lincoln lock front axle?

[84BII]

i just wanna start off and say im new to the forums so hey! i wanted everyones opinions on whether or not to weld the spiders in the front axle. ive been told that u basicly cant steer after its done, but ive seen people do it. i dont have the money for a locker so its either open or locked up. i like to wheel but i also drive on the street. with my hubs unlocked i dont see a problem on the street. let me know ur opinions

[7.62FMJ]

What axle do you have?
What truck is it under?
What size tires?
What motor/transmission do you have?
How is your driving style?

That will let us tell you if it will hold up or not...

[Fordman500]

I wouldnt say that it would break or anything, but it might be hard to steer. It always wants to push and go striaght but with good steering its decent.

[SonicDonkey]

A friend of mine had his D30 welded in his 60 CJ5. He could not turn on the hard surfaces so he just left the drivers hub unlocked untill he got somewhere that he might need the full pulling power, then jump out and lock the hub in. The jeep had a 350 engine and TH350 trans. He knew what he had up front so he took it easy, not necessarly the easy line but easy on the right foot. It never broke

[Pooze]

Save and buy a detroit, you have no give when your axle is welded. If you dont break your 3rd member you will break something else axle shafts hubs ETC.

[67eb_in_619]

There will be no turning issue with the front hubs unlocked.. but it WILL be tough with you are locked in 4wd. A Detriot will let you turn easily if there is no load on the pinion.

Power steering would be a must and ram assist would be recommended since basically under load (crawling rocks) you WILL need to be able to turn and if it is welded, you are forcing a tire to slip (break traction) to make the turn happen when losing traction is what you are trying to avoid by welding and airing down.

Do you have a locker in the rear? I would lock, mini-spool, spool or weld the rear before the front. I have detriots front and rear and a buddy with similar rig has detriot rear and posi front.. there arent many places I go that he doesnt... none in fact.

My vote: dont weld the front.

[welndmn]

If you can't afford a locker up front, you can't afford all the broken shafts a welded front end causes.

[Proeliator]

If you can't afford a locker up front, you can't afford all the broken shafts a welded front end causes.

Truth. Besides, getting in and out to unlock hubs everytime you've got a sharp turn to make when your froadin gets old REAL quick.

Besides, that assumes that he wants to stick to hubs instead of flanges.

The only guys I know who were happy with their welded fronts had mud draggers. 'Course, they only drove in straight lines...

[DRKelly]

My front is welded. The PO had welded it. I decided to run it and see how I liked it before dropping the cash on a locker. I typically wheel with the driver side hub unlocked, which gives me three wheel drive and steers like it is open. I then just hop out and lock in the hub when needed. I don't have doors on my truck, so it is no big deal. I think hydro assist or full hydro is mandatory with a welded front end.

[67eb_in_619]

Summary: If you cant afford a locker, you cant afford a welded front (ram assist, broken components, etc)

[WHITE RHINO]

he prolly still has the stock dana 28 ttb it will blow up you will break shafts and other shit. same with if you have the dana 35 TTB my friend chris had a welded solid axle 44 on his xj he broke at least on shaft every time out could barely turn(even with hydro assist). he also tweaked the tube on the long side. i would say detroit it or quick lock i have a detroit in my 44 running 38's on H1's and i beat the piss out of it and havent broken a shaft

[Fordman500]

Summary: If you cant afford a locker, you cant afford a welded front (ram assist, broken components, etc) Sure you can, one may not be able to justify the costs of a front locker when you can weld it and have better steering. I have driven welded front rigs and with better steering (hydro assist etc) it wont be that bad. It depends what type of terrain your on though for sure. If its stock why waste your time with a detroit? Then youll really blow some shit up

[freakindawgen]

Had a mini spool in my front HP 44 running 37's,COULD NOT TURN OFF ROAD!!!,never busted anything on the trail,but blew out everything last ice storm trying to extract a motorist.Got a Lock Right now works much better!

[84BII]

well thanks for the info. i have an '84 Bronco II, 2.8L, 5 speed, 1350 tcase, 32"s now goin to 33"s and yes i do have the dana 28 TTB. there is an abundance of TTB rangers and bronco II, so getting shafts isnt that costy or inconvenient(actually i have 1 1/2 extra sets of axle shaft incase i need one) i wheel in an area of slick clay and mud where traction is greatly need! i like to focus more on driving technique then just hittin a hole or trail as hard and fast as i can(i know that leads to breakage). i am definetly gonna lock the rear end up(weld), my buddy and i did it to his cherokee and it has no problems, nothin broken and we wheel it hard!! i plan to swap out the stock axles for some out of an explorer. i might also swap in some axles out of a fullsize TTB-equipped ford, so i think a 44(as well as a TTB35) on 33's with only a 2.8L as power i shouldnt break a shaft. i am in my senior year of high school so i do what i can with what i got. before the axle swap i figure before i put them in, weld the 28 up, see how i like it and if i do, weld the 35 or 44 up. i DO like the idea of having only one side locked and lockin the other hub if needed

[WHITE RHINO]

the 28 will break save yourself time go buy a dana 35 TTB front end from a scrap yard direct bolt in bigger shafts and u-joint then buy a quicklock

[84BII]

yea i know it will. i figure weld it up and replace with bigger after it breaks, that way i dont really loose anything. some people say TTB 35 is weak, but under my application i think it will hold up just fine. i dont have a very heavy foot and i know when to get off it. btw, White Rhino ur ranger is awesome! is the 89-92 front clip a direct bolt on for the 83-88 body style? cuz i thought about that swap

[67eb_in_619]

Again, take a look at the posts.. i dont remember seeing any that say a welded front will be good if you dont have ram assist or only lock one hub.

That said, it doesnt take much power to tear up a u-joint. A welded rear axle is MUCH different than a welded front. My money says that you snap a ujoint within the first couple times you need to back up with the wheels turned.

.. Good luck.

[Wicked_Exploder]

My explorer has a Dana44 HP with a Mini spool and its fine offroad. I run 35's and can urn no problem offroad, granted its not as sharp of a turn as it is when one or both hubs are unlocked but still....

I wheeled the hell out of that truck and it never breaks!

[sceep]

Summary: If you cant afford a locker, you cant afford a welded front (ram assist, broken components, etc)

:laughing: :rolleyes: :laughing:

this is a pretty fawking dumb statement to be made before anyone even knew what kind of axles he was running.

been running welded in the front for 6 years now. wow!! look!! It turns too!!

:shaking:

[projectnitemare]

A dana 35 is in the same area of stregnth as a D44, stock for stock. Ring and pinion aside, same with shaft diameter and such. They use the same u-joints, most times I break shafts at the joints anyway. A dana 28 is marginal against stock tires and stock power, I've busted a D28 countless times. If you aren't going hardcore on the power and plan to build a moderately equipped trail rig a D35 is fine and a D44 isn't really worth the extra expense unless you are going for the solid axle part. You can build a D44 pretty strong so that is one advantage.

Matt