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Welding 14bff

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ktedesco

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Anybody got any links to a good write up (hopefully with pics) for welding your 14bff. Everything I find just relates to the spider gears only. I prefer to do it the stronger way and weld to the carrier. I can't weld worth a crap and I have someone helping me this weekend.
 
You don't weld to the carrier in the 14bff. It just ruins the carrier for no good reason. If you break a spider ball that is welded well you will have snapped alot more important things at the same time. Ring and pinion, driveshafts, tcase, etc.

I got a 14bff welded spider ball I just took out of my axle for sale if your interested.

Harley
 
I thought the overall opinion was not to do it like the tech article anymore. Wasn't everyone talking about a "new and improved" way to to it now.

Harley, I still plan on welding mine up this weekend but how much do you want for yours. Is it something we can work out when you move up here or are you trying to get rid of them before you move? I wish I had jumped on your free open carrier sooner!
 
in the tech article each spider is not welded to each other, more or less just keeps them from moving, the best way is to weld each spider gear to each other to form one huge ball.
 
Please do NOT weld your spider gears like that. That is the WRONG way to do it. If you are going to weld the spiders on a 14bff you should weld them in a spider ball like Kidjethro does with his Jethro Locker.

The void style welding like the article is hard on parts, hard on the spider gears, and wears out. My transmission guy told me that the slop in the gear is bad for the transmission and the tcase. He made me change to the spider ball before he would give me a warranty on my tranny.

The void welds also wear out. They move back and forth on each other and they wear. This causes metal flakes in the diff. The slop gets worse and worse over time.

The spider gears themselves are prone to cracking when you use the void weld method.

I have run both the void welds and the spider ball welds. The spider ball welds are far superior to the void welds. If you are going to take the time to pull the axle apart to weld the spiders together please do it right. It takes no more time then the void welds do and is stronger and will last longer.

Harley
 
$40. I can bring it up to Colorado with me if you want. It is a pretty easy install as long as everything goes ok. I swapped in a Detroit locker last night so I don't need the welded anymore.

If you have an open rearend right now this spider ball will drop in with no mods. If you go threw with welding the spiders together and then to the carrier you will waste the carrier. If you want to drop in my spider ball or a locker in the future you will have to get a new carrier. Then you will have to pay to have someone setup your gears again because the differences in the carrier and bearings.

Harley
 
Ok, I understand now. Looks like a big gap to fill up between gears. Anyone got pics, I don't want to screw it up. Anything we need to be extra careful with?
 
Process

Drop the cover & drain oil
Brakecleaner the diff out.
Remove the axleshafts
Remove the carrier cap bolts
Mark the adjusting sleeves with a marker to ensure you get them in the same place.
Loosen the sleeves 1 turn at a time till the carrier comes free (carrier is heavy so don't drop it on your face)
Count the number of times turned per sleeve (remember those numbers)
Brake cleaner the carrier and R&P well
Mark the carrier and the R&P so you can align them you when you put it together again.
Remove the ring gear bolts (you will probably need an impact)
Split the carrier in half to access your spiders
Brakecleaner the spiders well and make sure everything is oil free and dry.

Tach weld the spiders together
remove tached spider ball
make a few small welds to make sure it is stuck together well
test fit it back in the carrier to make sure it isn't warped.
make some good heavy welds
weld the whole thing up good and solid periodically checking to make sure it still fits in the carrier correctly

*** For Welding
they say you should preheat the gears to help with welding penetration. They also say you should put the finished spider ball into kitty litter and cover it up and cool off slowly

They are both good ideas but if you have a good welding maching and get good welds I am not sure how much it actually helps. Maybe a pro can chime in on this.
****

Then you reassemble the diff in the reverse order. The R&P bolts should be torqued to like 150lbs and the carrier cap bolts should be like 140lbs.

Harley
 
The pre heat, is for penitration/flash heating (can cause warping) the kitty litter/welding blanket is to slow the cooling process so every piece is cooling together (agian an anti warping measurement). The gears are thick and of a low wearing alloy (like bearings), so they can be funny to weld. They are also a machined part so warping can be a huge problem. Don't be scared of doing it, but do use common sense. A good weldor (person welding) with a decent welder (machine for joining steel) will do fine. I hope you are plainning on mig welding it too.


What does it take to get the tech article removed/changed to the new style?
 
az-k5 said:
What does it take to get the tech article removed/changed to the new style?
Click to expand...

I don't know. I PM'ed Steve Fox about it a few months ago about changing/removing the tech article and he never answered my PM.

Harley
 
Something I haven't seen mentioned in the other post is: What rod is everyone using to weld the spiders(on a stick welder)?
 
stizkidz said:
What about those of us who have the gov-lok in our 14bff's? What options do we have to get a real locked rear end?
Click to expand...

Send me your gov bomb and carrier, I'll send you a spider ball and carrier! Thinking the tow rig could use a gov bomb.
 
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