Welded Front Differential

[TigerToy]

I'm thinking about welding my front diff instead of buying a locker?  I figure with a lightweight truck, power steering and relatively small tires, I should be alright.  What do you guys think?

[moutaintoys]

drive with one hub unlocked till you need it

[Hyena]

I am thinking you wont be able to turn at all.  A guy  did it at school on his 85.  Lightweight and 35's and he couldn't turn.  He then broke a birf wheeling a little.

[brainlessfool]

I've allways heard not to weld the front diff. unless your just running mud bogs.  and not driving on any hard stuff, like rocks! 

[KYOTA]

My buddy Case has spools front and rear. He wheels Fordyce and Rubicon all the time and hasnt had any problems, sometimes on tight stuff he has to make a 2 point turn but no breakage. He's been running this setup for 4 or 5 years and he wheels hard!

[toyoder]

I used to have a welded front worked great harder to steer but not that bad with stock power stering  it never broke  and i was hard on it

[Skinny_Pedal]

toyoder what happened to it?

[mr4x42u]

I have only run welded diffs in the rear but I have beat the out of them and never broke one..I know with the front welded its just a little harder to turn but you can always inlock a hub if needed..stock birfs break and its hard to say it was the welded diff over ite was just its time to go..

[TigerToy]

Stock birfs break with lockers and limited slips too.  I'm putting longs in as soon as I get some cash.

[lowgeared]

I'm welded front and rear.  Stock axles and birf's.  Works fine for me.  I figure I know when enough is enough and where to pick my lines.

[bluetoy84]

I've welded about 10 3rd  members for different people 3 of them were fronts,and I've drove all 3 with the welded front. It's driveable , but hard to steer. Unlocking one hub don't help , but your not going to break a birfield just because it's welded. If your on the gas with a locker both tires are spinning just the same as being welded,  usually they don't break when your not on the gas, and thats when a locker disengages. If I recall you are planning on running 34'' tires , my opinion would be buy an ez-locker or lock-right for the front ,weld the rear, drive the piss out of it and then if you start breaking birfs then save up for the longs. I've only broken 2 birfields in 3 years with 36" tsl's and both of them only had 200'000 miles on them. Dang toyota's, they just don't last.

[TigerToy]

I'm putting an aussie locker in the rear.  I put about 800 miles a week on my truck, and I can't afford to have a welded diff in the rear.

[Skinny_Pedal]

yeah ill proboly end up putting an aussie locker up front, but welding the rear!

[84runner]

For some reason this is like a dejavue post 

[Skinny_Pedal]

were all just giving our 

[TigerToy]

I appreciate the  from everyone.