i've been thinking about doing this for a while since i get professional welding for free because i worked for them for a little while. i cant afford a 1k locker and if you guys talk me out of welding it ill probably save longer BUT...

the cons that ive read about so far and going slow and turning it will hop a little and make some funky noises, and coming to a stop or going in reverse it will make noises?
my other concern is will it ever break the welds due to torque? i know there are people who weld their read diffs on dragsters and it isnt a problem but still im worried about it. and longevity of my read diff being altered?

the main reason i want to do this is my open diff makes it extremely hard to work in my truck in my yard, and others yards. i always put it in 4wd to prevent tearing up clients grass. and sometimes i want to peel out and get sideways
TIA for any replys

2258

 

Save for a locker. I don't see this working out on a daily driver.

 

For a daily drive you will hate. I did it to my avatar mostly because my lsd was shot and i needed the traction for launching but when it came to turning it made a loud clancking noise and it felt like the car was hopping and in the rain it liked to go sideways in the curves alot, just buy a locker or cheaper alt. is buying a used factory lsd diff

 

I've never had a locker in a truck just LS but my tractors have locking differentials, I don't know how the truck would react but my tractors can do some pretty weird stuff with the differential completely locked up when turning.... If you're turning at all in your clients yards a locked differential will likely tear the yard up as much or more than using 4x4, One tire is always going to be slipping in a turn with a locked differential regardless of traction.

 

well you guys have talked me out of it lol, how hard is it to take the gears out of a junkyard axle and put them in mine?
I dont know why my computer keeps putting number in my post?
2413

 

<p>it would be easier and cheaper to just swap the rear with a good LS unit than it would be to swap gearset and carrier.</p>

 

knowing what gears you have is just counting the teeth right, like 41 teeth is 4:10?
2961

 

You don't even have to do that. If you find a LS unit in a junk yard truck pull the chunk and when you take yours out just swap the ring gear. Just use the carrier from the donor truck. That way your gears are still a match set and you don't have to worry about finding the correct gear ratio. It is what I did on mine and it is working well

 

okay so i bought back the rear i had in the first place that is 4:10 ls...so i still clean up the new axle make it look nice and take it to my guy and say what you said and he should understand? because that sounds confusing, AND what is the average cost to have a rear rebuilt as in new seals, bearing etc
3123

 

Its not just as easy as "pulling the chunk". Its not a third member like in a ford 9. EVERY ring and pinion set are DESIGNED TO STAY AS A SET. NEVER use a ring gear from one axle with another axles pinion. They are specifically CNC cut to mesh with each other. Your gonna have to shim for backlash and bearing preload, as well as setting the pinion depth, pinion bearing preload, and your gonna have to use a crush sleeve. Youll need a bearing puller, an INCH pound torque wrench for setting preload, and alot more specialty tools. Doing a ring and pinion set is not an "easy" procedure to get correct on your first try. Theres alot of tiny little mistakes u can make to make your ring and pinion not mesh correctly and fail, or ruin your carrier/pinion bearings. Your also gonna have to pull the rear shafts out of that 10.25/10.50 to get the diff out. Welding the rear on yours is a horrible idea on a dd. Youll eat through tires, youll slide in snow, and your turning characteristics will be very unwanted and random. LS is the best of both worlds for DDing a vehicle. A good LS is all you need for what u want. As everyone else here has said, its alot easier to just swap in an axle with 4.10 gears then it is to swap in a different diff into your current axle. Rear 4.10 diffs are pretty easy to find and stupid cheap. I bought a 10.25 with 4.10 LS for about 125 bucks 2 years ago. It will also be a faster process to swap the axle then the R&P.

 

do you folks know the average cost to have a rear differential rebuilt, seals, bearings, everything checked etc?
2470

 

I can give u a rough estimate. Figure 3-400 for diff swap labor/shop consumibles. Plus about 125-250 for ring and pinion themselves. If u get a new carrier u can spend 3-500 on it. Carrier bearings are 75ish a piece. Seals are probably 25-50 a piece. If everything needs to be replaced your looking close to 11-1400 with labor. If all they need to do is a ring and pinion swap and a quick check and everything's still good. I'd say 500. Go to a very recommended off road shop near u. They've done more axle/diff/R&P swaps and work then any mechanics shop ever will.

 

the plan is to do the actual swap of axles myself, and use the existing gears in the axle i got... so the rough estimate to have me take the new axle without it on the truck to my local off road shop to have it checked( i have looked at the gears and they look awesome) as in bearings and seals would be around 200 in parts and what 200 in labor?
14

 

<p></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>are you posting from a phone???</p><p>&nbsp;this was a possibility that was mentioned when i asked smarter people.</p>

 

Go on youtube and check out a couple of videos on working on the differential. That should scare you off.