94 bronco want to weld up the pig gears to make positive track. It has auto locks i only use the 4x4 when i'm off road. i am putting in a air locker rear end. But it to costly to put in two of them.any one done this weld job.

 

Whoops...see post below

 

Welding your front is a very bad idea. You will have very poor steering when in 4 wheel drive, and will be very unhappy with it in short order. I do heavy duty off-roading in Jeeps and this subject comes up occasionally. Welding your front is highly discouraged. You will not like it.

Pay the $275 or so and get a Lock Rite. You'll be much happier. You won't need an ARB in the front, because the auto hubs will disengage when in 2wd. You can also replace the auto hubs with manual hubs, and still be in it for a lot less than an ARB.

 

I disagree, but I also plan on installing a spool in my D44 when I get too my SAS.
If you have autos, swap for some manuel hubs before you weld the spiders, those autos could lock up on the road and drag you off the road.
On the other hand do not weld the spiders on your rearend unless you plan on breaking axleshafts and carriers frequintly.

 

Welding your spiders or putting a spool in the front is a mistake. Here is why:

When you have your front end spooled, you are putting equal torque on both driveshafts, all the time. This binds up your u-joints in the knuckle, preventing you from being able to make tight turns, especially when you are bound up. When you get on the gas while trying to turn, this very often results in that all too familiar "POP" that signals that you aren't going any further in 4wd. I don't know how much off-roading you do, but for me it is a way of life, and I do a LOT. When you are out, watch guys with ARB air lockers in front. Every time they come up to something where they need to turn the wheels, you'll hear the familiar sound of the air solenoid puffing, because the have to turn it off in order to be able to turn. Why? Because when engaged, and ARB is nothing more than a really expensive spool.

It is not an issue for on the road, because you will be able to unlock your front hubs. It's only off-road that you will start to have problems. You can disengage 4WD every time you want to turn, but this gets to be a really big PITA in a big hurry. I'm not being argumentative. I'm just letting you know what the facts of wheeling with a spool in the front are. Additionally, spooling the front puts tremendous stress on your front end compnents, and you WILL break something, sooner rather than later.

Do a google search on a "Lincoln Locker" and you'll find all kinds of info.

Honestly, there are some guys who do it, but they are mostly running mud bogs in a straight line. If you want to do any type of real trails or anything in rocks, it's a really bad idea. It's just physics. But, if you don't mind changing broken axle u-joints, go for it.

At some point, the cost of replacing components will exceed the cost of a simple lunchbox locker. A spool is what, $75? A Lock-Rite is $275. Axle u-joints are about $45 ea., and an axle shaft is about $150. Most times when you break an axle u-joint, you waste the yoke ears on the axle shaft and have to replace it, too. So, all it takes is one really bad break to exceed the cost of what it would have cost to do it right the first time.

Honestly, it's just not recommended for the front.

 

Yes, very bad idea. I don't know why you wouldn't go for the opposite. ARB in the front and weld the rear.

 

What is ARB.

 

ARB is the air locker you were saying you were going to put in the rear. It is a selectable locker that allows you to turn it on and off. Another alternative is a Detroit locker (which I have front and rear in my Jeep). Both are available for your Bronco. If you can live with a little bit of clunking, a Detroit is an extremely strong and less expensive alternative to the air locker.

A Detroit locker is an "Automatic" locker, which means that it is always there, and engages automatically without user intervention (in fact, it cannot be disabled - it is ALWAYS there). You will get some chirping when making tight turns, due to the fact that, even though the locker does allow some diffentiation, it does not allow a tire to spin slower than the ring gear.

Welding the spider gears together means that both axles are always turning at the same speed, always. This will cause your tires to wear significantly faster if you weld the rear. Normally, when you make a turn, the outside wheel in the turn spin s faster than the inside wheel. Therefore, with a welded rear the outside wheel will drag instead of spin.

An ARB and a Detroit are Full-Carrier lockers, which means that they completely replace the stock carrier and spider gears in the housing. Another alternative is what is called a "lunchbox" locker. This type of locker operates as an automatic locker, but is not a full-carrier type. Instead, the lunchbox locker replaces the spider gears in the stock carrier. This type of locker is much less expensive than the Detroit or ARB, and is very easy to install, since it doesn't require the gears to be removed. However, it is only as strong as the stock carrier.

Lunchbox lockers are available from a couple of manufacturers:

Detroit EZ Locker
Powertrax Lock-Rite
Powertrax No-Slip

The EZ Locker and Lock-Rite are fine lockers, and are what you should use in the front of your Bronco. The No-Slip has some manufacturing problems, and I wouldn't recommend them for a Dana 44. I've seen too many of them break.

You should use either an ARB or a Detroit in the rear, since your truck is so heavy and the majority of the drivetrain stress is transferred into the rear. A lunchbox locker will fail much quicker in the rear than it would in the front.

Hope this helps!

 

So who carries arb lockers? 4wheelparts? What about a positraction in the rear and an arb locker in the front?

 

You can get ARB from 4 Wheel Parts (www.4wheelparts.com), also Detroit and Lock-right. A lot of my friends put ARB in the front and a Posi (or Limited Slip) in the rear. Being locked front and rear can be scary on ice, and especially being locked in the front can be VERY scary on ice. Basically, once both wheels start spinning, you have no traction on that axle and gravity and momentum take over. The ARB eliminates that problem. Posi in the rear is also a good choice if you're planning on doing easy to moderate off-roading. That plus a front locker is a decent combo. Keep in mind that the ARB requires an additional $200 air compressor.

In my Jeep I have Detroits front and rear. My Jeep does not have the ability to unlock the front axle (I don't have locking hubs), and so I get quirky handling issues. If I had it to do over, I would spend the extra money and get the ARB's. However, that is a REALLY expensive option.

I plan on putting an ARB in the rear of my Bronco, and a lunchbox locker in the front. I also plan on On Board Air for the Bronco, but that will be a while down the road. My Jeep has OBA, and it comes in very handy. Out here in Southern California we don't have to worry about slippery roads all that much, so I don't mind full auto lockers front and rear, but if I lived somewhere where there were icy roads in winter, I'd seriously consider ARB's front and rear.

 

I Thank you for the great info.This clears up a lot of questions i've had. When i lived in Michigan we did a lot of mudding in woods & trails, locked up all the way was the way to go. But here in houston mudding is in open areas, not as demanding on the truck. My 94 Bronco is just a frame on stands in the garage. I'm building it from here on up with all my own parts for suspension and drive train. 351w carbed motor in front of a C6 with the electric borge transfer, manuel locking hubs. 5" suspension lift,1 3/8" body.Wife thinks i spend to much time with truck, it's a tough choice, but she will understand once i'm done. FTE has ben a great site to get reliable info, once again thanks!

 

hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Keep telling yourself that

I've been car obsessed for as long as I can remember. We currently have 6 cars, with three of them being major projects, 2 are daily drivers, and the Jeep is a dedicated trail rig. My wife doesn't understand, she tolerates. hahaha

In the Jeep world, we have a saying: "It's a Jeep Thing, You Wouldn't Understand" That's mostly for our wives It's going to carry over nicely to to Ford world for me.

 

WOW! PeteyG Thanks for the kille rinfo! I have been thinking about lockers but haven't done much cause of lack of knowledge. At least now I know what to look for!

And my girlfriend looooves the Bronco....it has saved her a** more times than we can count!

 

So, welding the rear spider gears is not the same as having a full time rear locker? NOw that makes no sense. They both do the same thing!! I'll try it on one of my trucks and let you guys know how it goes. I got nothing else to do this weekend!!!

P.S. Is gear oil flammable??? I guess we'll find out.....

 

The Pirate4x4 also sells ARB. Also, CompletOffRoad.com has good prices on certain locker and ls carriers.


I wouldn't weld a D44 TTB unless you have had a rig with that config and know what you are getting into. A selectable in the rear and a Detroit TrueTrac (gear driven limited slip that functions like a soft locker) in the front is a good set up for a Stock TTB D44.

In my Bronco I have a Eaton ELocker in the rear 8.8 and an EZLocker in the D44 but I'll be taking it out soon and going open. My F250 HD has Detroit True Tracs front and rear.