welded rear?

GMAC

GMAC

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Nov 27, 2005
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Waxhaw
00 tj with a 4.0 5spd and a 8.8 in the rear. im thinkin of welding the rear. what are ALL of the cons for driving it EVERYday? so far i am thinking rain will suck and maybe eating up tires more can everyone please help
 
Both are true and bad things.
Every conner you turn you drag one tire
You will hate it....8.8 you can get a Ford Trac-loc and have a good limited slip. 28 and 31 spline Trac-loc's are easy to find
 
Weld it Grant. I drive mine everyday (welded 60) and love it. Very predictable, won't load/unload like a locker will and you don't have to worry about breaking your investment. Honestly, unless I'm dogging it around turns the tire scrub isn't that bad. I've noticed no unusual effects/wear patterns on my tires. Got alot of friends with welded rears, no trouble.

IF for some reason you don't like it, its not like your in it for any money. Just get an open carrier or locker and throw it back in there.

You've seen my rig before....it does its job, so what are ya waiting for!

Oh yea ITS FREE.
 
only other downside of a welded or locked rear on the street i see is that when going around a corner that isnt sharp enough to make the inside tire spin, the vehicle will act "jumpy" trying to push straight while turning... just makes the turn less smooth almost like it's hopping...
 
I'm not welded in the rear, but I do have a spool (same basic condition with minor differences). I have noticed severe tire wear on the rear tires, and I have to rotate about every 500 miles just to get even tire wear. Reason being, every time I go around a corner, the inside tire can't turn at a different rate as the outside tire. So, I get to "bark a tire" every time I make a turn (which is really annoying). Highway speeds on a welded rearend are going to be different than highway speeds for me. Don't want to go there, cuz I've not got that experience. I would go locker if I drove it on the street a lot. My $0.02
 
Running my second rear with either a spool or welded. I run highway speeds all the time, pull a trailer blah blah blah. See no different whatsoever in the way it drives vs a Detroit. Heres the deal. Yes it will chirp/scrub the tires. Tires cost money. If its a DD, then you want to make your tires live = cough up the $ for a whatever locker. If its a trail only rig odds are youre either gonna ruin a tire or change them out often = weld it and save the $ for tires. It all depends on your road time.
 
weld it up, my brother welded his 8.8 in his xj with 33 ltbs. Does fine, can't even tell the tires scrub. Drove it from boone to greensboro the other weekend and couldn't even tell the rear was welded.
 
austin how is it drivin down from boone? have u done that? my longest drives would be wilmington, boone, raliegh, myrtle beach
 
weld it up!!! i'm with "SPOA87YJ" on this one...

-very predictable

-doesn't unload all of a sudden when merging onto the
interstate at 65, and throw you into another lane nearly
scaring the sht out of you and that poor little honda beside
you...lol:lol:

-yes it will chirp tires, but i believe it depends on the size tires you are runnin... the smaller the tire the more
(chirp,scrub,drag) you will notice, i ran 39's all year and couldn't even tell it, until it gets wet which makes the next point... but also ran welded on a stock toyota with 32's and they would chirp in the least bit of turn/arc...

-BE careful in the rain, esp. in a jeep with the straight6... its
fun to a point, but then you need to use your brains and not kill your self

-i never, never noticed anything odd while on the interstate, only time i could ever tell was at
stop lights downtown, or making u-ies and the inside tire barks like hell...lol
 
If you like ur tires, dont weld it up. I welded my d35 with 33's on it. Real bad tire wear in the back. And it chirped around every corner.
 
Its fine on the Hwy, no problems at all. I drive mine all over the place. Driving normal in the rain I can't tell its back there but "if" a guy wanted to have some fun, he could :).

Driving on the hwy or around town has no ill effects when going straight. Ppl start to hate due to turns. Just think of it like a pencil laying on a desk. The eraser is going to travel in a larger circumference than the lead, everyone agrees with that.

I run 38s and honestly haven't noticed any wear effects. Had it like that for around a year and haven't even rotated tires. If you are just worried about saving your rubber, I would just get another set of street tires to beat while your putting around town.

I can't say if tire scrub is any worse or better with smaller tires. I've only ran my 38s. I've driven rigs with 42s on the street welded and it wasn't any different than my 38s. Reed's brother drives his xj all the time as well, welded on 33s can't really tell. I have a friend back home welded,35s in an xj. Same thing, can't really tell. Thats your call to make. I've heard its more noticeable on shorter wheelbase vehicles but I have no experience with that.

Its a trade off between locker and tires. Like Chuckman said, with a locker there is a chance of it blowing up....your not gonna break your welds, and they didn't cost you anything.

I'm more concerned with offroad performance, so I welded it, but I drive around everyday rain or shine.
 
I drive mine a lot on a welded 44 in the rear. I run 35" x-terrains.
I have noticed some wear, but nothing ridiculous.
It will chirp entering/leaving parking spaces.
You will freak people out when you pull in to get gas at a station with shiny new concrete.
A cop will ask you why you are spinning your tires and/or look at you funny when they chirp.
Highway? No difference.
Mine has a 104" WB for reference.

It is more predictable. It will always act the same.
Weld it, rotate your tires when you change the oil and enjoy it.
 
im on 32 bfg at's i know austin is runnin swampers is anyone runnin a more street friendly tire and having any tire woes? what bout curves on highways? any difference or is it just short turns? thanks so much for all the info so far anymore would be great
 
like i mentioned above, the smaller the tires you are running, and the shorter your wheelbase the more chirp/wear you will notice, like "uglyjeepoffroad" metioned, he is running 35's, and he's right, bout' the only time you can tell it's welded is when you are making very slow sharp turns i.e. (parking spaces, gas stations,pullin a u-ie)

i believe you will notice it being welded agood bit with 32's, i know i did.. but hell i'd still weld it
 
novacayne75 said:
i have a 31 spline 8.8 posi i need to sell $75.00 can meet in marion chris 828-779-2242
Click to expand...

That would be a major step backwards. Posi = no traction add

Grant search around for the draw backs of welding a C-CLIP AXLE!!! and look for the weak points of the 8.8..ie. the carrier.
 
I wouldnt weld it Grant, you should just get a locker and not have to worry about tire wear and chit. Also in the long run its cheaper to get the locker b/c tires are expensive and you gonna go through them quicker. Just my .02
 
get a daily driver first then weld it. i dont wanna have to sit there on the side of the trail when you blow up your carrier.
 
RedJeepProjectYJ said:
I wouldnt weld it Grant, you should just get a locker and not have to worry about tire wear and chit.



So my question is, why do you not have to worry about tire wear with a locker. The only benifit is that you are not locked coasting. If you are on the gas at all, they are locked like a spool. So pulling in a parking spot, driving through a parking lot, and making tight turns will cause your tires to wear just like a welded rear if you are under power.
Click to expand...
 
RedJeepProjectYJ said:
with a locker. The only benifit is that you are not locked coasting. If you are on the gas at all, they are locked like a spool. So pulling in a parking spot, driving through a parking lot, and making tight turns will cause your tires to wear just like a welded rear if you are under power.
Click to expand...

x2

If your 8.8 is disc braked, you don't need to worry about the c clip axle any more than a regular one. The rotors will hold the axle in the housing if it breaks.
 
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