I am welding up a Dana 44. I am planning to fill the valleys between the teeth of the side gears or spider gears. Which is stronger?

 

weld the whole thing. just make sure to pre heat the diff and try and keep it at a constant temp while welding but not too hot. then when ur done cover it in dry sand so it cools slowly

 

sand in the diff? ahhh

weld the spiders to each other then weld them to the carrier

when i welded both my front and rear axles (as well as several of my buddies) all i did was weld the **** outta it! no pre- or post- heat. but DONT quench it, that's asking for cracks. i filled in quite of bit and added some extra metal (ie extra bolts and other misc metal pieces)

i have pounded the hell outta it with 39's, a 460, and a real heavy foot and i have yet to see any cracks!

-cutts-

 

I am going to try to avoid welding to the the cast iron carrier. I think that that makes the carrier brittle.

 

I don't know, Fishy seems to know what hes talking about. His 460+heavy foot couldn't break it yet, (in a heavy truck) so you should be ok to do it.

 

well yes but then again look at the size differences b/t my sterling carrier and a D44 carrier. obviously its your junk so you can do what you want but i personally think you'd be fine. although you do HAVE to get all the oil out or it doesn't matter what you are welding to

-cutts-

 

Here is the article from the tech section: https://www.ford-trucks.com/article/...d_Spiders.html

Stryder

 

i did the same thing fishman did and some of my buddies did it on there dana 44's. I've seen them hold up to 40's with no problems. you should be fine, weld everything.

 

I filled all the voids between the spiders and side gears then after all that was done i welded them all together. Never touched the carrier. I didnt pre or post heat. but did alternate between sides. And all this with the carrier still in the housing of the dana 60 rear. Like fishy said just weld the hell outta it and make sure there isnt any oil on the metal you are welding, I used NON flammable brake cleaner and an air gun. Mine has held up to a built 466 and 42's without flinching. Also if you weld it in the carrier spend mucho time cleaning it out or say goodbye to bearings.

 

what do you mean by welding them together? dont those babys have to spin?

 

I think thats the point Welded diff gears is alot cheaper than a locker, or even a spool for that matter, and reguires no gear setup or. What do you guys call it, a Lincoln Locker?

 

this is a good way to break whats left in your diff. if you are going to do it, weld everything. weld everything to everything else.

 

I welded everything to everything in my 9 inch. I've been running it for about a year now with a built 400. 38-33 inch tires, pavement, mud never had a problem. Well it does like to fish tail in the rain, but its alot more predicatable than a locker locking and unlocking. Plus its cheap and you don't have to set the gears up. Was hell on the 1310 u joints, with a heavy right foot. was replacing them about every other month. Swapped up to 1350 u joints and havent had a problem yet. The softer the tires heavier the foot and bigger the engine, will help you find the weekest link. In my case u joints. I will be doing the front d44 soon. just looking for the yokes and driveshaft for 1350s and she is a done deal.

 

I got it done. First, I took it all apart. I even took the spider and side gears out so I could clean the oil off of everything. Once I assembled the carrirer, I took it to a professional welder with 30 years experience. He did not think that it was a good idea to weld the cast iron case so he only welded the side gears to the spider gears. After it was done he wrapped it in a blanket to let it cool very slowly. The welds are huge and look great. I got it in the truck now I just have to repack my bearings and assemble the brakes. I will keep you posted.

 

You really don't have to weld them to death. In fact too much heat and you'll have some cracks. Too little heat and your welds will likely fair. It is probably better to cook it if you don't know what you are doing. At least with a lot of heat you will know the weld will hold. Do remember if your welds break you can just about kiss everything inside of your diff goodbye. Why not buy a good spool or locker? You may be saving yourself hundreds, if thousands of dollars in the long run. Please don't throw your diff in the sand....that is unless you want to chuck it next week.

T.R.Bauer