I talked to friend of mine that has a mud bog truck with a dana 44 front. He says he tack welds the caps to the axles and they hold up well. Any body here do this?

 

I've heard of it, never seen it in action though.................should help in theory.

 

Actually, it does not help kept them in since they are basically cast and imho you wreck the cap and yoke for nothing. What helps is the weld you make in the ear is actually what helps kept them from popping out.

If I was going to do it again, I think I would put a nickel on the cap and weld a 12 gauge strap over it on the yoke ears that is easy to cut off and grind smooth.

 

Perhaps instead of trying to create a cheap fix, the answer might really be in realizing why the caps are trying to come out. Could the axle be damaged from an earlier u-joint failure? Chances are that a previous failure cused the axle to become oddly shaped and will no longer retain a u-joint. After a failure if the joint trys to come out, it really no longer has the ability to apply even pressure to the joint cap and failure is gonna be the end result.
The correct fix would be to replace the axle shafts and verify that the hole in the axle is round. Once the flanges become oblong and no longer have the correct shape, and require the cap to be welded, it really is not any good any longer.
Replacing parts when they should be replaced is not a bad thing. Cheap is an easy way to go, but there is no guarantee that it will continue to work. Just because it has been done with limited success, does not make it the rule, it is nothing more than an exception.

 

No personal experience, but here it goes
I need to upgrade to a dana 60, I just had a cap pop out on my dana 44, the joint was fine, but I think if it was welded it would have been fine. lots of high load on the joint can cause the clips to work themselves loose and allow the cap to pop out.

My .02 if you are breaking the cross/trunnion? of the joint don't weld it, but if you are at the limit of your axle and the caps are working themselves loose and the shafts are pretty tired anyway, weld it and give it a try.

 

I have done this on my plow truck/wood hauler. Mostly because my previous 2 U joint failures were from the cap spiting it self out, intern grenading both inner and outer shafts. I assume this was caused by the c clip rusting and falling out, from sitting over the summer.

I cant see tack welding being a strong fix but I thought it was worth a try. Its been a year since the replacement, I only tacked one side and left the other without after I replaced both front u joints. If you get too much heat your needles will be shot.

If you have the time you could possibly just clearance the shafts for full circle snap rings.

 

I read on a jeep site where the guy removes needles and replaces with oil lite bushings. I havnt broke any on this truck I have now but headin to a mud bog next spring with my awsome 44 TTB with 36s. OK you can start laughing now. 1 extra U joint. I'll take plenty of pictures.

 

Keep the tires pointed straight, and know when to pedal down and you should be alright...