home made lincoln front locker?

[FUELER]

I read somewhere on 4x4parts.com that a guy in a older HB pathfinder welded his front differential, making it 100% locked like a lincoln front locker.

 

Is this possible to do in an R50?

 

I really want to lock my differentials without spending too much $$.

 

Suggestions?

[Filthy Luker]

Ughh.... your truck would be undrivable on the street. But other than that, go for it.

[Trainman]

As FL says, the down side may be more than you realize.

 

But could be done, I would think. Let us know what happens.

[XPLORx4]

If you weld the front diff, you'll definitely need manual hubs for highway use. And for off-road use, you will need to unlock one of the hubs every time you try to turn the truck sharply, since the locked front axle will try to force the truck to drive in a straight line.

 

Give it a try and let us know how it goes!

[mws]

Xplorx4 has it right: You REALLY want to have manual hubs if you do this. To the point that I'll say it is a must.

Leave both hubs unlocked for "2wd".

When you need "4wd", lock one hub but only one hub. That is still better than what you have now. What you have now with an open diff is both wheels driving in optimal conditions, but end up with one wheel resorting to spinning in less than optimal conditions - right about the time you need it to not spin! And which wheel is that? The one with less traction, whichever it may be. And the one with traction is getting no power.

By having one hub locked, that one will be driving ALL the time, while the other is getting no power all the time. Choose your lines to take advantage of that and you'll soon realize that is better than an open diff.

 

When you really need it, lock both hubs. But as others mentioned, that will seriously hinder turning.

 

Obviously not as effective or convenient as an ARB or the like, but a whole lot cheaper!

[sw]

not to mention the loading that will be put on the cv's for those times when you lock both hubs in.

[XPLORx4]

If you do weld the front diff, be aware that if you lift a rear wheel (and you don't have an engaged ARB locker back there), the only wheel attempting to move your truck will be the front one that's locked in. You may very well risk exceeding the strength of the CV axles or hubs, and *BOOM* :eek:

Edited March 22, 2006 by XPLORx4

[88pathoffroad]

Just so you know, they call it a "Lincoln locker" because the welder most commonly used to weld stuff is made by Lincoln. It's a nickname for a modification, not a product made by someone.

 

DO NOT do that to your front diff on a R50 unless you have manual hubs. I cannot stress that enough. Driving on the road with a welded front and stock drive flanges will probably result in a wreck due to loss of steering capability. The older Pathys have no drive flanges and you can do it safely on them.