Welding Spider Gears

[etaucher]

I was thinking about welding my spider gears in my 8.25. I don't do a lot of off roading. I mainly want it for positraction in the snow, and when I do go off roading. What do all of you think?

[(Tattoo) Jack]

What do all of you think?

  That depends... do you make a lot of turns or mostly drive in a straight line?

   Tattoo

[hillbilly]

like jack said going straight is easy you go around a corner and man what a noise. try a spool sorta the same thing,there cheaper than a locker and you can go back if you dont like it, if its just traction try some sandbags     it is a four wheel drive    right?

[Mutant_Xj]

My 86 Iroc had a posi rear end and my 89 camaro didn't. My 89 handled the snow a million times better. When you lock it in snow it starts doing crazy things. My 86 Iroc would go sideways not straight and the tires would break free alot quicker.

[Rick_Bear]

An XJ is "NOT" an IROC by any means......................

BUT, if you weld those spiders you will have just created a "Poor-Mans" Detroit Locker.
Yes, you can drive it in snowy conditions on the street, it just takes some getting used to.
Be preparred to be pulled to the "outside" of EVERY turn.

I've done it for years, once you are used to it you learn to drive accordingly. The vehicle WILL run to the "outside" of all turns you take. Adjust accordingly and at appropriate speeds.

Detroit lockers (front/rear) in a CJ-5 I had many years ago made for some excitement coming home from work many a nights....

[etaucher]

I only wanted to weld the spider gears in my rear. Will that effect, my turns? I no the front will.

[Mutant_Xj]

I know an Iroc is by no means an Xj but I was trying to illistrate that the driving manners are different with a locked rear.

[(Tattoo) Jack]

     Somehow you're just not getting it...   

     When you make a turn the inside wheel (front or back) will be turning slower (traveling less distance) then the outside wheel. When it's Locked (welded or other wise) now BOTH wheels will be turning the same speed. Can you see any problems in this situation? Everytime you make a turn, out of a parking spot, into a driveway, at an intersection etc., the inside wheel WILL be turning at the same speed as the outside wheel. If you're on hardtop, the inside wheel will need to spin at the same speed as the outside wheel. Have you ever tried to drive your XJ in 4 Wheel Drive and make a turn on "Dry" hardtop? Did ya feel the binding? That's the same stress you'll be exerting on your axle shafts everytime you are not going straight.

     One solution (NOT cheap): Auburn High Performance Limited Slip Differential. If you're patient you can find one for around $300 (+ -). When you apply power to it, it gets tighter (less slip), but when you go around a corner it allows for the difference in axle speeds (hence the term "Differential"). Kinda the best of both worlds. I LOVE the one I'm running! (I wish they made it for the D30) I've power braked my XJ (on dry hardtop) with 32's and spun BOTH tires! http://www.auburngear.com/aftermarket/product_listing.aspx?category=4ea7b7ea-ad65-492a-830f-1b8a333d16ef

     Just my 2¢ worth...

     Tattoo

[CJ8Ted]

89 4x4 cherokee
Don't do it, even if you took it off pavement once a month I would not do it. In the rain, ice, small slick snows it will not be very helpfull. It will put you in a ditch quicker than you can blink 

Ted

[etaucher]

Thank you Tattoo, thats alot of helpful info you gave me. I will have to look into the LSD.

[SteveTheFolkie]

Having owned/driven a vehicle with a spool, rather than a differential, in the rear end I'd say don't weld the gears - it's not just going around turns - you'll run like a dog down any crowned road when the surface is slick as the rear slides down the crown towards the ditch - you'll chirp around corners and you'll find various fuses in your driveline as things bind and snap.
The vehicle I owned was a 1963 Impala SS 409 with CONSIDERABLE work done to it - it's primary reason for being was to travel 1320 feet in a straight line, in as little time as possible (I could and did drive it on the street, but it wasn't fun - well - maybe it was at the time (32 years ago)  but now it'd just be work).  I went to the spool 'cause I kept spitting side gears out of my differential and I couldn't afford anything better -

My two cents .....

Steve

[etaucher]

How dose the rear in say a Ford Mustang work? Does the V-8 Mustangs have LSD rear? Because I no there pos.

[(Tattoo) Jack]

How dose the rear in say a Ford Mustang work? Does the V-8 Mustangs have LSD rear? Because I no there pos.

   If you're running a "Posi" or 'Positive Traction" rear then you are driving a GM vehicle. That term was coined (or trade marked) by GM way back when. Posi, Limited Slip, TruTrac etc,... are ALL the same thing. It just depends on who made them to what they're called. BUT there are differences in the how they function! Some are "Pre-Loaded" or High Bias (spring loaded pressuse on the) Clutches, some use helical gears.

  http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_can_you_tell_the_difference_between_positive_traction_and_limited_slip_traction

   Here's an article about the TruTrac plus a brief summary of what a Limited Slip Differential is and how they work (in the white blocks).
 http://www.oramagazine.com/pastIssues/0806-issue/index.asp?article=truetrac

   Do your homework.... then decide

   Tattoo

[SteveTheFolkie]

in a limited slip differential typically there are centrifugal weights that detect a differential in rotational veclocity between the two wheels - clutch packs engage/disengage (they may be packs, conical clutches, whatever, depending on specific design) to "lock" the two axles so the same power is sent to both wheels -
In a "locker" it's a bit less forgiving - under given mechanical (or selected, in the case of pneumatic (air)  or electric lockers) the differential (normally unengaged to allow for decent cornering manners) is mechanically locked - making the third member (differential) act like a spool.
With a spool there is no differential - rest assured - the right wheel is going to rotate at the same velocity as the left (assuming the axle is in not snapped).
I've driven LSD's ("Posi" rears in GM speak), Lockers (Detroit Lockers, in Ford speak) and a spool (rather generic) - the least intrusive is the posi - the most effective is the spool (given the desire to travel down 1320 feet as fast as possible) - the best compromise was probably the locker (clicked and chattered on dry pavememt but worked better than the posi) -
Note - with a clutch LSD you'll need to run the correct differential fluid in the third member or you'll toast the clutches -

Yeah - it's confusing - but so are multi-variant calculus and politics ....

Peace

Steve