Driving with welded diff

suba88 · Post by **suba88** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 11:13 am

Just checking to see what you guys think about driving on road with the the 'axle in' with a welded diff. I usually just drive to the 4wd destination then jump out and put the axle in place but i was wondering how far could you drive with it in on the road. do many of u do this, what are your thoughts??

Paul

Lapsed · Post by **Lapsed** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 11:19 am

I do the same mate. If you drive with it in it puts extra pressure on the tyres and the driveshafts. This can wear your tyres faster and break the shafts or even the diff.

chris

SuBaRiNo · Post by **SuBaRiNo** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 11:37 am

It's a big risk.. some people have no problem... others i have seen brake things like Lapsed has said... stud axles, parts of the running gear and even twist the diff hanger.

I think the welded diff guys will agree though... once u get the hang of it it doesn't take long to slide a rear shaft in and out.

Might also depend on how often you use the car... if it's just an offroader maybe leaving it in would be ok... if it was a daily driver i wouldn't.

Dave

Subafury · Post by **Subafury** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 12:25 pm

i usually drive from the location to home then take the axle out. this obviously isnt the best thing to do as now i have worn out the splines on the cv's and theres a little bit of play on them. but meh.

Matatak · Post by **Matatak** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 12:57 pm

i drive ont he road with both axles in.....but only to 4wd and back
which so far has only been to the pines and abck really which for me is like a 5 minute trip

(1 trip to Pipidinny aswell)

i have been thinkin about buyin somesort of a jack to do like u do and put it in when i get there but havent got round to it.

Phizinza · Post by **Phizinza** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 2:19 pm

I only done it once... Was a pain the the rear end pulling in and out of a supermarket carpark.
When I removed the diff (for AWD conversion) both driveshafts were toast, way too much slop, and the side I removed the shaft from had a toasted stub in the hub too. The spline was screwed so that needed replacement too. But I got my fun out of that diff.. If its a daily driver I really would recommend removing the shaft for onroad..

jsubie · Post by **jsubie** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 4:12 pm

Could someone please post a picture of a welded diff I am sorry I am having trouble understanding the concept especially when you guy's are on about push & pulling it in & out

Matatak · Post by **Matatak** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 4:40 pm

willkat wrote:Could someone please post a picture of a welded diff I am sorry I am having trouble understanding the concept especially when you guy's are on about push & pulling it in & out

a welded diff on the outside actually looks exactly the same as a normal diff or an LSD.
the part which is different is the insides (under the coverplate)

if u check out this thread welding a rear diff made by vidler it does have heaps of info on it. shows u what they look liek when welded

and the added benifit of a welded diff is the fact u dont lose all backwheel power if one comes off the ground (which is why i love it:D)

as for pushing and pulling stuff in and out we are referring to the Drivers side Driveshaft. they can be removed and put back in within a couple fo minutes.

jsubie · Post by **jsubie** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 5:21 pm

Thanks Matatak that clears up a lot for me but now I have other questions but I shall only ask one is it difficult to get a good LSD.

Matatak · Post by **Matatak** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 5:37 pm

willkat wrote:Thanks Matatak that clears up a lot for me but now I have other questions but I shall only ask one is it difficult to get a good LSD.

yes and no i guess lol.

its not really to easy to get them in 3.7 or 3.9 ratios (depending on what u have) but its (i think neway) fairly easy to get them in 4.111 or 4.44 ratios and then swap the centres over to another ratio (not sure how hard that is but it can be done)

the reason most ppl go for welded diffs is because of the price. LSDs can be from like 200 upwards easily depending on the ratio and condition. whereas welding is heaps cheaper.
i got mine welded and it cost me absolutely nothign except my own time to remove and clean then refit etc. (oil was free and welding was done for free) but when i find the spare funds after paying off some debts ill go to an LSD just because its alot simpler.

jsubie · Post by **jsubie** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 7:50 pm

LSD just because its alot simpler.[/QUOTE]

Yes I think I will one day go for a LSD "because its alot simpler";)

PeeJay · Post by **PeeJay** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 8:55 pm

The only hard thing about LSDs is finding one!

Phizinza · Post by **Phizinza** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 9:58 pm

Matatak wrote:the reason most ppl go for welded diffs is because of the price. LSDs can be from like 200 upwards easily depending on the ratio and condition. whereas welding is heaps cheaper.

I went welded because yes clutch pack LSD cost too much but mostly because totally locked is WAY better then any clutch LSD I have seen.
LSDs are nice for road. But because of the design of the Subaru it makes it super easy to have a rear welded diff.
Only reason I use open now is because of FT4WD (AWD.) But the auto locker should be ready this week and if it's tough enough I get the best of both worlds. And hopefully you'll have that option too (depending on how many the guy would be willing to make.)

VLSD's or viscous limited slip differential's (what you'll find in Subarus after 94 and 4.44 and 4.11 ratios) Only work well at speed, so pretty useless offroad in my mind. But they still do aid a little.

Well, that was a very opinionated post eh?

vidler · Post by **vidler** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 8:10 am

willkat wrote:Could someone please post a picture of a welded diff I am sorry I am having trouble understanding the concept especially when you guy's are on about push & pulling it in & out

welded

all it it is welding up the spider gears on the inside...

Bumpty · Post by **Bumpty** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 10:25 am

Phizinza wrote: Only reason I use open now is because of FT4WD (AWD.) But the auto locker should be ready this week and if it's tough enough I get the best of both worlds. And hopefully you'll have that option too (depending on how many the guy would be willing to make.)

Yea whats does this envolve... I've thought about having a diff lock switch (Got the idea from the tractor... haha). But don't know how hard it is to do and such, would you be able to put a thread up on how you did it

Phizinza · Post by **Phizinza** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 10:41 am

Now a locker on demand would be sweet, but for now I'm just getting a auto locker (more like auto unlocker) made. There is a thread about it already, just have a peep in the engine/transmission forum.

A air locker or vacuum locker would require special bearings that can have air pass through them, and then a special seal that can pass air from the outside of the diff through the bearings and into the carrier inside the diff. That is where it is used to push or pull a dog clutch type device into one of the spider gears.. This is why ARB charge like $1500 for an air locker. Auto lockers are harsher, but do the job for a fraction of the cost. Still way cheaper to do welded though.
Any other type of locker that isn't welded would require a CNC machine, lathe, milling machine, and a heat treatment oven. Not something you'd get for the shed out the back. But there are people out there willing to make one off lockers (if mine works out I'll be getting a few more made and I'm sure there will be plenty of interest for this, just keep an eye on the other thread.)

Oh, and for all those not in the know, no company anywhere in the world sells lockers for Subaru's

(yet)