Welded gears on front diff?

[SWIGIN]

Found one, this should be a sticky.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums...onversion-from-live-axle.426231/#post-3560104

 

[delexploder]

its really hard to find , its under the tranns and transfer case forum section under ricks useful threads then under hubs , I've tried to ask that it be put somewhere better simply because its so unknown

 

[delexploder]

Yea i remember that thread , i posted the part numbers there

 

[bigred4x4]

so many mods I want but to little money it's hard to stop once you start building one thing always leads to wanting more.one day I will have the ultimate explorer unless It gets totalled out in an accident.

 

[CDW6212R]

so many mods I want but to little money it's hard to stop once you start building one thing always leads to wanting more.one day
I will have the ultimate explorer unless It gets totalled out in an accident.

Me too, I hope the truck survives to the finish.

 

[Turdle]

I don't have limiting straps yet but its on the to do list . Full droop in a hole and powering up a pretty large rock did mine in. Didn't slip, bite, and break. It just snapped the cv joint under power.

Raise the truck and let it droop.now try to turn a wheel, see if it "snags" hard, or even just stops.
Use a jack to raise the control arm until you get free movement. There is where i would limit the down travel. I think straps stretch though,and, I'm not sure how much more you should allow.

Also. All cv's are not created equal. Some have what seem to me, to be, larger bearing cups and allow more flex.
I got a cheap one once off amazon, that was supposed to be real good, that would not allow stock droop. Stock, with no tt, and sway bars attached. Weight off that wheel, and it was a driver side at that, would not rotate, while all the used ones on my shelf would.

That is a big deal, so beware of that. aftermarket cv's are freaky

 

[CDW6212R]

Is there any stronger front CV axle than others? I need the strength of twisting, not the droop or angle.

 

[Turdle]

Precision are what were recommended to me. Get em at orielly for lifetime warranty.

 

[CDW6212R]

Precision are what were recommended to me. Get em at orielly for lifetime warranty.

Thanks. I've only bought two, early on for my Mercury. One was new from O'Reilly's too, and both are still fine after 105k or so. I ordered two more recently for my 99, rebuilding the whole front end this time.

 

[bigred4x4]

Iv made the decision to go ahead and weld the diff and install a manual switch for the cad until I can afford to regear and install an auto locker or a manual hub conversion if the Lincoln locker works out good I'll report back maybe do a full write up with pics heck may even get someone to make it a stickied that would be cool I'll do this before a ride on shoe creek and big levels GWNF so I can also include a status report on how everything worked out when being put to the test

 

[boominXplorer]

So when you planning on a GWNF run? Last time I went It was pretty dry and I stayed in 2wd 95% of the time (rear locker and 35s helps).

 

[bigred4x4]

Probably beginning of October that'll give me time to do all the work I have to do and get new tires plus have the cash for the trip going to camp along meadows lane after shoe creek one Night then camping on big levels the second night.

By the way according to my other thread "to 33 or not to 33" ....I'm leaning on sticking with the 32's but still doing the TT for clearance all the searching Iv done it seems just about everybody has had to trim the fenders to properly fit them with the lift I have and I really don't want to do that unless someone has some 33's I could test fit.

 

[bigred4x4]

Ok another thing I was thinKing of is I'm guessing doing the Lincoln locker up front would apply power to the front drive shaft regardless of the cad and cause the ring and pinion to turn with the driver front tire now in the comprehensive Brown wire mod gijoe states that excessive wheel slip could force the clutch plates in t case to slip I'm guessing this was over come with the CAD and open front differential the t cases are the same right? So would I have to watch rear wheel spin in 2wd since now I would be running something similar to a live axle? Would an auto locker be much different as far as turning the drive shaft (ring and pinion) while driving down the road I know it allows different wheel speed on turns give there is no torque input?

 

[bigred4x4]

I wonder if the transfer case applies a little power now and then even in two wheel like the 97+ do in 4 auto? is the only real mechanical difference in the two systems the live axle vs. CAD axle? Just a thought I can't send a p.m. for some reason to the one guy that posted on my thread who has done it and has experience with it.

 

[Turdle]

My black truck eventually had Mountaineergreen's setup installed. His wife took over his Mounty , so he wanted it back to stock height.
After some $$ and my stock 373 driveline was swapped to his truck, the superlift and cad were installed in my truck.


After breaking 2 driver side cv's and having only one to make it home on, I switched the cad off, and completed Hancock Pass in 4wd low which was actually 2wd low.

If this helps ya.

 

[bigred4x4]

So the locker kept breaKing the cvs? I'll.look up what set up mountain green had if I can find it.. Were you locked in up front? Then unlocked and was able to make it home? I plan on only using the passenger side (full front diff lock) on straight lines (front tires pointing straight as much as possible) if I can't make in 3 wheel and I'm bringing extra cv's just in case.I'm.not doing any thing crazy though just fairly stocker friendly trails I'd just rather crawl over something then bump and bounce over it with the tires spinning.

 

[bigred4x4]

Also would a locker or welded diff on the cad axle cause the truck to pull towards the driver side on the road given you can only unlock the passenger? When I go on a trail riding trip I have to hit the highway for several hours if I can get through everything even if I have to take the easy route sometimes with an open dif would the probability of breaking cv axle s with the locked front high enough to not be worth the risk? I'm not doing anything real serious there just has been a few times on the trail where I was like man that would of been a piece of cake with a locked front end o well I'll just take the bypass. I just don't want to do something and regret it and changing a cv trail side would make me think twice because I've yet to ever have to change one and Iv done quite a bit of wheeling over the years Iv had this truck.

 

[Turdle]

So the locker kept breaKing the cvs? I'll.look up what set up mountain green had if I can find it.. Were you locked in up front? Then unlocked and was able to make it home? I plan on only using the passenger side (full front diff lock) on straight lines (front tires pointing straight as much as possible) if I can't make in 3 wheel and I'm bringing extra cv's just in case.I'm.not doing any thing crazy though just fairly stocker friendly trails I'd just rather crawl over something then bump and bounce over it with the tires spinning.

No. I just broke em. Nothing to do with anything of concern in this thread. I merely pointed out the cad can be turned off while in 4wd . I had no locker in the front diff, just an Aussie in the rear.

I think with the diff welded though it would perform differently. If you plan on any street driving I would probably not recommend this.

 

[bigred4x4]

Yea it's mostly street (on/off dd )only get to wheel it a few times a year maybe I'll wait to put in an auto locker when I do the gears.but one question do you think the welded diff would act different than a no slip on the road CAD disconnected and in two wheel drive?

I'm doing the Brown wire, and manual CAD switch disconnect mod in the next few days then hopefully I can make it down to the beach this weekend to test it out

 

[Turdle]

Usually people mod the drive systems for more off road capability. From experience, I can say a locked front is no fun over 30mph on icy, snow, wet pavement when using 4wd to get thru above conditions.
However, the AWD system in the v8's performs flawlessly on icy stuff without any input from the driver at all.

I think that is because of the open front diff.
Going further, I cant help to think when the CAD is turned off, high speed driving would create severe drag on the driver front wheel . which to me might be a concern. I think it would constantly pull to the center of the road, which would cause your steering pump to work harder to make up for it.