Welded Diff blow out?

[Kazama1986]

Today i was pulling out of my local gas station and i believe my welded diff broke some how. I wasn't on the throttle at all. It was odd. I cruised away from the station and i heard a pop noise and a clunking noise. i slowed down and pulled over. at first i thought it was a suspension piece but i believe one of the welds or ring gear is at fault. has this type of occurence happen to any of you? i haven't pulled off my pumpkin and taken a look inside yet. i'm curious to see what it could be.

[derek_s13]

it's more likely an axle than the diff. remember the car's ~18yrs old

...unless you welded the diff gears yourself or something...

you put all the shims back in the way they came out right?

[Kazama1986]

yeah i welded it with a friend. it was put together the way it came out. it has been working out fine for roughly the last 3 or 4 months. but it did get pretty warm outside today. but i don't think that would affect my welded diff. maybe an actual clutch type. but also from i have heard the wheel bearing and axles can take some abuse.

[s13coupedrfter]

You can speculate all you want but you need to jack the rear up and find out what is really going on.

[huffandpuff00]

greg just drive it til it breaks all the way. :)

[wow-thats-a-cool-car]

mine broke i didn't clean the gears wells enough. Just jack up the car and test the diff and if it is broken make sure u clean the gears out with brake cleaner and then rince it out with water. This is what my local welding shop told me and the other this is have a pro do it. I welded mine my self and it broke 2 weeks later daily driving. So its a good idea to take it to a pro they will only charge about 20 dollars it you just bring them the center section.
-Glad to help