Opinions Needed - Welded Rear Diff.

[04 Rocko Taco]

Here is the low down...

1984 4Runner 4WD 22R 5 speed.
All stock. Will be lifted 3 inches this weekend.
I am considering welding the rear diff. Its not a DD, it is a trail rig, simply without a tow rig. It does still have to drive to the trails, which could be anywhere from 5 minutes to 3 hours. Allmost all interstate driving though if its over about 10 minutes away. We don't have snow here....Ever....
If I weld the rear end (and even if I don't) it will be replaced with an E-locked third sometime next year, but I am talking about the now.

I know there will be some driveability issues, but I'll go ahead and say i can put up with a decent amount of driveability to be locked on the trail...

So what do we think? Gonna have the shop weld it up this weekend...so opinions on this in a HURRY would be nice...

Also with your opinion - if you have any type of experience with welded rears, or even just with locked on pavement - give me a rating of 1-10 how bad of a ride am I in for?
1 being the way it rides stock open diff'd, and 10 being no end of problems, and always sliding all over the place on the road.

Anything you guys have got will be appreciated.

[04 Rocko Taco]

Oh yeah, I cross posted this to some other forums as well, so if you see it over there, you can just reply once, you dont have to do it everywhere.

[reggie 00]

Go for it.

I got a spool from 4wheel parts for 135.
I know there will be a difference in driving but i not scared.

Weld it up your going to replace it any way. That way you can provide honest opinions about it for the next person.

[04 Rocko Taco]

Thanks Reggie. a couple of my buddies are running spools and they say it isnt that different from welded... How does your handle on pavement?

[neliconcept]

well since you really dont have to worry much about snow then it wont be a problem since its your daily driver, just do realize its going to be a little harder to turn and will wear down tires faster.

[04 Rocko Taco]

Thanks Blake, Any other ideas and opinions out there?

[tacoclimber]

If you're gonna replace it with an e-locker in the near future, and you don't mind the driveability issues, I say do it. You're gonna love it off road. :thumbup:

[callmej75]

If it was me, I would say spool it. Just a little more dependable than a weld breaking on the trail. I often thought about doing that to the front instead of the rear, but each has their ups and downs. Check summit racing and jegs for spools also. Maybe a mini spool.

[04 Rocko Taco]

Welding costs me like $20 and a spool costs me going on $200 to get it here, PLUS Installation. if Iw as gonna do that, I would just wait for the elocker. :)

[callmej75]

JB Weld.. :thumbup:

[AxleIke]

If you know the issues, and want to do it, then why not?

rear won't be bad. Front would be bad.

[RobG]

Sometimes I forget to unlock the rear ARB when coming off the trail, I usually don't notice until I hit the first parking lot or hard 90 degree turn and it starts chirping. Other times I'll use the rear locker on the street in the rain intentionally, never had a problem yet.

I'd give it about a 3 on your scale. If you are having a problem with an open diff on the trail I'd say it's worth the minor problems on the street in a trail rig. Only unknown for me would be tire wear.

[elripster]

I ran that for a while in my last truck. It never wheeled better. For a trail rig, go for it.

I took some extra steps to ensure it was durable but I doubt they were necessary. I heated the carrier up in my bbq. We welded it and let it cool in the bbq. This was to relieve thermal stress. Again, I have no idea if it did a darn thing but that weld job held.

I drove it on snow and it was no big deal. You can turn much more easily in parking lots on wet/snow so the drive-ability is improved there. You know the rear axle will slide if you bust 'em loose but that's true even with an open diff and it's totally predicable. Assuming you are in 4wd on the snowy roads, you'd have to have at least 3 wheels spinning at the point where the rear axle will slide and that's easy to not do.

Frank

[04 Rocko Taco]

Well, I dont have any snow. :)

The only other thing I have heard is if that weld breaks it pretty much grenades that whole diff hardcore. So the question becomes how likely is this thing to break, and what can you do to safegarud against it?

[callmej75]

The only other thing I have heard is if that weld breaks it pretty much grenades that whole diff hardcore. So the question becomes how likely is this thing to break, and what can you do to safegarud against it?

buy a spool.. :lol:

[04 Rocko Taco]

shush J.

[tacoclimber]

The only other thing I have heard is if that weld breaks it pretty much grenades that whole diff hardcore. So the question becomes how likely is this thing to break, and what can you do to safegarud against it?

buy a spool.. :lol:


:lol: :lol: :lol:

[elripster]

It won't beak. It depends on how the weld penetrated as to whether the whole carrier, which is dirt cheap anyway, will hold up.

Mine was welded with a flux core welder and held up. Anyone with a MIG will have no problem. Just remember the weld the spider gears to one another, not gears to carrier housing, etc...

Frank

[d0ubledown]

weld it. just make sure its welded properly, and you'll be fine. since its not a DD and you wont see any snow conditions...spending any sort of $ on a locker is just silly.