Welding the front Diff.

Phadeout · **Posted:** Tue May 01, 2007 12:48 pm

I was thinking maybe it would be easier (and cheaper) for me to just weld some aluminum plates to the bottom and around the the area where the drive shaft connect to the 30A diff. Would this not work better than a collar?

Take a few nice pieces of aluminum and well them across the bottom of the diff. Then do something similar where the collar would go.
You wouldn't even have to remove the diff to do it.

Is this not a sound solution to the weak 30A?

I know another guy on the forum put welds on the Inside. But what about the outside?

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Tue May 01, 2007 1:58 pm

Jeepin Al did something of the sort with his front diff.. Im not really sure if he actually welded the diff though..

Welding aluminum is hard from what Ive heard. Be sure you get someone that knows what their doing.

Jeger · **Posted:** Tue May 01, 2007 3:06 pm

I would say it could be done, like jeepjeepster said, get someone with experience to do it. Welding aluminum is not necessarily hard, its just different, and you want someone who is in good practice.

Phadeout · **Posted:** Tue May 01, 2007 4:29 pm

Jeger wrote:

I would say it could be done, like jeepjeepster said, get someone with experience to do it. Welding aluminum is not necessarily hard, its just different, and you want someone who is in good practice.

Well, the welding part itself would be easy. My father is a welder, and has even done welding on aircraft (insane high tolerances).
So the welding won't be an issue.

The question is, would it work? How should it be done to prevent the diff exploding issue?

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Tue May 01, 2007 5:01 pm

If you put the supports in the correct spots, then yea, it will work great!

Killerkane · **Posted:** Tue May 01, 2007 7:02 pm

welding AL is easy just make sure the joint is clean, get the right filler rod, Get a low heat with about 10 psi of gas, start a pudle and add filler and move every 2 secs. If you are near NC I'll weld it for you

ATXKJ · **Posted:** Tue May 01, 2007 8:04 pm

Welding Aluminum isn’t as hard as getting the dimensions and metallurgy right.

The other side of this a seal and a bearing – if you overheat it you’ll get a leak – if you heat it enough to distort the bearing surface – you’ll destroy the bearing.

I don’t know what alloy the case is – but when you weld you create a heat affected zone about ¼” to ½” away – where the metal is almost melting but not quite – the alloy elements diffuse pretty quickly and you can end up with an area that’s softer than the actual weld zone. Some alloy’s require the entire unit to be heat treated afterwards to redistribute the alloying elements.

These aren’t real issues if you’re tack welding a small section – but if you’re welding enough of a ring around the outside of the case to really strengthen it you might kill the housing.

Phadeout · **Posted:** Wed May 02, 2007 3:11 pm

ATXKJ wrote:

Welding Aluminum isn’t as hard as getting the dimensions and metallurgy right.

The other sight of this a seal and a bearing – if you overheat it you’ll get a leak – if you heat it enough to distort the bearing surface – you’ll destroy the bearing.

I don’t know what alloy the case is – but when you weld you create a heat affected zone about ¼” to ½” away – where the metal is almost melting but not quite – the alloy elements diffuse pretty quickly and you can end up with an area that’s softer than the actual weld zone. Some alloy’s require the entire unit to be heat treated afterwards to redistribute the alloying elements.

These aren’t real issues if you’re tack welding a small section – but if you’re welding enough of a ring around the outside of the case to really strengthen it you might kill the housing.

Interesting.. Now I don't know if I should just by a Collar (expensive) or do some welding... hmmmmm.

scoobybri · **Posted:** Wed May 02, 2007 4:24 pm

Well you have until Sunday to make your decision to get in on the group buy. I personally think that you can get more strength with a collar around the input shaft on the diff than you can welding a plate to the diff.

Welding the front Diff.

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