So weld my diff just now. Welded the spiders and side gears together then welded in the first plate, but when I got done and it was cooling there was like metal to metal pop and the diff kinda jumped.

Anyone know what it could be?? Did the weld separate when cooling or did it crack??

Need help asap thanks.

 

Did you weld the gears together? or did you weld the side gears to the carrier?

 

I welded the gears together, then the gears to the carrier, then welded a 1/4 inch plate between the gears.

 

then it is just the cast iron of the case cooling that is making the noise.. inspect your welds to make sure they didnt crack.. When you weld cast iron, you are supposed to heat it up first then weld it, then there is a certain way to cool it.. i wouldn't be to worried about it..
you did put the axles in to align the side gears right??

 

Um no i didnt.. Do you really need to? Doesnt the axle shaft spin in the housing, so it could align itself into the carrier?

 

Ok so you may have cracked the carrier, hope not. Get out the break clean and soak it, look for cracks as the brake clean dries. If no cracks, your good to go. Metal moves alot when you heat it up with a welder, especialy cast. Good luck.

 

Cant see any cracks now. What will it look like when the break clean dries if there is a crack??

 

A while line while it is drying

 

agreed^^^^^

 

Ya I'm bot familiar with welding diffs, its not something I need to know. Good luck!

 

Yeah i kinda was welding the piss out of it. It poped when it was cooling.

So what your saying is its probably cracked on the inside?

 

^and now its dead!! Lol

 

no what we are saying is there shouldnt be any cracks....now put the damn thing in and go drift already!

 

Ok so jus one more guestion, does the axle shafts slide in the side gears all the way to the pin or does it not pass all the way through the side gears??

 

Nvm

Got the rear end assembled today but forgot to put back the bolt and lock that adjusts the backlash so tomorrow ill be pulling out the 3rd again /:

 

When I weld diffs I simply pull them out, do my thang, and put em back in. The only bolts I need to mess with are all the nuts putting the 3rd back in, and the 8 nuts for the backing plates. I don't mess with the pinion, ring gear, nothing, just pull it, put duct tape where you don't want splatter, weld it and re install it.

That popping you heard was the weld unattaching itself from the cast carrier when it cooled slightly. Cast material will do this. It's very pourous. It shouldn't be a big deal, but is why I don't weld to the carrier anymore, just the spiders together, the 1st plate I install, (to the gears) and then the 2nd plate on top of the first plate, (to the gears again)

No welds from the gears to the carrier. I learned this from hearing a few pop, just like you did, and realized that it'll just pop when it cools then the weld won't be attached to the carrier any more. If you look good at yours, you'll see what I'm talking about.

I've done about 10 now, including the ones that popped and crackled, and none have died yet to my knowledge and they're all DDers on the street.

 

Yeah i took apart the whole 3rd and forgot to put the lock back.

And i did see one weld that seperated from the carrier, but the rest held up well.

Out of all the diffs you welded up did any of them break??

 

I had a welded diff for a while now like 5 years and it's put thru hell and back auto cross ,random sideways action drag racing brake torque burnouts ,u name it haven't broken nuttin ( nock on wood ) u should be fine

 

Did you weld your like beefed taco said with the plates or did you just weld the side gears and spyders??.