?'s aboutWelding rears diff in 240SX

[Spdrules5]

I need to find someone somewhat local to Long Beach, Ca. or at least So. Cal. who has had experience Tig welding open rear diffs. And I need to get it done within 2 weeks or so.

This is not for a street car! I am somewhat aware of the problems assiciated with it. Mainly the rear gear shattering while in motion and locking up. That is why it is going on a track car.

Any other cons or even pros?
Pro:
easy to drift!!
Pro:
inexspensive alternative to mechanical LSD

[holisticbeatz]

Tig takes forever to weld with! Even if you find a person who would do it, they'll charge you a lot. Tig takes skills, and generally, tig welders are at the top of the pay scale. Mig however, would do the trick. You could always open up the Long Beach phone book and look under "metal working" or maybe "welding" possibly under both.

Pro: Cheaper than getting a 2-way.
Con: It will eventually break. SO you might as well do it right from day one and buy a real LSD.

[Demik]

talk to luke blue808

[Spdrules5]

talk to luke blue808
Thanks! Good lookin out.

[blu808]

Pm recieved.

[blu808]

anybody else want one? It will make your car do this.

http://www.sromagazine.com/events/albums/wpw-06/normal_IMG_2590.jpg

[SilviaDriver]

blu808

any insight on welded diffs? first hand. how is it for daily etc etc

[blu808]

on daily its not bad, it clunks on u turns but thats about it, it feels like a kaaz when its brand new. and its super cheap.

Yay for welded diffs. it even time attacked well on thunder hill.
:w00t:

[SilviaDriver]

when u say clunk..wat do u mean? does the car shake when it clunks?

i had vlsd before..and my car was clunking on turns..i think it was my axles tho becuz when it clunk..the car shook a big on the outter wheel when turning

[blu808]

No its just the tires chirping a little :naughtyd:

[SilviaDriver]

No its just the tires chirping a little :naughtyd:

naaaah dude. im talkin loud clunking that shakes the whole rear end. thats not tires skipping.

[Siizzzoooo]

too ghetto fabulous, get the real thing

[SilviaDriver]

nothing wrong with that. the fact is some people cannot and do not need to buy a 700 kaaz unit when they arent gonna be doing much. and yes thats why there is VLSD, but VLSD sucks.

[Siizzzoooo]

doesnt welding the spider gears ruin your diff permanently though? meaning, if u want to run something else, you'll have to get a new pumpkin?

[knightrider]

yea but a stock open pumpkin is super cheap, i have 2 laying around.

[SilviaDriver]

stock open are a dime a dozen

[Siizzzoooo]

true, but how long would something like welding the gears together acutually last

i know it depends on how bad you beat on it, but what if a weld breaks or snaps, what then?

[SilviaDriver]

true, but how long would something like welding the gears together acutually last

i know it depends on how bad you beat on it, but what if a weld breaks or snaps, what then?

then u never go to that welder ever again.

[blu808]

You do not need a $700 Kazz diff unless your a tool, It may be harder to drift with a welded diff. But its hard core. Also it will never break unless its welded incorrectly.

:rawk: :rawk:

[deviousKA]

I run a welded diff in my s13 fastback, its definately not for the novice or faint of heart. Also not advised for a car that sees tons of miles. Keep an eye on your rear subframe bushings as well, it puts much more wear factor. Smaller stretched tires help a lot to.

BTW. dont loan your car to any kart racers or you wont get it back.

To weld: Use arc/stick welder, and get nickel rod. Turn up the heat and go to town, your axles will break before the diff will.

[blu808]

Mad Props to another weld locd fan club member. we are making stickers for all those who are running a welded diff, if you want one or two let me know, throw them on and let all those bandwagon kazzers know whats up. Lol.

And yes it does give your axels and subframe hell. :drool:

[Demik]

hey luke im goin to ur area from sunday-wendsday can i pic up one for my s13????? and a sticker to? :)

[blu808]

You can, but you would need to bring me a open diff to weld for you. I am out of cores right now lol.
Just give me a call when your ready.

Luke

408-515-9598
:rawk: :rawk:

[Demik]

ok cool ill give u a call how long does it take to do it?

[sr240mike]

I just took a ride in my buddy's 240 with a welded diff. I like it. Could you weld it on the car?

[blu808]

cannot weld it on the car. If you come over i have all the tools at my house to do it. I will help you pull it out and weld it for ya.

If you bring your diff out of the car it will only take 20 mins.

Yay for the weld lockd crew :w00t: :w00t: :w00t:

[Demik]

clear ur PMs blue

[blu808]

ok, good idea. pms clear :hsdance:

[sr240mike]

There's a person in Palo Alto thats selling open diffs on Craigslist. Is that you Blue?

[blu808]

No i could use some more open diffs though. Do you have the link.

Thanks

[BobbyBoy]

Welded diff here too, I can assure anyone, the welds will not break if done by Luke, the gears are like a solid mass of metal now. Have it done RIGHT by the guy thats been doing this for awhile. I have seen other welded diffs, and the welds look like little rabbit turds holding the gears together. I could see those diffs breaking in the future. As far as daily driver factor? Id say its similar to any other 2-way. Some may not like the way it operates, but its fine with me. Then again I daily an SR with no interior, only one seat, no AC or heater, ghetto rigged speakers, a leaky ticking manifold and dying turbo that spews burnt oil smoke from my tailpipes about 5 mintes after startup.

[blu808]

Booo Ya. Bobbys hard core :naughty: :naughty: :naughty: :naughty: :naughty: :naughty: :naughty: :naughty: :naughty: :naughty:

[BobbyBoy]

Yea, but I still need to hollow out my doors to be as hardcore as you.

[blu808]

ha ha maybe. you missed the hwy9 drive last night, it was fun.
:eek3:

[BobbyBoy]

Damn had my hand down my pants instead, next time call me up I wanna see the lights show from your exhaust.

[Buffalo Daughter]

i think im pretty down to run a weld'd diff but i drive a lot. Hows the all around drive bobby? I don't doubt luke's skills welding. Seems like a very good alternative right now since im gitty about driving in the next drift event again. I mean if it functions the same and no clunking sound or what not then im pretty sure im down to get it asap. Ha maybe even this week since im getting my paycheck in 2 days.

Thanks
Jud

[orion::S14]

Allright...I welded a spare diff I had lying around a couple months agao, really just for the fun of it...I decided if I had a spare hour or so, I'd swap it into my daily driver (N/A) S13 and see how it acted...

So I did that this weekend...and it's rough.

When I first pulled out of the driveway, I noticed it was hard to steer...when both rear wheels are pulling the same direction, the front's have to fight to make it turn.

Once I cut it full right to back into the street, there was nasty clunking and the rear inside wheel was hopping as it skidded along, trying to stay the same speed as the outside tire. Nasty noises, lot's of vibration, and the shifter was almost hitting the sides of the hole in the underbody due to all the movement.

It drove OK, but every slow corner it hopped and skipped, with a pronounced THUD-clunk-THUD.

Now, if you gave it throttle entering the corner to get it to break loose and just slide a little, there was so much rear grip that it just pushed the front out...understeer like crazy.

If you clutch kicked it, or hammered it from a stand still, it would slide out nice and smoothly, it that part was great...but really no different than with my VLSD in the S14.

I put about 30 miles on it, including a couple runs trough a new neighborhood (new curvy roads, but with no houses), and while it was OK for quick "grip" driving and a little sliding around, it SUCKED on the street. And I'm not saying that b/c I'm a little b!tch...I can put up with just about anything for decent performance, but this was just rediculous.

That being said, if you only tracked your car, or drifted A LOT, this may be acceptable.

And with shitty rear tires, it may be better...b/c it would just squeal and slide, rather than hop madly...but with somewhat-sticky FM901s, it was bad.

So my opinion is:

Welded diff = Decent, but not worth it...unless you run hard rear tires for drift. With any grip in the rear, it's just too violent on the chassis.

Case in point: My drivers door lock didn't work the next day after putting miles on the car...the rod had fallen out of the lock assembly from all the hopping and shaking.

And as I said, my VLSD equipped S14 performs in a similar manner...slides just as well, breaks both tires every time, etc...but without bad streetability.

Just wanted to post a review...you may agree or not, but I figured some people may want a review.

- Brian

[Buffalo Daughter]

duely noted. Yeah ive been in cars that have had welded diffs. One did the same thing you explained. It Clunked everywhere. It hopped a little too. It did break loose great but the driveability licked balls. I was hoping that the diffs that luke's been welding doesnt do the same thing .

jud

[blu808]

It depends on the condition of your bushings. It you have really worn bushings then it will clunk alot more, overall, bobbys car has over 100k on it with stock bushings, and it works fine.

After having welded diffs in a ton of cars i can say that it doesnt clunk any worse than a kazz.

[Buffalo Daughter]

It depends on the condition of your bushings. It you have really worn bushings then it will clunk alot more, overall, bobbys car has over 100k on it with stock bushings, and it works fine.

After having welded diffs in a ton of cars i can say that it doesnt clunk any worse than a kazz.

i think i just might go the way of the welded locd diff right about now.
:coolugh: i might be calling you again soon luke. Thanks for the info guys.

Jud

[Var]

I have the tomei= Kaaz with shims=more agressive lock but basicallly the same. It clunks like CRAZY!! it's to the point where i dont like driving it around town..even after the proper break in procedure. This diff was made for racing and that's what i'll use it for from now on. I'm taking the tomei diff and putting into my drift car, and putting the VLSD onto my street car. The vlsd doesnt work that good at low speeds but better like at the top of second or 3rd gear. It's perfect for street use though. Also if i knew i would have a dedicated drift car, i may have welded the diff myself, instead i spent 800 bucks on the Tomei. O well....

[Ricer240sx]

its not too bad, but i dont nessisaraly like it, i onl drove with it throug the city for a little bit but i know ill be saying bye bye to a lot of tires, and i hate the hopping that comes along with it when u turn!

[blu808]

Welcome to the world of having any lsd besides a vlsd
:wiggle:

[Drunk Bastard]

I Love My Weld Locd Diff!

[inertia]

I LOVE my welded diff. Got it from luke hehe. :naughtyd: Put it in last sat. its been great, slides like crazy. and i have noticed that it corners faster is you press the throtle. So far no regrets. all those dudes on NICO are telling me that its gonna compromise handeling and that its only for the hardcore. what a bunch of panzzies. WELD LOCD DIFF VER3 :rawk:
Hey Luke, i want a sticker!!!!!i'l email you about it.

[AN89HATCH]

whats it like driving a car with welded diff in the rain? will it be to dangerious?

[SR_TeXaN]

Can you say Curb.....

[driftstyre]

If a diff is welded correctly and with enough but not too much heat, it will never break. Also, slow cooldown is essential for dense, treated steel.

For anything over 30mph its tough to tell the difference from a decent clutch diff with average preload. Off throttle understeer at lower speeds is a small problem but for drifting there is really nothing better. The predictibility and consistency of a locked diff is unparalleled. The majority of circuit/rally cars in the 70's/80's and early 90's used spools instead of diffs for reliability under power. The 97 spec Impreza WRC used a welded rear diff over an active or clutch type due to its consistency and reliability. With carbon diffs and the advances in electro/hydraulic diffs its not really an issue anymore. Welded diffs rule!