Welding the trac loc

[trail mule]

I knot that this is a crazy question but is it possible to weld a trac lok. It has spider gears. I called a company to see how much for a sterling 10.25 inch open carrier, and he quoted me at $450:eek:. I thought it was really rediculous. Has anyone ever done it and how did you like it. Does anyone know where to find and open carrier for the sterling 10.25 rear end.

[Stuka]

You can find an open carrier in a junk yard. The tracloc was not standard on all trucks. All FX4's have it, and some non-FX4's do. But if you find a lower end truck you should be able to locate one.

[Dmntxn77]

Is the trac loc broken, or do you just want more traction?

[Stuka]

I think he wants a spool setup. But the clutch make it hard to weld the side gears to the case.

[trail mule]

It is not broken I just don't want to find myself spinning one tire in a mud hole, or when rock crawling. plus I will only be driving it maybe twice a week.

[Dmntxn77]

It can be welded.. It will just be a big PITA... If you have the skills to set-up your own gears, then you can pull it out, take it apart and start welding from the inside. If you want to leave it in, I would assume that you will need to drill some big holes in the case to access the clutches.

Eitherway... Yeh who has torch and a welder, can always get-r-done

[Hammer]

You could always redo the clutches so it stays almost always locked up.
It can be done so they only slip when hit with BIG loads. Like spinning both tires in the mud/sand, and one tire sudenly catches traction.

[Hammer]

I still wouldn't weld the trac lock though.
If you are SET on welding it, find someone who will swap axles with you that has an open diff. It's an upgrade to them, and you get an easily welded carrier setup.

[Dmntxn77]

How would you do that? It sounds like it would be a great way to rig it.. Way better than just a solid weld. It could definatly save a shaft that way..

[Hammer]

Yeah, it can definitely help. But it still adds a lot of stress to the clutches.
It often only requires adding a clutch disc and/or metal disc to each side.
Some require more then that, but that is the general idea.
If the clutches are worn, you need new clutches, but those are cheap as well.
Haven't paid attention to the setup the sterling uses, but I know on the Dana 70/80 setups the newer dodges (90s and up), you will often find that they don't put the clutches in like normal.
Normal being clutch, metal, clutch, metal, etc.
They have been found many times to have clutch, clutch, metal, metal. Specifically to allow for more slip and easier driving.
For those, just pull apart and reaseamble in the correct order to get a LOT more force on the clutches.

[Dmntxn77]

I will have to look into that on my new 70..

I am still not sure what kind of LSD it has yet though..