Guest POKINATCHA Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 I didn't see anything mentioned anywhere on the site, but if I'm dredging up old crap forgive me. I was thinking about just welding up my diff. The main reason I'm considering this over just acquiring an LSD is that I can get R180's for next to nothing. I'm not planning on using the car for any serious racing, mostly street with some drag strip abuse. I know the diff will break eventually, but I was wondering if anyone has personal experience with this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 Don't have any personal experience, but I have read quite a number of posts on this site. suprised your search turned up empty. Since R180's usually fail in the spider gears, I would think a welded R180 would be pretty bulletproof. A good bit lighter, too. If you do weld make sure you use the right type of welding rod. You may want to rethink the welded diff on the street. From what people have said the cars are tough to park (they tend to push at slow speeds) and are down right frightening on wet roads. More than one guy has looped their Z on a wet on ramp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Your Car is Slow Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 Doing the same thing to my R200 open. Just find 8 bolts that you can push/hammer/whatever into the spider gears (4 in each corner on each side) to lock them up. Then weld the bolts in. Itll never move again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synlubes Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 I`ve used a welded R200 for a couple of years with no problems. My car sees mostly rack use and a small amount of street. As said before, use the right welding rods. I don`t know about using bolts and then welding ??? Any compatent welding shop could easily do it. As for slow speed street action, it does have some frt push (not that big of a deal to me). If your street tires are of a very soft compond it might make it a little worse. The wet road thing, just use some common sences. I`ve done track events in the rain and would say it`s not all that bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Your Car is Slow Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 Anyone ever done it using a Mig wire feed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 You need to be careful welding and make sure you don't add too much metal in one area of the diff and imbalance the unit. I've seen welders do that with the bolt trick and the customer ends up with a vibration at speed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katman Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 Another thing to consider is the additional stress placed on the stub axles from dragging the rear tires around all the time. In ITS race cars I've seen and heard about several stub axle failures and all but one occurred on cars with welded diffs- including two that I was *intimately* familiar with (one of which totalled the car). Since going the LSD route 7+ years ago we haven't had any of that, nor have my cohorts. The failures could have been due to the cornering stresses of racing, but my personal, albeit unsubstantiated, opinion is a welded diff is asking for eventual trouble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Your Car is Slow Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 I certainly agree with you that it wouldnt really be a good option on a car that sees a good amount of street time. However for a saturday night racer....cant beat it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest POKINATCHA Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 Cool, thanks guys. I've always heard that if you turn on a welded diff regularly you're gonna break it. Like I said, I can pick em up for a song, though, so as long as I only lose my differential when it grenades I really don't mind. What welding rods would you reccomend? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cbrunberg Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 For a welding rod. Check with your local welding supplier. I've welded them with ERS70 mig wire and tig rod but it was only cause it was handy and the customer didn't care (I did it for free) no guarentee. If stick welding probably a low hydrogen rod like 7018 or a high nickle rod. Check with your local welding suplier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest POKINATCHA Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 Right on, thanks for the tips on the material. cbrunberg, what shop do you work at? I'm only asking because I'm in Sacto all the time and have strolled through a half dozen speed shops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cbrunberg Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 I'm no longer in business. I'm disabled /retired, hense now I'm working on my own car. I still have all my equipment (several welders, saws. grinders, mill...)and sometimes can still use the rack if work is slow. If you need something welded sometime maybe I can help. My disability is really *&%#@! bad arthritis which limits my productivity. Maybe we'll meet at one of the gatherings, like at Dan Juday's or The new one they started in Stockton at that cafe, can't remember the name but it's the last friday of the month from 6-9pm. Carl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest POKINATCHA Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 Oh man, I'm sorry to hear that. Until I get my Z built I spend most of my time up there hanging out with my brother-in-law and his VW friends. Now that his latest Bug is going I'll probably be out at the track one or two nights a month. When I get the Z built I'll be around a lot more, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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