Basically looking for what could turn someone away from welding a solid axle differential. Is it more prone to breaking compared to a IRS set-up?

 

more prone to breaking. your diff was engineered to allow for slippage, im sure your diff was made to utilize C-clips. these are stress raisers which is most likely be where they will break because they are being introduced to loads they should not be seeing

this can cause a whole shitload of problems if your axles let go at speed (as you can imgine im sure). they might not fail at first or catastrophically all at once, but metal fatigue will still be taking place, causing them to fail even sooner. also, im sure you will not normalize or heat treat after your welding, which most people don't im sure, but there is another stress raiser you will be introducing.

this might be fine for dirt racing, but just get yourself a spool. seeing how a spool can be had for around a hundred bucks, why bother doing this? do it the right way. i do not know of any drag racing or any pavement sactioning bodies that allow welded diffs.

do it right or dont do it at all.



as for more prone to breaking than IRS (im guessing you are talking about completely IRS and not a solid rear with a diff) of course it is. the CV's half shafts can handle the power due to A) material properties (4340 or most likely 300M) B) simple engineering design (the area with the splines are more than 1.5 times the diameter of the shaft itself) C) don't have the typical stress raisers of the welded diff which were mentioned earlier


overall, just spend $100 and be done with it, your piece of mind is worth it

 

are you talking about welding the diff itself or welding the housing where the axles tubes meet pumpkin?

 

This is a GREAT post and is very informative, it oughta sway my friend towards getting a spool like I've been saying the whole time.

 

Diff itself.

 

Ya dont waste your time welding the diff thats what the drifters do. If your drag racin spend the money and get a spool. Problem is I have never used a spool on and IRS only on ford 8.8 solid axles so I dont know how the CV axles will take that.

 

Yea that's what the drifters do, it's just a cheap(so to speak) way to lock both wheels. The diff isn't going to be welded, a spool has been ordered. This also is not for drag racing.

 

what would you use it for then?

 

Yes, a spool was ordered. As for what its used for. Right now its a DD waiting for income taxes to be turbo and then dropped with maybe a back half and IRS with coil overs. After that it will be used for a DD/auto-x and occasional drift meet truck.

-Mike

 

I would not weld unless you have the rear end for track use only.

For years people have welded the differential GEARS together to make a locked rear end on straight axle Domestic cars. There are pieces that you can insert that will hold the GEARS from moving, and you can weld the PIECES to the gears. I never heard of anyone welding c-clips.

C-clips allow you to remove the axles and replace them.
Remove the axle, paint a stripe down the length and periodically
check to see if the stripe has a 90 degree difference from one end to the other. When the axle has twisted that amount, cut them in two pieces, so you don't ever use them accidentally, and replace with new/striped axles.

The added stress comes from either HAVING to break the rear loose to get it around a corner, or having to back up and try it again, as the inside wheel will always turn a different number of turns from the outside wheel,
and a person can actually SEE the wheels/tires slipping across the pavement at low speeds.-Bob