Plug weld on front diff cracked.....

[stallion85]

After my wheeling trip this weekend, I noticed the plug weld on the front diff was oozing a little gear oil. The tube did not move much, maybe a 1/32"??

What would be bad about laying a bead of weld around the axle tube housing where it meets with the diff?

 

[theperfectgarage]

Nothing wrong with your bead idea at all, just make sure nothing moved enough to cause any probs. I know that custom axle makers weld 'em in like that instead of just the plug welds.

 

[jms]

I had that done to my D60 rear.

 

[miniwally]

You can do the bead around the tube but you are welding the cast to steel and it is a bit tough to get to work in the first place and then you add all of the contaminants that years of gear oil bring with it and it gets very tough to keep together.

What I have done in the past is use a 3/4 hole saw on a hand drill and drill new plug welds holes in and weld them up.
Heres how to do it.
Start with the center pilot bit in the hole saw. Drill in to the cast a ways away from your existing plug welds until the hole saw has started cutting to a depth of about 1/16" +/-. Then remove the center pilot bit and drill very carefully with the hole saw only until the cast chunk becomes loose and wants to fall out.
Then get your welder out and weld the plug up. I would at that point also weld the tube to the housing but those welds usually don't hold in a used axle due to the oil and crap that the cast has taken in over the years.

The new plug weld thing has worked so far for us.

 

[stallion85]

Cool, thanks Brandon!

 

[FWP]

Yeah that is a cool idea. I caught mine in time, no oil in the joint. Welded it up with a good technique (search PBB), holding up well so far. Also re-welded the original plug holes.