welded diff this weekend

I had a bucket of oil underneath the diff when I welded...splatter dropped down, and melted a hole in the bottom the bucket.

Didn't notice until every last drop had soaked into my clothes. Hypoid gear oil FTL!

Every time I've welded a diff it has broke. Not the weld but right next to it. Then I started using spools and started breaking axels. Now I only use spools and aftermarket axels and change them often. ( when they twist 1/4 turn) Have fun.

I have many many more, but that's the gist of it. Like JL said, weld the spider gears together, then the gears to the carrier. Get rid of the boogers, then change the fluid after a week or so.

Kyle with power steering I found that the welded diff gave the steering exactly the amount of extra force required to make it feel not so soft and floaty. Now steering effort is just a bit stiffer so it feels great to drive. It's a chore with manual steering though eh? My brothers car is like that, then again his whole car is a chore (and a hoot).

Next time it's wet go and try donuts, you'll be AMAZED at how easy they are, I sure was. Perfect circles, very little gas necessary. The first donut I tried after welding, I did it in the middle of a small 4-way stop, felt totally in control, biggest grin on my face.

sweet, that pic does help actually...I have a question though, are you able to get in behind those gears at all, is what we see in the pic, what we get? (im not all that familiar with what the carriers look like on both sides)

You turn the wheels to get to the other side of the carrier, then weld the same things again.

FWIW, it's really a better task to do with a stick welder and 6011 than a MIG imo- just barely wipe where you want to weld and leave everything else coated in oil and thenlet the f'er burn.
Also avoids a lot of the awkwardness in terms of nozzle interference.

Funny how hypocritical this seems seeing that a funny blue box with "Millermatic" found its way home with me and into my shop this weekend..muahahaha...


It should do the 140 panels nicely, but seriously stuff like that is stick material imo.

Kenny my 220 volt mig welder made REALLY quick work of welding up Eric & John's rear ends.
I did not find it to be at all awkward to get the tip in there..... I just need to fit a longer power cord to the welder so that it can wander around the shop and we can then do such things on the hoist.

Mine looked very much like John's. In the name of overkill (which we all know is consistently more fun), I welded each side gear to the carrier on both sides, each spider gear to the carrier, pin, and both side gears on both sides.

Intuitively, it seems like welding up any one of those gears properly (220V or arc) should be enough to lock the diff up tight.

Agreed, Kenny, that this is more of a job for a stick welder. If I knew how to use one, I would have (Dad has one in his garage he's offered a time or two).

Does welded diff on snow = suicide ?

940T_Drifter said:

Does welded diff on snow = suicide ?

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= fun.

Morley said:

= fun.

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Good

Morley said:

= fun.

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its fun but is it dangerous?

In the snow I would assume that the back end will slide on every turn unless you drive like an absolute saint. The question is whether you can deal with that or not.

The Aspirator said:

In the snow I would assume that the back end will slide on every turn unless you drive like an absolute saint. The question is whether you can deal with that or not.

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You better be if you're going to weld it.

For the eleventy billionth time, it's fine.

My driving style in the winter: I don't like to call attention to myself by hanging the ass end way out there, so I steer the car with both the wheel and the throttle, and keep it in a neutral state. Doing this with the welded diff is easier than with an open diff, because the car would never just spin one wheel. The back wheels are spinning ever so gently, and the whole car is rotating in an arc.

If you're a savage, the car will behave just like you want it to - you'll be able to kick the back end out at will, in either direction. Note, this is almost exactly the same way I drive, except for the amount of tail-out attitude.

If you TRY to drive gently, where you're trying to keep all 4 wheels in perfect control, forget it. The rear wheels will fight each other and they'll fight the front wheels, and the end result is an unpredictable car that wants to push or get loose at random times. If you're skeered of driving properly in the snow, you should probably buy an 850.

I must be used to higher torque engines, I have never made a welded diff live. I love a live axel I might try welding mine, cheaper than a spool.

Update:

It's fun. Wrangle it around a normal right hand intersection, floor it halfway through. The car rotates a smidge, locks itself on target, and MOVES OUT. Surprisingly little tire noise.

Damn this is fun.