I've got a 95 4runner and I'm considering welding the spider gears in the front. Got alot of snow wheeling to do this winter but still do a lot of dirt/mud trail. Any ideas or thoughts on the matter. Would appreciate any past experiences from someone who has done this before would like to hear all pros and cons.

 

Not a good idea in the front. You will break stuff. If it is not a daily driver then go for it but remember going back will cost you. I would get a Lockright for $250. Easier to install probebly then welding and you can always put it back if you don't like how it drives. If you stick some manual hubs on it you may be okay with the Lincoln locker.

 

DONT do the front spiders, unless you like spending money replacing parts.

Go with a detroit, or better yet an ARB.

And first mod you need to do it put on manual hubs.

 

I did it on my 88. And ran it with an open diff in the rear. Some dirt, mud, snow. Then replaced it with a set of new spider/side gears. Never doin' that again.

Pros
A little bit better traction going STRAIGHT forward/reverse. I was not impressed however and was thinking it would be much more. And it sucked compared to an open diff when turning because the wheels work against each other. The wheel that's turning at the right speed to have good traction(inside wheel)has to drag the other wheel along as it's not spinning fast enough(outside wheel if undifferentiated while turning). Dragging a wheel = no traction for that wheel, esp. on a slick surface.

Cons
Couldn't steer for squat, as in barely being able to turn the wheel to attempt to and extreme loss of response/traction even when I could get the wheels pointed in the right direction. What little I could accomplish was a TREMENDOUS strain on my steering components, already overburdened with 35's and t-bars up 2". I tried unlocking one hub to help steering and I couldn't tell the difference. For whatever reason that did not work for me AT ALL, had to unlock BOTH. PITA!

Don't do it!

 

i would do the rear before you did the front. being able to turn is kind of important and a rear locker wont hurt your turning as much as a front.

 

IF you drive in snow on the road AT ALL, I do not recommend anything but selectable for the front.

Snow plays havoc with front auto lockers. They unlock like they are supposed to most of the time, but some of the time they stay locked.

When this happens, you go straight. Doesn't matter how hard you have the wheels turned, both break away, and the truck continues straight.

It's pretty neat in an empty parking lot, no so neat on the road.

 

Not true^^^^ I had front and rear welded on my 88sas no problem on ice or snow. BUT turning was a bitch. Deffinently don't do it. I would only pick a selectable for up front on a d.d. Snow truck

 

Oh, it is absolutely true.

I can simulate a welded diff all day long, and it did exactly what I described.

Not sure what the difference is there, or why we had two different experiences, but it was absolutely horrid.

 

x2 - same thing here

 

If only there were a differential at the transfer case. My old Plymouth 4x4 with LSD's ("Posi-trac"?) was great in most every condition....including snow. It just wasn't geared very low and had an automatic. So, with inertia, it could get away from you real easy having to tap the brakes to slow down. And when you did lock the transfer case....wow....go anywhere.

 

I would not do anything but an ARB or Tru trac in the front.

If it's welded, spooled or even an auto locker, to a lesser extent, you're almost always going to have to either take it out of 4wd, which means you are not in low range anymore. (unless you have dual cases and TRUE 2wd low) So you've lost your gear reduction which in most situations you need more than lockers.....without it you're probably gonna stall if it's anything tough, or ram it and break stuff.

OR you have to get out and unlock a hub. Which means you'll be in and out of the truck every time you want to turn in 4wd. Which means you'll be in essentially 2wd every time you need to turn.

In most cases, the money it would take to make a non-selectable locking method work as well as a selectable, would cost more than just buying a selectable locker.

The #1 mod for any 4x4 is money. It will make your truck the best ever.

 

had my front welded by the previous owner of my 85 4runner. if i had the choice, i would run open differentials over welded front. like everyone is saying, it is extremely tough to steer. the front ends up pushing you around where you dont want to go (i.e. you want to turn, it wants to go strait even with the wheels turned because the wheels are sliding).

i've always heard its hard on tires to weld the back, and i still think that is true, but if i had my choice i would weld the rear. sure it might hurt some tires but it is a ton safer. like everyone said, $ is what makes a truck. if you dont have any $ and welding is the only option, i would weld the rear. otherwise hold out for an aussie locker or a lock-rite (easy to install and cheap...like $250 cheap!) check out the classifieds on here and on other bulletin board systems, craigslist and your local nickel. you're bound to find something.

 

speaking of deals...this sounds like a killer deal if it is your gear ratio...

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f11/...t-diff-128225/

 

heck, even if its not your ratio its a good deal. pull the arb out and have a shop throw it into yours.

 

The best line ever!!!!!!!!!!

 

This "tru-trac" thing....is it a "limited slip" unit?

(urp...nevermind. Google has informed me that's what I had in my Plymouth.)

OP...I'd get one of them. Hell, if I had the moola I'd get one for the front and rear on mine. I don't ever go rock crawling.

 

If you got one of them fancy Grant steering wheels, then don't do it. Because then it will just be for looks. In other words, you will not be able to turn.

 

I've herd that welding the gears is just a cheap version of a solid axle. Whats the difference between the two.

 

A solid axle is a term used to describe a "live axle". Essentially, that is what you have in the rear of your truck, or, if you look at guys running SAS kits, they use an 85 or earlier front axle to get a solid axle front.

Welding the spider gears essentially spools your front end permanently. You have ZERO differentiation, ever. You need differentiation to turn.

Cheaper is very seldom better, its just easier.