From BillVista's D60 bible...
This is one of those 'ask 100 people, get 100 different opinions" kind of questions. I'll leave it to you to sort through it and decide what you think is best. Personally, all my side and spider gears are welded to each other and the carrier.
Gears to gears and gears to carrier is the way I have seen hold. if you just weld the side gears and spider gears together all your force is on the pin. this may be ok on big axles like d60's, 70's, 14 bolt's, etc. but the pin can break when it is done like this on smaller axles.
I like to get some real beef in there. In the old days (before Everybody had a MIG) we would throw some nuts and bolts in the weld area and burn them in for additional filler. I prefer not to weld to the casting of the carrier, but I know people who have done it without problems.
If you have a DANA axle...weld the piss outta it...the new carriers are about $50-$75 new. The 14bolt carrier remains even if you buy a locker and they are $250 new...this is why people are only welding the spiders on the 14bolt. Just in case they go locker later....
The first time I helped a buddy weld one up, we welded it to the carrier and ended up having to reset the gears cuz the carrier musta expanded or something.
Well I can show you a way that has been tried and tested on front 44s and for 60s or any thing that you don't have to go in and pop out c-clips. Weld spiders to sides and sides to spiders on both sides and then take a rectangle piece of metal 3/8 thick or even thicker and drop it in on both sides and then weld it all the way around. Never has caused problems as of yet! 6 years going on 7.
Everyone I've seen welded (we're poor up here in the hills so that's a lot) we just weld the side gears to the carrier and then fill between the spiders and side gears where they mesh. helps to heat (to get the gear oil out) then sand blast then clean really well before.
Just weld the spiders to the case and also to each other. Start as far in as ya can then work your way out. it'll work fine. no need for high tensile or heating it up. Use a MIG so you can get further in to start, and weld everywhere they make contact. I've hammered mine hard and still no cracks.
Take the ring gear off clean the carrier with brake parts cleaner or something similar. let it dry then lay down some type of welding prep spray to minimize splatter be sure to weld it HOT but not to the point it distorts the splines on the inside
Got about 10 years on mine....daily driver. Most of the Lincolns that I've seen break were not welded to the case. In my opinion welding to the case makes the unit stronger as a whole. Just doing the spider gears puts all your faith into the x-pin. No different than a mini spool.
I bathed the diff in solvent, and then heated it with a torch to burn off the residual oil. I used the TIG some, it worked fine but an awfully small bead, so I decided to try the MIG, and it worked fine BUT right after I welded where the side gears engage the spider gears each weld had a crack?
What am I doing wrong? I routed out the cracks ( they weren't deep) and Fused them back together with the TIG, but my confidence is gone now until I figure out what I was doing wrong or what was set wrong with the machine - a big Miller power source with a wire feeder mounted on top of it, using 308 stainless wire, maybe I should change to mild steel wire?
any ideas appreciated
I have MIG welded stainless to mild steel and had it crack just like you are saying. use some regular mild steel wire. or just TIG it up completely with some mild steel rod.
I used 308 stainless to arc weld my diff with no preheat and it did not crack when I welded it. I just took it out after a summer of mud bogs and there are still no cracks anywhere.
Try to make the beads convex, concave beads are more likely to crack, also if you can lay a wider bead with a little less penetration the bead is less likely to crack, especially below the surface. Also watch the interpass temperature.
I welded my rear diff last week for the jambo. Held up through the jambo, but when I pulled my diff cover off to fix a hole, I saw that all my welds had broken. I cleaned out the chunks and put it back together. Still locked up for a day or two, but now I am back to an open diff. That is the reason you get a spool over welding. I used too big of a rod and too much heat and I melted the gears instead of welding them. I am going to try it again with 6011 rod. It seems to work much better.
What kind of rod did you use the first time? I'd use 7018 since its a 70,000 PSI rod instead of 60,000 PSI. It sounds like what you are saying is that if you get them welded good they are just as good as a spool?
I welded mine about a month ago. I just laid weld every where. I used 7018. it hasn't broke yet. I peeled out on the dry pavement and it hasn't broke yet.
I welded mine (front) with 7018 and Jack A's rear with a Millermatic 210. I also welded the side gears to the carrier, and multiple passes on everything. I've got almost a year of hard wheelin' on mine and about a month on Jack's. I've gone through 4 Birf's and it's still good.
Isn't 7018 (mild steel) the wrong type of metal to be using on gears (high carbon steel)? would something like nickel rod with a little more give to it work better, or maybe stainless? and no, I'm not an experienced welder by far,
I've heard 6011's work real well.
My method is to clean very well, pre-heat, 7018, multiple passes, just weld the gears. I have probably done 10 rear ends this way ( clean very well, pre-heat, 7018, multiple passes, just weld the gears) and to my knowledge none have failed. Lo Hi is made for welding high carbon steel without cracking. 6011 is a very poor choice for high carbon steel
