im thinking about welding my rear diff solid since my wallet is too light to buy a locker right now, but would i be running into any problems running it on the street alot? it drive it to work for the whole week and wheel on the weekends. will i be risking tearing anything up? the truck has stock dana 60's with 4.10's. i have 38" swampers on it. its a 97 f350 with a 351, btw. anyone have any opinions?

 

well, your rear is not a dana 60,its the sterling dif. not sure which one though. as far as welding, it would be the same as running a full spool. if you do alot of street driving, i would not weld the dif, it would make for some lousy street manners. this also would put more stress on your rear end because going around bends the tires would be forced to turn at the same speeds.

 

It wouldn't be good if you plan on doing a lot of street driving because it will take a football field to turn that thing, and it would put extra ware on your rear tires and could possible damage the rear end with the extra force it has with pulling both wheels

 

What they said is true, but I'm in the middle of welding mine, and it will be driven on the street.

 

football field? you think so? NOT... its no worse than having open especially if you have a long wheelbase!

how so? explain? in snow/ice yes... any other surface, nothing noticable!

i ran mine... actually let me correct myself, i AM running my sterling with stock axle shafts and gears and have really beat the crap out of it. and thats with 39 iroks! its going to take a LOT more than some tight turns on smooth pavement to break one! look at kubotas truck... he's running like 900HP and still has the stock sterling (aside from gears and cover) still turning like a clock!

i ran my sterling welded on the street for about 8 months, i'd do it again in a heartbeat if i had a couple sets of old tires i wanted to get rid of. and they really dont wear out near as fast as you think. i ran an old set of mud tires which already had some tread taken out due to hard driving and they lasted almost up to the 8 month mark when i parted the truck out!

do it man, you will love it. only thing i can say is whenever the roads are slick for any reason (snow, ice, rain, etc) be a lil more careful in turns. i do NOT recommend towing however. thats a whole different animal. also go ahead and keep an eye out for a good deal on tires. they WILL wear faster than normal!

-cutts-

 

how hard would it be to do it to a front dana 44, since the only time i use 4 wheel drive in mud or the snow. Is there a site that explains how to do it, since i dont know much about axle internals.

 

i surely wouldnt do it! first off you wil need to beef your steering up since the front will be under a lot more strain. also you will want to think about hydro assist. you'd be surprised how easy it is to snap a sector shaft! secondly the u-joints for your axleshafts are so small one good jab on the throttle and you could easily break something!

best way to weld a carrier (not a thrid member style, thats totally different) is to weld the spiders to the side gears, then then spiders to the carrier, then the side gears to the carrier. make sure to alternate weld areas so as not to build too much heat in one area. allow plenty of time b/t each pass, clean ALL oil from carrier using pressure washer, degreaser, and brake cleaner. cover the splines, bearings, and ring gear teeth with an old shirt or rag to help protect from splatter. TAKE YOUR TIME, dont rush or you can mess it up. then you gotta find a new carrier and setup your gears... not fun!

-cutts-

 

ive weld diffs and run lockers in the past and am convinced that the easyest and cheapest way to get a relieyable posi is just simply stick a spool in in there. i run a spool rite now in my 71 and cant tell absolutly no difference street driveing even in the rain

 

Yeah, x2.

I went to fast on the first attempt on my rocks and it wasn't perfectly symmetrical afterwards. I'm still going at the second pair of spiders I took out of the front differential

 

dont do a lincoln locker if your driving on the road, coming off an off ramp or any situation like that you will be breaking axle shafts and all the stuff, detriot lockers are better for the road maybe even a posi i had a posi in m old truck and LOVED IT!!! but its all up to you im saying from experience i have seen with buddies trucks and lincoln lockers on the street it has never turned out well.

 

im pretty sure the rear already has posi, but i want it locked up for offroad. ive been in situations where i would have killed to have lockers, but my pockets are empty right now. i never tow with the truck, and i live in a more suburban areas, so the hardest turns ill be making would be into parking spots and my driveway. ill definatley keep this option open.

 

then none of your buddies are running sterlings OR the welding was done wrong!

i have personally beat the living snot out of mine (enough to break a main leaf spring slap in half... i have pics!) and my stock sterling is holding up fine!

you people who have never personally run a lincoln locker dont have any business giving advice unless its opinion! i mean you wouldnt give heart surgery advice to someone if your a walmart greeter!

run it man, you will break NOTHING. just wear your tires out faster!

-cutts-

 

If you take your timeo n the welding and prep it good you will have no other problems than tire wear.

When its wet you will be able to gas it and sling the rear around alot easier

I ran a welded dana rear 60 for a year or so with 39 boggers on the street, i couldnt even tell a difference turning...really sharp turns you could sometimes hear a tire bark once or twice...make sure you dont turn sharp in somones yard as it will scratch the grass up!!

For a welded front....i would only doit in a dedicated trail vehicle or one that you want to upgrade the steering(hydro assist) and never need 4x4 on snow/ice

As to what powerstroker88 said, i have no idea how coming off an on ramp will break axles???????? People that run any type of automatic locker like a detroit or lockright put just as much stress on the axle shafts as a welded rear. Those lockers lock both tires together whenever torque is applied to the ring gear...in all situations.

Ideally you should run a spool...only problem is...THERE IS NO SPOOL FOR A STERLING 10.25" or for that matter a 10.5".

Weld away...just prepare for your tires to wear a bit faster and to have tons more fun offroad

 

well i dont know but i have had personal friends break there dana 70s doming off an offramp cause of the welded rear ya it prolly would have happened if they had had a detriot locker or w.e. but they broke with the licoln locker and i have always been sketchy about runnign a welded rear unless it is a trail truck, but go ahead weld away

 

lol that right there tells me everything i need to know!

-cutts-