Diff gears welded together?

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Hendo2.5
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Diff gears welded together?

Post by Hendo2.5 »

I just opened my front diff up and found this. Has it been welded together?
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tgreese
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Re: Diff gears welded together?

Post by tgreese »

Yep. A so-called "Lincoln Locker." It's welded solid.
Tim Reese
Maine beekeeper's truck: '77 J10 LWB, 258/T15/D20/3.54 bone stock, low options (delete radio), PS/PDB, hubcaps.
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Topic author
Hendo2.5
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Re: Diff gears welded together?

Post by Hendo2.5 »

should I hate it? it looks like I should.
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Cecil14
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Re: Diff gears welded together?

Post by Cecil14 »

It's not as horrible in the front as it would be in the back. You can just lock one hub and leave the other unlocked. Leave the passenger side hub locked and it'll always pull that side. If you need more traction, get out and lock the driver hub. If you leave both locked in 4wd, you're going to have a really hard time steering.



aa
1983 J-10 - 4.6L(MPFI)/CS130D/Hydroboost/NV3550/D300/44/44/3.54/Disc-Disc/32s/42 gallon 'burb tank
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Stuka
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Re: Diff gears welded together?

Post by Stuka »

It makes turning in 4wd quite a bit harder, makes it so that you can't use 4wd for snow, and will make it easier to break front shafts.

But, it does give you a ton of traction offroad.
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Hendo2.5
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Re: Diff gears welded together?

Post by Hendo2.5 »

It's not going to work for me. I haven't pulled it out yet.how many parts will I need to replace to get it back to normal? I guess the gears won't come out now that they are welded.
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Tatsadasayago
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Re: Diff gears welded together?

Post by Tatsadasayago »

Hendo2.5 wrote:It's not going to work for me. I haven't pulled it out yet.how many parts will I need to replace to get it back to normal? I guess the gears won't come out now that they are welded.
That's the rub. You are going to have to pull the carrier and either break or cut the welds to get the spiders and side gears out. If you are wanting an open differential, it might be better to source a used carrier. If not, now is the time for a limited-slip, locker or selectable locker.
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Hendo2.5
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Re: Diff gears welded together?

Post by Hendo2.5 »

That's what I figured. Can I use the limited slip from my rear axel? That would let me make use of it if I put a locker in the rear.
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tgreese
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Re: Diff gears welded together?

Post by tgreese »

What's the application? It may be easier to find a complete replacement axle that has not been welded.
Tim Reese
Maine beekeeper's truck: '77 J10 LWB, 258/T15/D20/3.54 bone stock, low options (delete radio), PS/PDB, hubcaps.
Browless and proud: '82 J20 360/T18/NP208/3.73, Destination A/Ts, 7600 GVWR
Copper Polly: '75 CJ-6, 304/T15, PS, BFG KM2s, soft top
GTI without the badges: '95 VW Golf Sport 2000cc 2D
Dual Everything: '15 Chryco Jeep Cherokee KL Trailhawk, ECO Green
Blockchain the vote.
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Cecil14
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Re: Diff gears welded together?

Post by Cecil14 »

If you swap the carrier, then you'll need to reset all the gears. If you can just replace the spider gears you should be ok. If the gears were not welded to the carrier directly (hard to tell in the pics) or the cross pin, you may be able to drive out the pin and slide the whole assembly out. You'll have to remove the ring gear, of course.

If you've got D44s front and rear, then yes, the rear carrier (LSD) should fit in the front. But again, you'll need to reset the gears.


aa
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Hendo2.5
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Re: Diff gears welded together?

Post by Hendo2.5 »

thanks. I guess the first step is to see what I can pull out. The thought of setting backlash etc isn't a nice one.
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Stuka
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Re: Diff gears welded together?

Post by Stuka »

Yeah, it doesn't look like the gears are welded to the carrier. So i would try getting the cross pin out. Assuming the spiders are not welded to the cross pin or the cross pin wasn't warped by the heat.
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Topic author
Hendo2.5
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Re: Diff gears welded together?

Post by Hendo2.5 »

the cross pin has come out but I can't see how the gears are going to come out. I don't see how it can come out as one piece. Any Ideas on how to get them out?

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Re: Diff gears welded together?

Post by SJTD »

I don't see how they can. The side gears have to move inward to come out and that isn't going to happen with the spiders in the way.

What a mess. Even if the welds break it won't be easy to get them out.
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Topic author
Hendo2.5
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Re: Diff gears welded together?

Post by Hendo2.5 »

The only thing I can think to do is to cut them with a diamond bladed reciprocating saw. Im hoping that the gears aren't harder than a grade 8 bolt.

Cheapthrills
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Re: Diff gears welded together?

Post by Cheapthrills »

I would pull the carrier with spiders in there, and replace the carrier and all and spiders.

An open carrier is cheap,
I don't see why you couldn't put your limited slip in there.

On the other hand I have an electric locker if your interested... never used 3.92 and up gears



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tgreese
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Re: Diff gears welded together?

Post by tgreese »

The only problem with replacing the case is you'd lose the setup. If you can get the shaft and spiders out, you can put the case and bearings back with no additional adjustment.

You have air? I'd use a die grinder with a pointy carbide tip. It will grind away weld easily. Once you have the case out, you can remove the ring gear to have more room to reach the welds. You may need a spreader to get the case out. Protect the bearings from grindings.
Tim Reese
Maine beekeeper's truck: '77 J10 LWB, 258/T15/D20/3.54 bone stock, low options (delete radio), PS/PDB, hubcaps.
Browless and proud: '82 J20 360/T18/NP208/3.73, Destination A/Ts, 7600 GVWR
Copper Polly: '75 CJ-6, 304/T15, PS, BFG KM2s, soft top
GTI without the badges: '95 VW Golf Sport 2000cc 2D
Dual Everything: '15 Chryco Jeep Cherokee KL Trailhawk, ECO Green
Blockchain the vote.

Topic author
Hendo2.5
Posts: 159
Joined: Sun Aug 20, 2017 3:33 pm
Location: Ontario

Re: Diff gears welded together?

Post by Hendo2.5 »

I have a modest air set up. I'll give that a try.
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