i am getting into drifting with my 92 rs and was wondering if i could weld the diff. i know alot of people with 240s weld theres but they arnt making any power to break an axle. will it be safe to do in my case. Putting rebuilt 305 in around 280hp with a auto.

 

A 305 with 280 HP??? That just doesn't make any sense, what else has been done to the car?

 

you mean weld the tubes to the center section? i would, cost is next to nothing and doing it isn't hard and you'll gain a lot of strength.

 

Im not sure which is better for strength but i would opt for welding up the gears, at least you wont have to chop away at your diff just to change an axle.

 

More likely he's talking about welding the spider gears, which isn't the best idea.

 

Yeah I think he's talking about welding the gears so the rearend is locked. Alot of drifters do this when they're on a budget. I know alot of people that have done it, and alot of people that have blown it up after doing it. Supprisingly they usually didnt break while pushing the car, it happened during normal street driving making tight radius turns. I've been told its hard to make that a strong weld because of the types of metals involved, but I dont know if there is any truth to this. I would say do it the right way and get a mini-spool. The import guys dont have this option so they are forced to weld the gears on a budget. But thanks to dirt track racing, us domestic guys can get a mini-spool for under $100 and you'll get the same effect. I would also recommend c-clip eliminator kit so if the axles do break they dont come out of the housing while at speed. One good thing we got going for us as far as drifting and this setup is that traction is not an issue so the axles wouldnt be as stressed as they would in an application like drag racing on slicks. This is very similar to a 10bolt I'm building right now for my drift car but I'm going aftermarket axles and everything (10bolt w/ minispool 3.73's, axles, girdle, and c-clip elim). Should be alot of fun on the track and really crappy on the street, but we'll see.

 

I was also thinking of going mini spool but i have heard they are bad news for street cars. Im a bit leary of my open end 10 bolt which will probably go south the minute i drop my new engine in the car.

 

When I was still using a 7.5" diff, I had welded spiders. I also had a solid crush sleeve, solid rear cover with bearing cap support bolts, welded axle tubes, aftermarket 28 spline axles, 4.10 gears.

Never had a problem with it but I only used that setup for one season before installing a 9".

 

So you welded both the spiders and the tubes? Wouldnt that be a real PITA to fix that up if something blew.

 

The tubes never have to come out, they're tack welded from the factory.

 

Once you welded the spiders, there would be not repair when it fails, anybody using these stocks rear ends in racing type applications should be prepared to have another on stand by, they are in the fullest definition-disposable, some get luckier than others as testified from these boards so depending on how lucky you are, you can do as you plan, just be prepared to swap out the diff when it goes bye bye.

 

Might have to be prepared to swap out the car too if the rear wheels lock up when it breaks.

 

LOL, wasnt there a kid on here awhile back that welded the spiders and had the rear lock up on him going down the interstate? Nobody was hurt luckily, but the way he described going in circles at hwy speeds was kinda funny

 

Yeah it was a few years ago, IIRC. Even worse, he welded the gears on his girlfriend's car or some such thing.

 

Ah... found it. https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=133646

 

LOL, yep-dat be da one

 

That's why we don't weld spider gears on the street, kids.

 

My spider gears were professionally welded by a welder with some high strength welding rods. It's not something that even I would have attempted. After looking at the welding, you could hardly tell that there were any spider gears installed it was filled in so complete.

I would never recommend a welded diff, mini spool or full spool for any street use. They're all a track only item.

 

I was just going to add that Stephen's welded spider gears were on a car that only ever turned a corner on the gravel of the pits, and were welded by a professional, not by some hack with a piece of coathanger stuck in his arc welder.

 

A coat hanger? Does that work? ^^ haha