i was thinking welding my front and rear diffs so that i can go threw mud ALOT easier and go threw sand but still be able to go on the road because it is my daily driver but i dont drive on highways because i dont have them and i want to know if my axle shafts will hold up im running 33's with 3.55 gears so i dont think that breaking my axle shafts will be a problem but i dont want to blow my ring and pinion. would it be a good idea i can go to the junkyard and get a diff from a old chrysler 9.25 if i dont like it in the rear but in the front i dont think will be a problem cuz of the vacuum actuated 4wd but i have been wrong before and probably be wrong here too

thanks,
cam

 

under no circumstance do you ever want to weld the front dif on a 4x4 if you plan on driving it on the street. having both front tires spinning the exact same speed will make turning corners almost impossible and dangerous. now welding the rear dif will effect corning a bit but nothing going a little faster could not solve.

 

I don't recommend welding any diff on a road driver. You can get away with welding the front diff if you have an axle disconnect but I sure would not do it on a daily driver. You will definitely have to stop to engage the axle lock without problems. Remember that the Dana 44 is not a heavy duty diff.

The rear diff will be the problem when welded. When you turn a corner the outside tire has to travel further than the inside tire. Something has to give. Tire scuff or something breaking will be the outcome on a high traction surface like pavement.

A much better solution would be air lockers to prevent all of the problems. You can at the same time better match the 33" tires with a better gear ratio than the 3.55s.

 

yes i have an axle disconnect so if i weld my front diff and when im in sand and stuff like that my front axle would be doing most of the work right?

 

weld the back, yes it might chirp the tire when turning on pavement but a 9 1/4 chrysler rear shouldnt break, i tried to lol but the front i would recommend an actual locker. or just go with an np203 transfer case fulltime 4wd

 

A full time transfer case doesn't do anything for traction in off road situations which is what he wants to increase. It would only increase the problems that will occur on high traction surfaces with the things he is proposing. If you have a full time T-case I would go with CW and recommend never welding the front diff no matter what diff you have.

If you weld the front diff only, then yes you would be putting most of the load on your weakest diff. As I said I do not recommend doing this. As someone that has just replaced a front right axle on a Dana 44 I can tell you they are a pain in the butt to work on. The U-joint ears on the ends of the outer axles are the weakest part of this diff.

 

so im not trying to put too much money into this truck because i will need to sell it next year to go to school so i will keep the axles transfercase and everything stock to reduce the risk of losing money if i were to keep it i would prob go for dana 60s front and rear and get actual spools but im doing this on a budget so the 9.25 will hold up to the welded diff??and the dana 44 wont? and i will not be using the 4wd on the street only in sand and mud and maybe in the snow

 

If you plan on selling it then I definitely would not weld.

If I was looking at buying a truck, a welded differential would be an immediate deal breaker. Im not as familiar with spools but I understand they are not the preffered route either.

 

I agree with CG. If you plan on selling it then I definitely would not weld. I know that I wouldn't buy a truck with welded diffs even though I am a decent shade tree mechanic that could fix that. Welded diffs would tell me that instead of doing something the right we the owner did it the cheap way. If the cheap way was chosen with the diffs then more than likely other things were not done correctly. No offense meant but that is the way most buyers think.

 

I would strongly advise not to weld the front diff. Bad bad idea. Now, the rear... I did this once on an '88 F150 that I was solid axle swapping with a set of dana 60s. Before the swap happened, the open 8.8 diff recieved a few sticks of welding rod. I also had just built a 460 for the truck. Light truck + fresh 460 + welded rear diff = Lots of u-joints, lots of tires. Heck of alot of fun, but I wouldnt do it again. If youre selling it, I wouldnt do it.