Pros/Cons of welding rear diff
 

I am considering welding the rear diff on my 87 runner. It will be driven on the street some but will also be wheeled. I am also considering an aussie locker for the rear but an aussie is obviously more money than welding. I would appreciate feedback from anyone who has done this and what their results were for road driving. I am in PA so I do have to contend with snow and ice quite frequently but with either locked I will see some tricky driving when the roads get slick.

I would assume tight maneuvering on pavement would be rough,probably similar to having the rear diff locked on a 3rd gen and maneuvering say,around in a parking lot.

A welded diff on pavement will probably break axles, even full time lockers unlock some when turning.

Yep, and at 45 mph trying to go around a curve with a spool is downright dangerous.
We had to drive a buddy's rig with a rear spool on the road once for about 10 miles. Scary. Very bad idea if you're going to EVER drive it on the street.

DD at all = NO as it might even be illegal in some states

Trail rig only = go for it

really? i could barely tell a difference after i welded mine in the runner, the only time you know its back there is when making tight slow turns, at speed it feels a little different than a open diff but not enough to lose control

as stated above, its a bad idea. it will also cause your rear tires to wear much faster.

I see you're in Pa. Wet roads and a fully locked rear can be scary, I'd hate to try snow/ice.

I completely agree with superjoe. Except for low-speed turning, i.e. parking lots, it is not even noticeable. I much prefer my full spool to my old Lock-Right. The Lock-Right would lock and unlock, pop and bang, click and jerk. The spool (or a welded diff) is 100% completely predictable.

My truck is a total trail beater, but it sees road use at least once a week, maybe running up to the grocery store or something. I have absolutely no problems driving on-road.

I've had the spool for 3 winters now, and whenever it snows I don't drive my TJ or XJ with open diffs; I drive the spooled Toyota. Never once had a problem in the snow, on-road or off.

Spare 3rd members are pretty cheap; cheaper than an Aussie or Lock-Right. I say weld your diff, and if you hate it buy a used 3rd member to swap back in.

Would there be a noticable difference in the on road driving characteristics between say an aussie locker in the rear versus a welded rear? I assume neither will feel like a stock open rear but would I notice the difference between the two?

The feedback I heard around here, also suggest people hardly notice a spool after a short while of driving. We have a lot of rain around here also. Just don't step on it around tight corners, because it'll break loose easier. The same goes for auto lockers, so that's not much different.
It will eat your tires faster, depending on how much you drive over time a selectable locker might even be cheaper. That will take a couple of sets of tires though.

"lunchbox" lockers I believe are far worse to drive on the road than a spool/welded diff. Say a person is turning on to a freeway on-ramp, long radius accelerating turn, right? As a person turns in and steps on the gas the locker locks up and all of a sudden you have gone from regular open diff-type to fully locked in the middle of a corner and the truck jerks to the outside of corner. A spool is always predictable and if you drive it right, alot of fun (see "truth about spools" sticky) the amount of traction that you add is unbelievable and you will not break axles on the street (I am now on my second spooled DD vehicle and would do it again in a heartbeat) the only breakage concern you might have is if the weld job is not done carefully. I say, go for it!!! :bigok: