14blt ff Welding (spider ball)

[Avery4jc]

Honestly I think guys waste too much time, energy and materials when it comes to welding the spiders in a 14 bolt. I took my carrier to work, tacked it together in the carrier then put it on the bench and warmed it up a bit. Then I welded where two teeth contacted solid and made sure it cooled down slowly all afternoon.
No need to weld a huge giant ball of a carrier, just where the teeth contact. If you think about it all the weld everywhere else is doing absolutely nothing. Not saying it hurts, just not necessary.
BTW I've been beating on my welded 14 bolt for a couple years w/o any problems.

 

[dirtygoat]

That's called "The Orb Of Traction"...

Mine looks just like it...

Here's some pics of my 14 year old laying down some beads on my 14b...

 

[BoondocK5]

Mr Blazer scared me to death saying my 14 bolt would explode if i had it welded. So, I went for the mini-spool...it will not break!

 

[NorCal_Chris]

Honestly I think guys waste too much time, energy and materials when it comes to welding the spiders in a 14 bolt. I took my carrier to work, tacked it together in the carrier then put it on the bench and warmed it up a bit. Then I welded where two teeth contacted solid and made sure it cooled down slowly all afternoon.
No need to weld a huge giant ball of a carrier, just where the teeth contact. If you think about it all the weld everywhere else is doing absolutely nothing. Not saying it hurts, just not necessary.
BTW I've been beating on my welded 14 bolt for a couple years w/o any problems.

FWIW ive seen 3 carriers grenade from being welded like that.
One was a 14b that looked like it shattered. This was on rocks slightly twisted up, but not anything too out of the normal.

other one was a 8.8 in a bronco. simular situation.

last one was another r160 in my datsun. Was at the dragstrip with street tires with low air. im thinking one was aired down a little more than the other and i darted to one side with a horrific bang.

to me the extra weld isnt a waste, but cheap insurance and peace of mind that you dont need to worry about the diff exploding because your counting on a couple of welds with a massive amount of shock load and twisting

 

[kgblazerfive]

Mr Blazer scared me to death saying my 14 bolt would explode if i had it welded. So, I went for the mini-spool...it will not break!

After seeing one grenade on the trail and the truck be towed out like 15 miles I suggested a Detroit instead of welding, you went with the spool, which is still ton's better then welding. If you built a orb of traction it would probably stay together forever so I guess you could of went that route.

 

[jekquistk5]

Honestly I think guys waste too much time, energy and materials when it comes to welding the spiders in a 14 bolt. I took my carrier to work, tacked it together in the carrier then put it on the bench and warmed it up a bit. Then I welded where two teeth contacted solid and made sure it cooled down slowly all afternoon.
No need to weld a huge giant ball of a carrier, just where the teeth contact. If you think about it all the weld everywhere else is doing absolutely nothing. Not saying it hurts, just not necessary.
BTW I've been beating on my welded 14 bolt for a couple years w/o any problems.

That your opinion and it works for you and your 35's, but having more material in there like the orb of traction, spreads out any force that is applied rather than having it on a few points like in your spiders. Its simple physics, and to me its well worth the extra 30 min to add more steel.

 

[dirtygoat]

Nothing bad will come from adding a whole bunch of weld and making an orb... I've been running 38.5 SXs that are grooved... Now I'm running 44 TSLs... There's no way I'd spend money on a locker for my 14b...

 

[Avery4jc]

How about some pictures of carriers that have cracked/exploded...

I'd be willing to bet they didn't break at the weld but broke the carrier itself which I'd say is because of no pre-heat and/or cooled too fast making the carrier brittle.
Yes it's just my opinion and adding more material doesn't do any harm but I don't see it being helpful in this situation.

That being said I'll post pics when mine explodes and you can all point and laugh.

 

[jekquistk5]

How about some pictures of carriers that have cracked/exploded...

I'd be willing to bet they didn't break at the weld but broke the carrier itself which I'd say is because of no pre-heat and/or cooled too fast making the carrier brittle.
Yes it's just my opinion and adding more material doesn't do any harm but I don't see it being helpful in this situation.

That being said I'll post pics when mine explodes and you can all point and laugh.

edit nevermind I see what you did...

 

[owenst7]

How about some pictures of carriers that have cracked/exploded...

I'd be willing to bet they didn't break at the weld but broke the carrier itself which I'd say is because of no pre-heat and/or cooled too fast making the carrier brittle.
Yes it's just my opinion and adding more material doesn't do any harm but I don't see it being helpful in this situation.

That being said I'll post pics when mine explodes and you can all point and laugh.

I welded to my carrier and it has been holding up fine for a couple years now in the rocks. Its a G80 so I had no concern for saving the carrier since I'll need a new one if I ever change the setup. It will probably just get a spool to replace it though.

 

[stumpjump]

I kicked around the idea of welding mine up but ultimately it was worth spending the 200 for an overson mini spool for the peace of mind. It's a solid machined orb of traction, plus install was under a half hour and i didn't have to worry about warping or any potential problems with the weld.

http://store.oemaxle.com/product_info.php?cPath=4_21&products_id=20

 

[dirtygoat]

I didn't weld my carrier...

Laid the spider gears in there and tacked them together... Flipped it and tacked the other side... The pulled them out and welded a ball...

My carrier never got hot...

I don't understand why you would even weld the carrier...

 

[63chevyll]

Ok, Im a dummy, but whats an orb?

 

[NorCal_Chris]

The word "Orb", from the Latin orbis 'circle', is another name for a round object, especially a disk or a sphere.

call it that cuz you weld it and it ends up being a ball.

 

[chulisohombre]

i bought a detroit and broke it.i wish i woulda just welded mine.i woulda been down 30 bucks in wire instead of 400 on the detroit,and still had to put the spiders back in so i could drive it out.luckily i still had everyrthing in the truck at the time.

 

[jekquistk5]

I didn't weld my carrier...

Laid the spider gears in there and tacked them together... Flipped it and tacked the other side... The pulled them out and welded a ball...

My carrier never got hot...

I don't understand why you would even weld the carrier...

thats what I had typed until I edited it.

 

[sweetk30]

i bought a detroit and broke it.i wish i woulda just welded mine.i woulda been down 30 bucks in wire instead of 400 on the detroit,and still had to put the spiders back in so i could drive it out.luckily i still had everyrthing in the truck at the time.

and no warrenty ?

 

[chulisohombre]

and no warrenty ?

Nope no warrantee.i bought the detroit when I was rebuilding the truck and had money and hadnt put the detroit in til a couple months before the warrantee was up.4 months later it stripped the inside gears on the side gears and broke off some of the teeth.i called eaton and they said if no warantee,they cant help.i can buy the center chunk and side gears again but that cost almost as much as a new one.so I just left it open and will probly get a new one or weld it in the future

 

[cybrfire]

I did the weld orb in a 14BFF for a guy with a very health 496 big block and LARGE tractor tires. Orb held up fine. The axle shafts shattered though.

My blazer also has a weld orb front and rear.

 

[dirtygoat]

I did the weld orb in a 14BFF for a guy with a very health 496 big block and LARGE tractor tires. Orb held up fine. The axle shafts shattered though.

My blazer also has a weld orb front and rear.

Nice...