has any one done this on the stock front end if so how did it effect the steering, do the axle shafts hold up???? if i am thinking right if i leave one hub unlocked it wuld be like a open diff right???
thanks marcus
I have no experience welding the d28, but have welded the front samurai gears and powered it with a 2.3 ranger motor, and it has held up fine. (for now) As for how it will affect steering, it will affect it greatly. It will essentially cut your turning radius in half. There is really no more effort lock to lock, you'll just be dragging the inside tire in turns. It's bearable, just get used to 2 and 3 point turns out on the trail on 180 degree switchbacks.
As far as the shafts holding up, the samurai shafts are a little smaller than a d28 shaft, and I haven't broken one YET. The thing about it is, with both ends locked up, you shouldn't be spinning wildly where you used to with open diffs. It will allow the truck to walk over things that used to leave you spinning wildly. Since welding the front, I have only been in a position where I needed wheelspin about twice, and both were on straight shots, uphill, on slick rock.
Your thinking on the leaving one hub unlocked is a little off, I thought that too for the first 2 seconds out on the trail, and locked it back in and decided to live with multi point turns. The thing about it is, an open diff is exactly that, it differentiates between both tires, sometimes when you need it to, and sometimes not. But with a welded diff, and one hub unlocked, you are guaranteed that the unlocked side will never help you when you need it. Basically, open diffed, you have a 50/50 chance of the tire you need traction on giving you traction, with it welded and hub unlocked, you have 0% chance of that tire giving you traction when you need it, unless you stop, get out, and lock in the hub.
All this aside, I say grab a few spare shafts, weld up the gears, leave both hubs locked in, (might want to grab a few spare hubs too) and get really good at working on the front end. Sometimes the fear of breaking stuff is just what you need to go a little easier on things, and work on driver skill rather than just going out and beating on your truck.
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