Spider Welding

I am trying to understand something here.  If I was to weld my front spider gears (have it done) then the locking hubs no longer serve a purpose.  In other words if I wanted to switch into 4 wheel drive I would no longer have to lock the hubs.

What I am looking for is I have a very tight budget and a 1985 Bronco with the 6 cyl.  manual hubs.  I live in west AZ and drive this truck on the highway and trails.

 

No, welding the spider gears up front will have no effect on the locking/unlocking of manual hubs, other than to say it may put more stress on them.  Even with welded spiders, you will still have to lock/unlock your hubs for 4wd/2wd action.  Welding the spider gears simply means that when the hubs are locked, you will have no differential action in the front and it will behave like a spool.  If you put your truck in 4wd, with the hubs unlocked, you send power to the front axle, but that power does not make it to the front tires until you lock the hubs.  Locking the hubs simply engages the front hub over the splined outer stub shaft of the axle and that's what transfers power from the axleshafts to the front tires.  By the way, I wouldn't weld the spider gears in the front of anything except maybe a dedicated mud truck that sees nothing but straight line action.  In my opinion, if you weld those up, be prepared to start breaking front end components.  

Thank you WYJAX, I understand more on how the lockers work.  I think it would just be better to save the pennies and get a good diff and some air lockers or something.

Thanks,
Mike  

you can weld em and leave one hub unlocked unless it's needed for traction...

weld em and use them wisely.....  
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see me at robsoffroad.com

mudb8-.:
you can weld em and leave one hub unlocked unless it's needed for traction...

weld em and use them wisely.....

or u can do that but still welding front spiders is kinda an iffy thing to do  
solid axle chevys cant be beat
78 K5: 350 V8,700r4,np208, 8 lug D44 4:88, 14 bolt 10.5 4:88 with detroit locker and 35 inc parenelli jones dirt grip tires

it's not iffy at all, it's locked. and only as strong as the carrier, just like a minispool makes it.  
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see me at robsoffroad.com

mudb8-.:
it's not iffy at all, it's locked. and only as strong as the carrier, just like a minispool makes it.

That's the problem, the strength of the stock carrier itself.  In a 3/4 ton or 1 ton application, chances are that the carrier is going to be plenty strong enough to handle the extra stress.  In a 1/2 ton however, say a 10 bolt or a 12 bolt GM axle, those carriers already are known for being weak from the factory.  Put the extra stress on them by welding the spiders and you have a recipe for a grenaded diff.  Remember that these carriers were engineered for a specific torque load UNDER ONE DRIVE WHEEL.  When you weld the spiders together, you are basically doubling the amount of torque that the unit now has to handle and transmit to the tires.  Couple that with big heavy tires and more HP/Torque, you will see where problems start to develop quickly.  This is why all of the aftermarket locker, limited slip, and spool manufacturers make their products out of high strength steel.  They are specifically engineered to handle the multiplied torque loads.  That's why people start breaking axle shafts and driveshafts after they install new traction enhancements in weak axles.