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How To- Weld Center Diff (LOTS OF PICS)

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FastJetta

10+ Year Contributor
105
7
Sep 21, 2009
edmond, Oklahoma
Many opinions on weather its good or bad, this is neither, simply to show you how easy it is to do if you decide its what you want.

first off remove the end cover (11 bolts, 9 short and 2 long)

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this is what you will see

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remove this pin on the shift fork and pull it off (keep it all together will help on reassembly)

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pull the snap ring off the VIS

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after you pull the VIS off there is a small ball bearing in the shaft (remove it and keep it safe for reassembly)

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remove the two nuts of the gears

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pull the three bolts out on the side (be sure to keep the spring and ball bearing all together)

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you should not be able to pull the second layer cover off

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there ya go... thats it

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remove your center diff

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throw all this out... its not needed

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then weld it up... here is a diagram that shows it as well.

Remove everything with and X.... weld gear 6 to case 4, then weld gear 10 to case 12.

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then simply reverse all the steps to reassemble and your good to go.

all wheel drive = 4 wheel drive now.

good luck.
 
Last edited:
Just wondering before you welded it if there is any way to center the gears exactly? Seems they have a very small amount of play that if not welded exactly center would cause problems? :confused:

I was going to tackle this job last year but once i had it apart i wasn't confident that the gears wouldn't be centered.
 
Just wondering before you welded it if there is any way to center the gears exactly? Seems they have a very small amount of play that if not welded exactly center would cause problems? :confused:

I was going to tackle this job last year but once i had it apart i wasn't confident that the gears wouldn't be centered.

no, you dont have to worry about alignment because all the parts self align, as in it can only go into the housing in the dead center. Each part also rotates independent so you dont have to worry about the splines lining up either.

Hey bud I can't see the diagram.:confused:

FIXED.
 
You may also want to consider heating your parts in the oven before welding them and be careful not to over-heat the housing. Unfortunately, I can't find or recall the exact temps, but do remember that it should be done in 2 or 3 heating steps. I'll attempt to update if possible.

...

great pics!
 
So on the diagram. you for sure dont need the spacers that go inbetween Part 6 and 4


and Part 10 and 12
 
nice write up this may be in my future :hmm:
 
So on the diagram. you for sure dont need the spacers that go inbetween Part 6 and 4


and Part 10 and 12

well the first tranny i welded i didn't use those and it re-assembled with ZERO issues

the tranny i just welded up i didn't use em again and i had one small issue with the ball bearing that locks the tranfer case shaft into the diff housing not lining up.

so hard to say... the reason i didn't wanna leave em in is because i felt it would dirty up the weld but in reality its ###### better to leave em in because everything else is mean to fit with that spacing.

Same for an auto?

couldn't tell you for sure but i wanna say it is. The process of gettin to the diff may be diff? idk ?
 
Nice write up on center diff removable. I must add a word of caution for following the welding procedure described.

We have bin welding diffs for over 10 years now. A fixture must be used for proper alignment. Things cant just center themselves when welded. Excessive run out may be a result. This can cause vibration and premature bearing wear and failure. We have seen some bad welding jobs that had over .130 run out. Customer was not happy to here the price on a new diff.

These are heat treated parts and must be welded accordingly. You can see to much heat around your welds and lack of penetration. Also pre heating and cool down time are critical as mentioned early

Not trying to take anything away. it’s a great 1st attempt but there is always room for improvement. .
 
starion4g63, Do you also remove the washer in between the side gear and diff housing or do u install a new one? I figured you can't use the old one, because maybe with the heat of the weld it would cause some impurities from the old soaked washer to rise to the top and distort the weld.
 
Gonna bring this back. Im currently waiting on my ECU to get back from ECMlink again and wanted to do this before I put the trans in but I got impatient and wanted to drive the car. Then things happened and I had to send my ecu off.

So, Starion4g63 mentioned parts needed to be heated and cooled properly. What kind of steps are we talking here? Also some kind of fixture to align parts? Im not a "great" welder but I can get the job done and I dont really have the funds to buy a center diff or send mine off for a few weeks to get done. Id rather spend the weekend and do it myself. Also, what kind of torque specs are we looking at for reassembly? RTV or any gaskets go between case layers?

Go!!
 
This is a great write up, and the pics basically remove any doubt/fear I had of removing the diff myself. OP, you couldn't by chance have the torque specs for reassembly?

Edit: Never mind, I just realized this is from 2010 so I'll search and post specs myself later this week.
 
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