Weld it or spool?

[JoshC]

Probably for the rear. I haven't decided if i'm going with a FW 8.8 or with a 9". A friend at work has a disc brake kit for a 9", so i may end up going that route since i can get it cheap. So anyways, what are the pros and cons of doing either? Which will be stronger?

 

[FROADER]

Can't help you but I'm interested in the answer too.

 

[JoshC]

Jump on board, i'm sure some of the ones that have done either will chime in.

 

[RockRanger]

I welded the diff in my ranger. I ran it that way for about 2000 miles of driving. The best part it was free. The worst part was loud in parking lots when going around corners. The tire squel would get everyone looking at you every time you made a sharp turn. The worst was that smooth finish on concrete that alot of gasstations have. That made the most noise. While I never had any handling problems I did notice that the tires wore much quicker. With a truck that never gets driven on the road I would say weld it or get a spool if you want. But if you are going to drive on the street I would say get a regular locker. The tire squel was pretty bad. Now that I pulled the welded ranger axle out of my truck I am currently running an open explorer axle. I still havent decided if I want to weld it or not but for under $250 I can get an aussie I might go that route.

 

[sparky2263]

I've welded quite a few. Same results as buying a spool if you know what you're doing.

 

[Rick]

I would go with a spool over a welded diff. But then again, I'm all about reliability and not so much about cost.

A welded diff leaves you with a stick diff housing which I have managed to break in half.

A spool will break axles before you bust the spool. For $500 you could get a spool and new Chrome Moly axles... That should last a good long time.

 

[Michael]

I would go with a spool over a welded diff. But then again, I'm all about reliability and not so much about cost.

X2.

And spools are not that expensive. A spooled 9in with 35 spline axles would be :smoke: and you wouldn't have to worry about it at all.

 

[nissanboy]

Wit the 8.8 i wouldnt weld it due to the inherent weaknesses in the carriers. For the 9" I woudnt worry about the carrier with it welded.

When you go Full width i want your rear axle, keep me in mind.

 

[FireZapper]

Welding is the only way to go on an 8.8. You need a "C" clip eliminator for a spool. I've gone thru 2 mini spools for the 8.8. They are junk if you ask me. 4wheel parts said (after they sold it too me with tires and lift) nothing over 31's with the mini spool.


Now a 9" I say spool it.

 

[JoshC]

I'm not sure i've i'm going 8.8 or 9" yet, but yeah i've seen a ton of spools on ebay for like 100 bucks. Not bad.

The truck's not going to be on the street.

 

[supra83]

weld it or spool it

i've done lots of welds in rear axcels. i think a spool is a waist of time and money. If you know what your doing. you won't break the weld you will twist or break your axcels. I've done it in everything from a subaru to a sub ten drag car i've never broken a weld.

 

[JoshC]

Whats the secret to welding the spider gears?

 

[JTX]

Im intrested in how to weld them to.. When i welded my TTB dana 35 i pretty much welded the spider gears to every little piece of the carrier. Didnt really look nice, but hey i beat the **** out of that front end and didnt even break a single part on it. EVER, and my Explorer has been thru hell, trust me!

 

[JDraper]

There is another way to do a lincoln locker without damaging your carrier. If you remove your spider gears and fill in several teeth on two of the gears with the welder, you will effectively lock the axle up while not weakening the carrier. It is also reversible, since you can just swap in a new set of spider gears. Check out http://www.ford-trucks.com/article/idx/9/054/article/The_Proper_Way_to_Weld_Spiders.html

 

[sparky2263]

Im intrested in how to weld them to.. When i welded my TTB dana 35 i pretty much welded the spider gears to every little piece of the carrier. Didnt really look nice, but hey i beat the **** out of that front end and didnt even break a single part on it. EVER, and my Explorer has been thru hell, trust me!

That's the way I do it. And weld the spiders together.

 

[supra83]

How to weld a rear end

Yes if you weld the spider gears together that works great because when you weld the gears to the carier the carier dosn't need as much heat at the gears. So then you end up weekening the carier then it will eventually shatter. But sorry it took so long to repost i was away from the puter.

 

[nissanboy]

the only problem with the skip tooth method of welding a diff is the constand loading and unloading of the welds int eh gaps on teh spider gears... it will eventually crack the weld or push the weld bead back out of the groove it was in.

 

[Hotweels]

if your going full width axles then just grab a 9"...

i hear the argument about how low the pinion is on 9"s.... well i put my old 8.8 beside my new 9" and your only losing about 1/2" of clearance... the 8.8 and 9" are VERY close in size and pinion position....

when it comes to welding diff's well... alot of folk's say there great at doing it but few ever really make the grade.... do you trust someone to weld up a carrier your about to bolt $200 worth of gears to? knowing if it blow's yer out that $$$$ plus the install $$$$ and time without yer rig and even having to tow it off the trail? spool's lookin like cheap insurance now eh?..... on the other hand theres always someone who's ran 9's in the 1/4 or 44"s in the bog's with a welded diff and never had any issues.... i think welding a diff is a crap shoot.... have i done it? yes i have welded a few carriers and there holding up fine.... but they are D60 carriers and have alot of meat in them and all the trucks have 35"s or smaller on em...

i run a spool in my rig.... yes it chirp's tires, yes it puts alot of strain on the driveline, yes my truck feel's gutless on pavement due to the axle's always putting drag on the driveline.... BUT... my tires always turn, i dont have to wait for 1 wheel to slip, it's stronger then any regular locker, it's atleast twice as strong as a regular carrier... in short i LOVE it offroad.

8.8"s are a pretty stout diff but they cost a certain ammount to make em strong.... 9"s are dert cheap to build and are proven to be one of the strongest diff's on the planet.... there is more tooth contact with a 9" then a D60 and as ratio's get lower other pinions get smaller when the 9" pinions only get bigger.... you wont break a 9" with 31 spline aftermarket axles and a full spool that has been setup by someone who know's what they are doing with the 4.0 and 36"s.... i run 35" claws at 25psi with a stock 81 F150 9" in the back, full spool and 4.56's mostly trail but i drive it there and back on the street, so far no issues to report....

and if you look thru the worst stuck thread you will see i drive er HARD.

 

[JoshC]

That's the kind of post i'm looking for. Thanks man.

You had a good point Chad, the constant skipping would eventually tear it up i think.

 

[sandrunner]

I put in a mini spool 3 of months ago, yes the tires talk around tight corners, yes the driveline does bind, but only $120 and traction all the time priceless and yea its a daily driver, and yes i am a fool or a die hard off road junkie...I love it.. id rather hace an axle snap than replace the hole carrier. theres junk yards for a reason and moly axles..go with a mini or full spool. mini spool took me about 20 min to install....