Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Hey everyone
Ive got a problem on my hilux diff housing its got a hair line crack on the bottom of the pumpkin which leaks a little bit of oil.
Wondering whats the best way to seal it up?
Had a go at welding but its hard upside down and with a leaking housing.
Any info would be helpfull
Thanks

Pull out, remove the centre, clean it ( oil ) out, drill stop holes, v notch the crack then weld it up .. only proper way to do it. If has cracked once without proper prep etc it will happen again , possibly worse.

love_mud wrote:Pull out, remove the centre, clean it ( oil ) out, drill stop holes, v notch the crack then weld it up .. only proper way to do it. If has cracked once without proper prep etc it will happen again , possibly worse.

Yeah got to drill stop holes at the ends of the crack so it doesn't keep cracking as you might find out to late as the weld would probably hide the crack

love_mud wrote:Pull out, remove the centre, clean it ( oil ) out, drill stop holes, v notch the crack then weld it up .. only proper way to do it. If has cracked once without proper prep etc it will happen again , possibly worse.

Thanks mate
Ill have to give it a shot

Got any advise about welding upside down?

Pull housing out and turn it over.

grab another rear housing and put all your shit on it, they are a dime a dozen

i wouldnt drill it..
grind the cracks and go another 15 to 20mm longer.
i wouldnt go to the effort of pulling the centre out.

just drain the oil.
use a thick cutting disk.
dont cut right through it.

and if you can get yourself onto a stick welder, weld it up.
2.5 or 3.2 rods be fine, and 4112 welding rods, or any you can get your hands on.. 4112 or 4113 or 7016 low hydrogen.

you should only need two rods if that

stick handles contamination far better than a mig will ever handle it..
wether oil or a breeze..

throw in a first pass, and grind it out almost fully, soo it gets rid of the oil contamination and run another over the top.

overhead 70 or soo amps.. 2.5 rods.
100 amps 3.2

4112 will handle impurities better from the oil contamination.

most important.

DISCONNECT YOUR BATTERY

MAKE SURE you have a clean earth connection. close to the job !!
otherwise the current will run through your vehicles electrical system..
and fire

As per others.

Pull it out. Dismantle. Clean out. Drill ends of cracks, cut a V into the crack but not through. Weld it up. Reassemble.

Thanks for all the info guys
Sound's like I'm gonna have to pull the housing off and give it a good go

Might be a dumb question
What if I just leave the crack it only leaks a little bit
And its my comp car so its not like it being driven that much

TuffLuxy wrote:Thanks for all the info guys
Sound's like I'm gonna have to pull the housing off and give it a good go

Might be a dumb question
What if I just leave the crack it only leaks a little bit
And its my comp car so its not like it being driven that much

It cracked for a reason ( stress ) .. you reckon the crack wont get bigger ? .. I would prefer to weld up a crack than wait till it snaps on two ( worst case ) .. or the crack opens up and dumps all the oil and chews up your bearing and gears .. most likely scenario.

How much work's been done to housing, ie- link mounts, gussets etc. just get another housing you usually get them for next to nothing if not free..

Not sure of the material, but it is probably cast iron. Trying to weld cast iron is not an easy job. It is easy, but to get good reliable results is hard. If you do it, you must go right to the end of the crack, and this means using dye penetrant to verify that the crack is gone. Even then, you are most likely to start your own new cracks. Also, depending on where the crack is, you are likely to distort something and then the weakest point (most likely the bearing) will fail, chopping out the gear teeth. I would replace rather than repair in this case.

Housing isn't cast, pull it all out, brace it while your at it!

brad 93hilux wrote:How much work's been done to housing, ie- link mounts, gussets etc. just get another housing you usually get them for next to nothing if not free..

Its RUF full gusset diff pumpkin armor and shaved

TuffLuxy wrote:

brad 93hilux wrote:How much work's been done to housing, ie- link mounts, gussets etc. just get another housing you usually get them for next to nothing if not free..

Its RUF full gusset diff pumpkin armor and shaved

Yeh pull it out and flip it over as said, you have done a fair bit to it already may as well fix what you have