Welded spyder gears?

[redrocket97]

I'm currently replacing my universal joints in the front end and I'm wondering if since I have the pumpkin out if its a good idea or bad idea to weld my spyder gears to have front posi its a dana 35 ttb. I plan on doing an axle swap sometime in the future it would be mostly run off-road just looking for some input

 

[4.0B2]

it makes steering a pain when locked in.

 

[PlumCrazy]

Dont waste your time. You will spend more time fighting your steering wheel and boiling your PS pump over than wheeling.

Unless you find a clever way to add hydro assist to a TTB....which would probably just destroy the front end one joint at a time. lol

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk 2

 

[bigmark303]

Steering is a huge pain if you plan on taking corners. Had my front end locked for not even a month. Went back to open differential because I couldnt steer good to get around things in the woods.

 

[Rangurr]

This isn't really on topic but it reminded me of this:

Don't believe everything you read on the interwebs....

 

[UrbanRedneckKid]

The steering really isn't much to worry about, it's keeping it all together.

My TTB was welded, it went anywhere, and I loved that...

If I could keep the hubs, shafts, and u-joints from breaking. I went through 6 sets of Warn hubs, 6-7 axles, and numerous joints.

FYI, when a hub explodes on a welded front-end, half of it will fly +100' from the truck at bullet speed, leaving only the flange bolted between the wheel and rotor. And if it bounces off a tree it will put a huge dent in your door...

Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk 2

 

[4x4junkie]

Unless you find a clever way to add hydro assist to a TTB....which would probably just destroy the front end one joint at a time. lol

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk 2

Hydro assist is easy if you have a centerlink steering setup. I've seen where someone had attached a hydro ram to the stock linkage once too, though certainly this isn't ideal.
As for the u-joints, I guess it would depend on your driving style and what size tires are on it (the D35 TTB's joints are the same (larger) ones that a D44 uses). It is true though, welding the diff greatly increases the stress put on any axle.

No doubt, welding the front diff is gonna suck without hydro assist, and no matter what, it'll considerably widen your turning radius.
A good cheap (better) option would be to stick an Aussie Locker or something similar in there.

 

[redrocket97]

ill probably end up leaving it alone then my truck breaks enough and the hard steering doesn't sound like much fun either thanks for the input guys I appreciate it!