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welding up the front....lincoln locker??????

bigbadchev84

bigbadchev84

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i am wanting to weld up the front end im my blazer........it has a 3/4ton dana 44 axle in the front......it is not a daily driver, just a beater, so what is the best way to go about welding it up???? i searched and found some stuff related to welding the rear, but how do i go about doing te front? thanks
 
you'd weld a front same as the rear. Clean the spiders up really well with brake clean, grab a stick welder, ground to the carrier and weld the spiders together.

That said, you don't want to weld your front axle. It will be VERY hard to steer. Truck will always want to drive forward, and steering effort will be increased quite a bit. Of the many I've heard of with welded fronts I think about 1 of them liked it and 9 of them hated it. A Dana 44 lockright isn't THAT much, I think it would be worth it over welding. I am all for welding rears, I am going to weld the 14 bolt in my S10, I had a welded 10 bolt in my K5, I loved it.
 
I welded my D60 in the front, and had crossover and hydro assist. I could turn the tires just fine, but the truck still went straight. I was under the impression I would just keep a hub unlocked when not needed, but that was a rat **** in itself. With the front locked, you cant just lock and unlock your hubs at will. It is a 2 man job, 1 person to try and turn the hub, and another person to keep shaking the steering back and forth to get the pressure off of the hub to get it to release and unlock.

All in all, it was a pain in the ass. I am all about welding rearends, but I will never weld another one in the front.
 
I run a mini spool in the front (8lug 10b) of my 'Burb, and I wouldn't have it any other way :D It's cheep, it's tuff, and I have stock steering and it turns great! If I'm not coming around quick enough I just hit the go pedal and it comes right around!
As for weding it, I pop the cover and let it drain, don't clean out the whole thing! I leave all the gear oil coating everything so no welding splater sticks. Take some asitone and a Q-tip and clean ONLY the aera where U will be laying a bead. I weld the side gears to the carrier, then to the pin gears, then the pin gears to the carrier. If U are using a stick welder (it's the best way) go get some rod called "Bruitis" it's a little on the spendy side, but it will hold FOREVER!! :wink1:

All that said, I have read alot on here about guys having steering problems after a spool/welding the front, so I may just be the lucky one. But I have never had a problem my self.
 
One thing people tend to forget is that if you spool, mini spool or weld the front you need to phase the ujoints. What I mean by that is when you install the shafts make sure both ujoints are turning on the same plain. If one is straight up and down the other should be. I would guess that is what is the problem with Poohbair's for him to have so much trouble locking/unlocking the hubs. I don't have much trouble, just rock the tire a bit if you have to and that is usually only if I try to unlock mid turn rather than befor a tight turn.

I have a spool and they are splined so that you can phase the ujoints together. You may want to get your ujoints phased befor welding as it could be possable to weld the spidders in a way that you can't get the Ujoints phased, I am not sure on this. Better to be cautious than to find out the hard way.
 
does anyone have a pic of a welded and non welded rearend (12bolt prefered). I'm trying to picture what I would have to weld, and its not happenin for me.
 
If you go over to pirate their are hundreds of pics. I don't recall seeing many if any here but you could search here too. Basically you are welding the side and pin spidder gears to the carrier so that it acts as a spool. You don't want any of those gears to spin at all when your done if that helps.
 
Im running a welded 10bolt in the front my sub-buggy. No real problems with steering but I run 1 hub un-locked alot. ;) The traction is awsome! :D Even with bolth hubs locked on flat ground I can steer from lock to lock.
 
I have some really good pics on how to weld this stuff up but have no idea how to post pics pm me and I will send you what I got ;)
 
I'm about to weld up my front D60 just to see if I'd like a spool or detroit in the front when I save up the change to install the gears. If I like it, I'll do a spool, if I hate it, it's detroit. I've got hydro, cross over and soon I will have twin sticks on the 205. I break enough front u-joints w/ the open diff as it is and saving u-joints was the only reason I didn't weld it in the first place! :mad:
 
good points 6.2 puller. Never thought of that, but it totally makes sence.

I have a lockright in the front of my K5 and I love it. In the dirt, i have no problems turning. feels harder, and it really wants to return to center, but i love it. The lockright MAY be giveing me enough "slip" versus a welded carrier, to make turning not as bad. I've never had a "lincoln locker' in the front, but I have had success in rear 14B FF applications. Just rotate the tires alot!

Good luck.

P.S. I have stock steering too.
 
I have a 44 in the front of my truck with a mini spool and I love it :p: . Only problem is on the last trail run I broke my power steering belt. HOLY CRAP :eek1: I thought I would never make it back to the camp. I am in the process of doing hydro assist and I will keep my mini spool. Some love it some hate it, it's really up to you. Do like some of the others have said and install a mini spool or lock rite ( they are both inexpensive ) and see if you like it. The nice thing is if you don't like it you are not stuck with a welded diff that cannot be un-welded.

Just my 2 sense.
 
MT wheeler said:
I have a 44 in the front of my truck with a mini spool and I love it :p: . Only problem is on the last trail run I broke my power steering belt. HOLY CRAP :eek1: I thought I would never make it back to the camp. I am in the process of doing hydro assist and I will keep my mini spool. Some love it some hate it, it's really up to you. Do like some of the others have said and install a mini spool or lock rite ( they are both inexpensive ) and see if you like it. The nice thing is if you don't like it you are not stuck with a welded diff that cannot be un-welded.

Just my 2 sense.
Click to expand...
Are your Ujoints phased in the same direction? If not try it and report back the difference for these guys :crazy:
 
I may have just gotten lucky with the phasing. I don't have any problems locking -unlocking hubs though or any other problems for that matter. I will have to check if they are in phase though. I am swapping to a 8 bolt setup and will be putting the mini spool in that also.
 
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