and does.

It largely depends on just what type of driving your doing, being blunt most Feroza's don't get used HARD - they just aren't that capable, so welding is a real option and makes a significant improvement.

However if you have swampers, lockers gears then the front diff is a challenge

No swampers or lockers!

it has 30" cooper STs. Thats it. No lift (yet). its got a snorkel though!
I'm fairly new to 4wds, as I have spent most of my time interested in fast cars, but I'm married now so I have to look to something a little more sensible
I just spent a weekend at landcruiser park.
I did a few of the trails marked "steep - extreme"
Would like a bit more grip when half the car is in the air!

I think I will do the front diff weld, I just need to make some calls.

Cheers guys


Doug

Well I have to say that if your happy with the Coopers then there's little chance of breaking a welded front as the will loose traction well before mechanical mayhem breaks loose.

Just don't throw the vehicle at obstacles and avoid the bounces if loosing traction as the shock loads are an issue.

I'm certain it will make an improvement - just take it easy.

Hi!!

enyone know ratio of front diff depend of year product??

I have Feroza(europa) 1989g. my dif is broken so I put diff of 1994 feroza, and something is not good!!?!?

Every Feroza i've ever struck has 5.285:1 diff ratio's no matter what year or model.

There are "rumors" that auto's had different ratios - but there's nothing i can find that confirms this and I've played with one and it ran the same diff as a manual so IMO its an urban myth.

feroza wrote:Hi!!

enyone know ratio of front diff depend of year product??

I have Feroza(europa) 1989g. my dif is broken so I put diff of 1994 feroza, and something is not good!!?!?

Depending on what you've broken you could just weld the spider gears and put the broken one back in.

I busted mine and just welded her up.. Better than ever.