Cracked diff case

[Lawrence]

Hi fellows. I have a crack on my front diff of my 89 gq wagon, which extends from the bottom of the pumpkin to a couple inches onto the right tube. It seems to be a fine crack but it's also quite noisy, like a creaking sound when the suspension is flexed. Is this repairable? If so, what's the best method to repair it? Can it be done on the car?

[MudRunnerTD]

Bugger. Got any pics? Find a new housing as it may well be bent. Consider fitting a GU front diff for a great Brake upgrade too. Bolts straight up.

[Lawrence]

5888458885

Can it be welded?

[my third 256]

as mudrunner td said get a gu dif from wreckers as it will probadly be adout the same cost
and very little down time with having to strip down thw old diff and take it somewhere to get welded
and will it be straight when welded
gu diff will go straight in and no down time patrol back on road by lunch time

[macca86]

If you're handy with a welder degrease and wire brush the area then grind I shiny at the very end of the cracks drill them out with a 4mm drill then blaze it up no worries

[Parksy]

I found a complete housing for $20. If you look on Facebook people can't give them away. Welded some metal on mine so hopefully it doesn't suffer the same fate as yours.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Pakas/4512909D-BCCA-4A37-BC7A-F3FAB9D426A7.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Pakas/media/4512909D-BCCA-4A37-BC7A-F3FAB9D426A7.jpg.html)

[Lawrence]

If you're handy with a welder degrease and wire brush the area then grind I shiny at the very end of the cracks drill them out with a 4mm drill then blaze it up no worries

Thanks for the reply guys. The welding option seems like the best bet as any GU diffs would be extremely rare here. I am checking out the option of getting a used GQ diff as well. Can it be welded on the car?

[happygu]

My rear diff on my GQ cracked the same way, on the original welding seam .... I was living in Alice at the time and didn't have much in the way of tools or equipment, so I just took it up to a good welding shop, and a couple of hours later it was all done - on the car ... probably cheaper than I could have done it for anyway

[MudRunnerTD]

Thanks for the reply guys. The welding option seems like the best bet as any GU diffs would be extremely rare here. I am checking out the option of getting a used GQ diff as well. Can it be welded on the car?

Oh sorry mate where is St Thomas??? As Macca says it will probably weld up as it looks like a plug weld now which is unusual. Drain the diff and drip to bare metal and weld on the car.

[Lawrence]

Oh sorry mate where is St Thomas??? As Macca says it will probably weld up as it looks like a plug weld now which is unusual. Drain the diff and drip to bare metal and weld on the car.

St Thomas in Jamaica, Mudrunner :). Ok thanks. What type of welding would you suggest? A friend of mine says to use the electric welder (not that I know much about welding).

[macca86]

Mig tig or stick it doesn't matter it'll all do the job if prep is right. And just disconnect the battery then you can weld it on the car

[Lawrence]

Mig tig or stick it doesn't matter it'll all do the job if prep is right. And just disconnect the battery then you can weld it on the car

Thanks Macca86,

[MudRunnerTD]

I would maybe leave the diff oil in to and drain and replace on completion as the oil will absorb some of the heat. Diff oil is very thick so as it heats it will thin out . It looks like most of it leaked out anyway.

Good luck. As Macca said, any type of welding will get it done.