What's new
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

those with welded/spooled rear on a DD

big83chevy4x4 said:
how unbearable was it? i still use my truck as a truck, i haul stuff all the time. sometimes heavy, sometimes not. like next weekend, we are hauling 2 vehicles to the scrap yard. then later in the summer we are getting everything to put a roof on the house with my truck.

right now im almost tempted to weld it, my buddy has a 4.10 open sf for $100 if i don't like it, or i can always put my gov loc back in. :crazy:
Click to expand...
really bad! the differance between with a load and emty is night and day. I say with out a heavy load its no big deal, alot of hipe , lots of miss info out there on this subject, but if you haul heavy louds ( 500#+) you will not like it. not talking about towing, I think welded would be Ok for towing ,but the weight over the axle is rough
 
I wouldn't weld it if you're going to haul any heavy weight around. IMO it's going to snap axle shafts pretty often. I guess what i'm saying is something is going to have to give when turning and I think it's going to be harder for the tire to spin around with a load on them. I ran a spool for 2 years and hated it because I couldn't haul very much. Also when I had a spool in it ate tires like a SOB. I almost for got that it will dig holes in gravel driveways where you turn all the time.
 
I've had mine welded for about a year and a half. Chirping and jerking around corners does get annoying. There is also considerable tire wear compared to an open differential. But also when you think about it, a locker will still lockup around corners sometimes and will add to the tire wear/total wear of everything over an open differential. But with welded, you saved about $400 or so, which you could buy 2 completely new rear tires and will be ahead of the game somewhat.

Living in a place with ice and snow you might have problems with the locker also. I've definately heard of people hating the locker because it will lock-up halfway around a turn causing the rear tires to completely slip losing control. Where a welded is much more predictable and you can feel it the whole time around turns.
 
smokkey1 said:
I'm going to be installing an mini spool next week in my 14ff. I was going to buy an detriot but I started thinking along the line as 85mudblazin and said screw it. the sub doesn't get driven much any ways maybe 50 miles a week. btw I picked it up from www.polyperformance.com great guys to deal with.
Click to expand...


Um. I was going to do the same route. But at that time there was no minispools for a 14bolt full float. I bought a FULL spool for mine for $250. I like the way it acts and the strength but if you take your time welding you can get by cheaper. When I welded my spools they heat shrunk and would not fit back in the carrier...I was leaving in two days to go to tellico hence the full spool.

If you choose to weld. Be careful to get it right

Full spool....$250 and I didnt have to reset pinion.

Full locker like a detroit $350 and install costs plus setting pinion. total about $600.
 
Last edited:
I ran a mini in my 14 for a while. Loved it. Yep, it had quirks on the pavement, but I was driving a lifted blazer w/ no swaybars, worn out shocks, unbalanced swamps, etc... What's one more quirk LOL!

If I had it to do all over again, since I was DAILY driving it and NOT wheeling it at the time, I wouldn't do it, but when I DID go offroad, there was just flat no comparison. Period. NONE!!!

I drove ~60 miles on an average day, everyday. On serious days, it was more like ~400 miles a day. Drove through downtowns, parking garages, turnpikes, etc... Didn't bother me at all.

Got my mini at www.ouversonengineering.com Installed it in an afternoon :D

KP
 
eripley said:
Um. I was going to do the same route. But hate to break it to you there is no minispools for a 14bolt full float. I bought a FULL spool for mine for $250. I like the way it acts and the strength but if you take your time welding you can get by cheaper. When I welded my spools they heat shrunk and would not fit back in the carrier...I was leaving in two days to go to tellico hence the full spool.
There is no mini spool.

Someone else mentioned a lunchbox locker as well but they are misinformed. There is no such thing for a 14bolt ff.

Your options are weld. Be careful to get it right

Full spool....$250 and I didnt have to reset pinion.

Full locker like a detroit $350 and install costs plus setting pinion. total about $600.
Click to expand...

Try again. If there is no such thing as a minii for a 14, then who know's what in the hell I'm running ;)

Yes there are, although I think they're relatively new to the market.

http://www.ouversonengineering.com/...ail?v=1&pid=100
Click to expand...

^^^^^^^^^^^^
That's the one I run

Here's a pic ;)

HPIM0084_ezr.JPG
 
i run a 14 bolt SEMI float, not a FF. a lockright for this axle is $365, i can't afford anything over $100 right now.

as for parking lots, i have enough of a problem getting in the spaces because how long my truck is.

as for the weight, the nice thing about a truck vs. a blazer or burb, they don't have as much weight over the rear axle. so i could probably get away with more weight in the rear than a blazer or burb before having issues. then again, most of the time when im hauling something heavy is on gravel roads.

i guess im gonna back my truck in the garage this weekend and weld her up. if i don;t like it i can cut it out and put spiders in it and suffer with an open till i can afford a lockright.
 
eripley said:
Um. I was going to do the same route. But hate to break it to you there is no minispools for a 14bolt full float. I bought a FULL spool for mine for $250. I like the way it acts and the strength but if you take your time welding you can get by cheaper. When I welded my spools they heat shrunk and would not fit back in the carrier...I was leaving in two days to go to tellico hence the full spool.
There is no mini spool.

Someone else mentioned a lunchbox locker as well but they are misinformed. There is no such thing for a 14bolt ff.

Your options are weld. Be careful to get it right

Full spool....$250 and I didnt have to reset pinion.

Full locker like a detroit $350 and install costs plus setting pinion. total about $600.
Click to expand...



t_183.jpg




http://www.polyperformance.com/shop/product.php?productid=183&cat=48&page=1


here's the one that's sitting in my garage ;)
 
Sorry to everyone on the minispool for full float. I looked and looked before getting the full spool.

However are you guys not concerned that you basically took a bullet proof rearend and made it a weaker with both axles locked into a minispool and having those 4 pins support all that torque?

With a full spool or full carrier locker you dont have that weak point. Welded you might but If you weld the spiders all together and then the spiders to the carrier like you are supposed to.... I guess if you welded that minispool to the carrier then it would be stronger. However that minispool looks absolutely no different than welding and is 180$ more than welding!

Dont seem worth it to me.
Glad I didnt know about it when I got the full spool. I might would have tried to save $60 :)
 
BigCountryx said:
I never ran a welded rear, but I can vouch for the predictability of a detroit. I ran one in my last rig for about 2 years and put about 18000mi. on it. Once you get the hang of it you know exactly how hard you can push it before it locks. There are times when you need to push hard to get into traffic and such that you will bark the hell outta your tires but other than that I got used to going into sharp turns a little hotter than normal, coasting through them longer than normal and getting back into the gas later than normal. This method proved successful for me :D
Click to expand...

Amen brother, that's how I do it. :D
 
eripley said:
Sorry to everyone on the minispool for full float. I looked and looked before getting the full spool.

However are you guys not concerned that you basically took a bullet proof rearend and made it a weaker with both axles locked into a minispool and having those 4 pins support all that torque?

With a full spool or full carrier locker you dont have that weak point. Welded you might but If you weld the spiders all together and then the spiders to the carrier like you are supposed to.... I guess if you welded that minispool to the carrier then it would be stronger. However that minispool looks absolutely no different than welding and is 180$ more than welding!

Dont seem worth it to me.
Glad I didnt know about it when I got the full spool. I might would have tried to save $60 :)
Click to expand...

What in the world are you talking about???

Based on your explanation then installing a Detroit locker in a 14FF would also "weaken" the overall strength of the axle. Do you even know how a Detroit installs in a 14FF?? It just replaces the side and spider gears and therefore the torque is supported the exact same way as a mini-spool would be.

BTW.......they also make "lunch box lockers" for the 14FF, unless you consider a Lock-right something else. In any case, a Detroit and a Lock-right are the same basic design in the 14FF application.........
 
So your saying a detroit locker replaces only the spiders?!

What im saying is a minispool or any other spider gear replacement is not as strong as a detroit (or other carrier locker, whether it replaces half or whole) or a full spool.

I dont see why what I said was so confusing for you.

Anyways. the guy asked for cheap and experiences on the road with a locker. I should not have even added my opinion about strengths and regret doing so and will remember to not in the future.

Ive seen many welds break and leave people stranded and Ive seen lunchbox lockers eat it. I have not seen a minispool die....but I dont know anyone that runs one.

I drive on the road locked and if you can ignore the chirping and the tire wear then its not a big deal. Make sure to keep your tires aired up as the more pressure seems to help with the "grabbing" of the tires.
 
eripley said:
So your saying a detroit locker replaces only the spiders?!

What im saying is a minispool or any other spider gear replacement is not as strong as a detroit (or other carrier locker, whether it replaces half or whole) or a full spool.

I dont see why what I said was so confusing for you.
Click to expand...

The detroit installs into a 14 FF the same as a minispool. The carrier is retained, the internals are replaced.
 
eripley said:
So your saying a detroit locker replaces only the spiders?!
Click to expand...

I think that's what he was trying to say. What's this???


14boltdetroitsh.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Posts

Top Bottom