a question of diffs

[Cooler]

has anyone tried welding up the front diff on their surfs yet. i was jus wondering because when i had the truck jacked up the other day it i thought i would try a get a grip on the four wheel drive sytem and work it out. as far as i can tell when i'm in two wheel drive there is no drive coming from the transfer box at all.

when i do push 4wd, i get a noise from the transfer box which then makes my front prop spin, however it isnt in 4wd as the front wheels need to spin in order to activate the dog collar on the passenger side half shaft.

just thinking because if i welded the front diff up and i wasnt in 4wd then because the dog collar is not connecting the passenger front wheel to the diff, and the prop is free to turn due to no power from the tranfer box the front wheels would still run seperately. then if i hit the 4wd button the two would then be linked and run as one so a near perfect true 4wd vehicle.

anyone done this at all?

[Cooler]

well i have the diff out on the floor now, still dont know what to do. any suggestions?

[goodcat]

blimey your brave!

[Cooler]

why is that

[Apache]

Just have visions of forgetting to disengage 4 wheel drive as you come onto tarmac and a big bang from the front of the truck.

[Cooler]

but the theory is right though? i use high and low all the time for towing and pulling my mates old 90 out, i only switch 2 4wd if i know i will slip

i was just wondering why noone has done this. why buy a diff locker for 500 pounds when you can weld it up. we have one of the very few vehicles you can actually do this too

[Apache]

i was just wondering why noone has done this.

See my previous answer. I have forgotten once or twice. No-one bothers with lockers for the front diff in general because they aint that strong, and its far more useful to lock the rear.

[lord lucan]

See my previous answer. I have forgotten once or twice. No-one bothers with lockers for the front diff in general because they aint that strong, and its far more useful to lock the rear.

i run a welded front diff but offroad if you get air you will come dwn and smash a drive shaft ,done it twice up to yet

[dieselboy]

if you can lock a front diff up you can get serious advantages from a 4wd road car (or even a front wheel drive). the gains are generally when cornering

if you are certain that the two front wheels remain seperated whilst not in 4wd then there should be no problem locking it up. because as you say, this will only have an effect when in 4wd.

the only thing i would be careful of is driving on the "non slippy" stuff and trying to turn a bend.

im interested to know how this turns out.

[arron]

mmmmm me to please let me know ??

[yoshie]

Off road a welded front diff will try and push the truck in a straight line, it will also be less stable on side slopes. As always it's a trade off.
I would also keep a spare diff. By the way they are pig to fit on your own, heavy and unbalanced

[TonyN]

if you can lock a front diff up you can get serious advantages from a 4wd road car (or even a front wheel drive). the gains are generally when cornering

unhuh, otherway round, it won't want to go round corners, as one wheel will always be slipping and wheelspinning, leaving only one tyre to try and steer the truck.

also the CV joints are very weak on IFS trucks, getting 100% of the drive all the time, if you're on full lock and a find sudden traction it will destroy them.

people spend £500 on a locker for a reason.

also, its a fecker to disengage, cos you can't unload the pressure on the dog coller like a an open diff will.

it does work, but is a very redneck way of going about things, with noticable cons as well as the pros.

I'd rather have an open front, and a locker in the rear