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welding an 8.8

lankchevy

NAXJA Forum User
Location
sw mo
well i got my new 8.8, ive got all my new brackets welded on and the old ones cut off. after school today im welding the spiders. just wondering if there is anything specail about welding one with c-clips? will i still be able to get the shafts out with it welded? im planning on doing the normal gear to gear, gears to carrier weld job. ive done a d35 before but it was a non c-clip axle. i know how it will handle on the road and thats not a concern. just making sure i dont screw this rearend up.

kolby
 
lankchevy said:
today im welding the spiders.


just making sure i dont screw this rearend up.
kolby
Those two statements don't go together. An 8.8 is a bad choice, I believe, to Lincoln lock due to the carrier being the weak point in this axle.
Look around the forums and ebay. I found my Detroit for under $300.
 
Bearing caps!


if you are dead set on welding this axle - look into an aftermarket diff cover that supports the bearing caps - and carry a spare carrier...
 
forgot to add ive welded the tubes to the housing already. my question is, since a lunchbox locker is like a spool if torque is being appiled, which is when an axle is under the most stress, would accualy be worse than welding. i would think that welding the gears together, and welding the gears to the carrier would accualy make the carrier stronger and take the strain off the center pin. where a lunchbox puts all the stress on the center pin. at the moment the axle is only going to have 33s on it, and ive read a ton of threads on pirate with guys running 8.8s with 36s and 38s locked and havent done anything for the bearing caps and havent had problems. how exactly do the bearing caps break? but back to my original question, if i weld it will i have any problems with getting the c-clips out to get the shafts out later if i need to?

kolby
 
lankchevy said:
forgot to add ive welded the tubes to the housing already. my question is, since a lunchbox locker is like a spool if torque is being appiled, which is when an axle is under the most stress, would accualy be worse than welding. i would think that welding the gears together, and welding the gears to the carrier would accualy make the carrier stronger and take the strain off the center pin. where a lunchbox puts all the stress on the center pin. at the moment the axle is only going to have 33s on it, and ive read a ton of threads on pirate with guys running 8.8s with 36s and 38s locked and havent done anything for the bearing caps and havent had problems. how exactly do the bearing caps break? but back to my original question, if i weld it will i have any problems with getting the c-clips out to get the shafts out later if i need to?

kolby
One thing that puts enormous stress on a lincoln lock is turning. You have the wheels trying to go different speeds but tied together. With a lunchbox locker (which I also wouldn't recommend in an 8.8 for the reasons you mentioned) you let off the gas in a turn and they release.
 
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