So after doing some searching to make sure I had a clue what I was doing. I tore down the axle to give it a "Miller Locker". I've never pulled a axle shaft, let alone the 3rd member, so it was all new. Went pretty smooth, the left axle shaft needed a deadblow hammer to get it loose, but that was the extent of it. I left the carrier in the 3rd member, packed damp wash clothes in the axle input slines to keep the slag out (worked well).

Cleaned the spiders as best I could with some degreaser, then just alot of tedious drying and cleaning in each gear tooth to make sure I got good welds.

I first made some big tack welds from the center pin to the small spider gears before placing the steel plate in.

I used some 1/4" plate steel cut to fit halfway down in the spiders, and welded it to kingdom come. I did one pass, then let it cool for 10 minutes, and repeat until all 4 corners were done to try and keep the heat down. I used my Miillermatic 175 on full blast, and it got great penetration. I did not weld to the case at all, figured that would just put more stress in places that it didn't need.

I got some slag because I kept hitting the next tooth as I moved over, and the change of hieght threw me off. Overall, pretty easy job, took me going really slow about 4 hours. Still need to bleed the rear brakes some, then go try and get stuck somewhere (and not break it )

Pulled


Started to clean it up


Still cleaning


Test fitting the plate


Welded, and Rtv ready

 

NICE !

 

Sweet! Make sure you drain the diff oil after a while so you make sure to get all the little pieces of metal you may have missed when cleanin afterwards

 

Driving it now reminds me of the little Kubota tractor I had when u stomp the diff lock pedal. I love it. Turning difference isn't noticeable to me, I can see the tire wear on the road would come quicker though. Overall, best 4 hours of work i've done.

 

did u use a gas or no gas welder?

 

Millermatic 175 w/ C25 gas.

 

i have a clarke mig welder that runs on no gas. do you think that would do the job?

 

I'm guessing that its a 110v welder? If so, I wouldn't use that. The welds need to really dig into the spiders, and a 110v just wouldn't have the juice to do that in my opinion. Flux wire in your gasless welder seems to burn hotter, but it still wouldn't come close to a 220v welder on max, and I didn't even penetrate as much as I really wanted.

 

Looks awesome, but for me, it would not work because my 22r is putting down so much powerzzz that it would turn that block to mush.

 

Well, we all know us 20r's are pushing like 20 hp . Im gonna downsize in tires, to a 33x10.5 for better traction and ease on the drivetrain though.

 

Yeah the 22r is nearing triple digit horsepower, so watch out.

 

Nice, we plan on welding up a buddy's diff soon..
We are going to plate it like that i think.

And FWIW, ive heard a lot of people welding theirs with 120V and not having a problem.
You should be fine if you take your time IMO.

Just like everything else, prep is super important, and then make sure you get good penetration.

 

ive been running welded diffs front and rear for 3 yrs now on 37's and never had a problem, one was a 220 with gas job and the other was 110 fluxcore job.
ive also got a built 22re and 200 to 1 crawl ratio

 

Next up for me is gearing. As of now the stock gearing puts way to much stress (either riding the clutch, or just lugging it) to really enjoy the type of offroading I like. 200 to 1 sounds good , not sure i'll get that low, but a 4.71 t-case seems nice as a start.

 

When you weld diffs, isent it a pain on dry pavement? like when turning and what not?

 

Its not to bad, you only really notice around a 90 degree corner, then u get some shuffling of the tire. But this truck is rarely going for long street trips.

 

if your running a 110 welder... run intercore wire...no gas needed

 

yeah its a 110 using flux cored wire

 

thats what she said..

 

I know...

Just restating what she told me!