Whats the best way to beef up the stock 10 bolt

 

after market axles, weld the tubes, girddle, and this

 

Superior 28 spline shafts. TA girsle with studs int he caps. Yukon gears. Timken bearings. Eaton or Auburn, or Detroit Locker. Proper setup and attention to detail. Welding the tubes isn't a bad idea either, but you need to have it doen properly by a competant welder. The center section is cast iron, while the tubes are steel. To properly weld cast iron you need nickle filler rod. TIG welding is preferable, but MIG or arc will work if the hand doing the work is skilled.

 

the center section is cast steel not iron, fairly easy to weld

 

Is that typical of GM rears? If so that really burns my biscuits, because I would have welded the tubes on the rear in my Camaro and the one in my Blazer if I'd known that. The article I read about welding the tubes was in a 4x4 magazine, and specifically covered a Dana rear. Based on that article I decided not to even attempt it, due to failed attempts to weld cast iron in the past (though admittedly I did try to just use regular 60 series steel welding rods).

 

as far as i know no rear center section is cast iron, from cars, 4x4 trucks to over the road tractors i've welded all of them with 7018 and never a problem. look at the factory weld in rears like a 9" where the front is removable and the rear "cover" is welded. the weld looks like mig, flux core, or sub arc. what ever it is a wire welding method with Ni filler would be harder and more expensive to do than steel

 

Yeah, the 9" center section is definately cast iron, that's its major weakness. Only a few ultra high performance cars got the nodular iron center section, which is a lot tougher. The reputation of the Ford 9" was built on those few cars. They had the good pinion support, the good case, and the 33 spline axels. Basically indestructable, but the run of the mill 9" is a lot easier to break. I've seen quite a few fail over the years. Usually the pocket bearing area in the case fails, or the cross pin in the carrier.

It makes sense that it would be cheaper to weld steel to steel. I'll get some 7018 rods and try to weld the center section to the tubes on the front axel in my Blazer. It's coming out soon to get fully rebuilt.

This also demonstrates that even the automotive media is guilty of perpetuating myths. Like the rest of the media they should try doing a bit more research than just taking someones word as gospel.

 

i meant the empty case. bad choice of words or little thought put into the selection precess.