mr_beer
1/2 ton status
I want to here the pros and cons about welding my front differential. My truck is used for farm work and trail use, mostly mud and sand. I'm tired of my truck only being 3 wheel drive.
CK5
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locked front differential
- Thread starter mr_beer
- Start date
pauly383
Daddy383
Maybe mud and sand will be allright , but from what I saw of my friends Sub , welded front he could hardly turn . Crossover or crossover and hydro it would be allright . I have many other friends with lockers up front , some crossover , some push pull , and they have it easier 
Hossbaby50
3/4 ton status
Leave it open till you get the money to buy a lockright. They are much easier on parts then a welded will be. Trying to turn a fully welded front diff will be a b*tch to say the least, especially if you don't have crossover.
Harley
Harley
Id weld it
. If you need to turn sharp, just unlock a hub
. If you need to turn sharp, just unlock a hub 84_Chevy_K10
Banned
Unlocking a hub does not work. Having one wheel in a welded diff pulling will just make the front axle want to rip the steering wheel out of your hand.
Just get a lockright. They're cheap and worth it.
Just get a lockright. They're cheap and worth it.
az-k5
1/2 ton status
It will be the biggest pain in the ass to operate. Full hydro owuld still give you trouble with turning.
pauly383
Daddy383
dleroy43 said:Id weld it
We did that with my friends Sub , it got old real quick , you or your passengers will not want to do that all day long on a trail , in out - in out - in out - gets old
I had a welded diff in the D44 under my old K10 years ago, it was great having all 4 tires pull in the mud but miserable to drive. Turning was nearly impossible and it ate axles and u-joints like crazy.
I would not do it again.
I would not do it again.
86chevybanshee
1/2 ton status
yea welded fronts suck, i did it to my 10bolt before i put my 60 in, it was sweet having a locked front but turning was just rediculous, not worth it to weld, just get a lockright for it
Its better unlocked unless...
Unless you drive ony in a straight line or only offroad in mud or snow,a locked front sucks--my friend welded a 10 bolt in his 85 k10 plow truck--he can plow a parking lot in a straight line better than even some of the 1 ton dumps can!--but its nearly impossible to steer it,when he tried doing a dounut to spin the truck around it blew one of the hubs right off!--we searched for an hour in the snow until we found it,and after a ride to my house to rob another hub off a spare axle,he was back in bussiness-
-but he ended up breaking an axle shaft the next day,and while tearing it down to fix it,we noticed the steering box had pulled away from the frame and it had a huge crack in the frame rail,probably due to fighting the wheel from the welded diff making it pull so hard...we ended up putting another complete boneyard axle in it...I would not weld either front OR rear in a street driven rig--I drove one truck with a spool,it wasnt much fun trying to take sharp corners..
Unless you drive ony in a straight line or only offroad in mud or snow,a locked front sucks--my friend welded a 10 bolt in his 85 k10 plow truck--he can plow a parking lot in a straight line better than even some of the 1 ton dumps can!--but its nearly impossible to steer it,when he tried doing a dounut to spin the truck around it blew one of the hubs right off!--we searched for an hour in the snow until we found it,and after a ride to my house to rob another hub off a spare axle,he was back in bussiness-
-but he ended up breaking an axle shaft the next day,and while tearing it down to fix it,we noticed the steering box had pulled away from the frame and it had a huge crack in the frame rail,probably due to fighting the wheel from the welded diff making it pull so hard...we ended up putting another complete boneyard axle in it...I would not weld either front OR rear in a street driven rig--I drove one truck with a spool,it wasnt much fun trying to take sharp corners..
