whats your thoughts on welding up a dana 60 rear end
i blew the diff, spider gears fell out so i directly welded the drive gears to the carrier as apposed to just welding the spiders together

i was told that it will never hold
it does hold and is a ******* for tire wear
but brake stands donuts on dry pavement is all good

has anyone done anything like this?
i just want to know how long i should expect this to last
so far i think its bullet proof
thanks

 

You will find out when you put a load on it and take a sharp corner. SNAP!

 

2200lb camper on the street
just chrips as usual

 

Wow. I would of thought that would take a shaft out. But then the Dana60 is a strong axle. But, it cant be good for it on normal highway driving. It has to break sooner or later. Now would be a good time to start getting parts to rebuild that axle when it does happen.

 

i almost told the guy i wouldnt haul it in fear of grenading a shaft

but ya i do have a replacement complete dana 60 so im good

thanks for your input

 

It is dangerous to drive a locked diff on the highway or city streets. Use it for off-road only. Causing an accident that kills or maims someone is not fun...

 

With a full float axle, I wouldn't consider it dangerous, if the shaft snaps, just glide off the road. Pull the cover and broken shaft, use a magnet to get all little metal particles, put the cover back on and new fluid, and the cover on the shaft. Limp her home on one rear axle pulling. I have both front and rear axles on my Bronco 2 welded with 40" swampers. D44 ttb front and a old old Eaton like 1 ton or larger rear. Got it out of a old truck bed trailer. Its comparable to a Dana 70 or 80. Anyways, If you want to help your carrier out I would think you could take a piece of solid stock, something the same size or maybe a little larger than your shafts, so like 1.5 or 1.75 inch, and cut it to fit snuggly between your side gears, but still have enough room around the side gears to weld the piece fully. That would connect the shafts together there as well, and help relieve the twisting action on the case from one shaft to the other. It would be kinda like still having the spiders in there welded. You didn't mention if your tires are bigger than stock or what either. That would be detrimental to the life as well. I think its harder on it of course, but everything wears out or breaks with time. Anyways. thats my two cents.

 

The danger does not come from snapping an axle it comes from the loss of steering control in many situations that can lead to accidents. Check some of the other posts here re the subject. A spool or "lincoln locker" etc should only be used off-road and not on public roads.

 

i do have the side gears welded as well with a piecce of metal, and also im running 265/75/R16 pretty much a stock tire

 

and the funny part is that i broke two shafts like ayear ago before it was welded, since the welding havent broken anything

 

I have driven alot on the streets with welded diffs, and it hasn't changed the front end??? It makes it a little more stress on the steering since the rear doesn't differentiate for the corners, but I guess I can see your point for rain slicked roads, since the azz will want to come around to the front pretty easy. Ice can be a little bad too, since you wouldn't have the lateral stability of one tire still holding while the other was spinning. I don't see it being a big drivability problem as long as you know what your doing, and know your ride. What about when a locker suddenly catches going around a turn, that could send you spinning on a slick road. Yet those are better for the street??? They shock load the axles when they catch like that and yank the vehicle. True the locked axleshafts would always skid a tire but it wouldn't shockload the system like a locker will, and when you turn, you know what to expect. I guess a selectible would be best. If you had to make a preference.

 

I'd say giver heck, if you like it and feel its safe. go for it. Yeah rubber won't last as long, but you traction will last far longer offroad. Depending on how often you take it offroad, or if you go on long road trips, you could build a cap and pull one of the shafts out, and cap it, kinda like a selectibe hub, or get some that would work. As long as you don't crack the whip on the one axle, it should be fine to pull it along, I've done this to see how it worked and did ok for me.

 

A selectable is best which is what I use. It seems like all of the other options cause "strange" handling at times which can be unpredictable and dangerous. Driving with one axle will cause the same handling problems. The other setups are cheaper in the short run but then I value my truck, my life, and the lives of others I share the road with. Be safe...

 

hey torque, have you heard of Wilkerson Crane Rental. Thats who I work for. Our main office is in KC, Kansas. My crane yard is in Tulsa, Ok. I'm usually driving a Grove 5120B GMK. Its about 80 to 90 feet long when in the boom dolly, and is a little over 10 ft wide. The dolly has a regular 2 axle dually setup, but the crane itself is a 5 axle design with 5 foot tall tires. Its a 8x10 as the front doesn't pull but the other eight do. Its all independant suspension, with gear reduction hubs as well. The suspension is Large hydraulic cylinders at each wheel. You can raise or lower it quite a bit, you can also lean it, or raise the front or back only, you have total control, just lock it out when getting on outriggers. It has between 2 to 3 ft of adjustment. When going down the street everything is open. So one tire spins, you stop. But you have switches inside for differential and transfer case locks. You can lock either setups or both. Lock all diffs, and the cases and you 've got true 8x10 pulling. Its fun but slow, tops out at 54. People tend to stay out of your way as well. The flashy lights and all. Anyways everybody have fun and be safe.

 

People stay out of the way of a tank coming down the road too... -hehe!

I don't remember seeing Wilkerson specifically but I have probably seen some of your units. I don't work construction and I am usually not reading signs on vehicles while driving.

I always wanted to build a rock crawler with hydraulic suspension and hydraulic wheel motors, no "drivetrain". No place to run one around here tho.