driving on wet roads etc can be interesting with a locked rearend

 

Welded spool and..

And yes the semi-float axles are weak. Lasted a couple months

Looks like crappy cast material to me...

 

You weld on a part that wasn't supposed to be welded on.

That's why it failed.

 

How can you say that?...im confused..lol

 

I'm interested too.

 

You welded the center section up to simulate a spool. Your axle shaft failed right were you modified the open carrier. I bet you also drive this on the street too.

So how was that the axles fault???

What did you use to keep the splined portion of the spider gears in perfect alignment as you welded??? How did you minimize heat / distortion on the spider gears??? Did you check the housing for straightness???

Look at the 10 bolts, How many have you seen break the splined end of the shaft like that??? Its usually rare when they do.

Anyway my point is don't be so quick to call them junk when you may have caused the failure.

 

Ok, Im not going to argue that you know your facts well.
I can attest to the following after I did some examination of the carnage... The carrier & welded spyders are still in perfect condition, and are re-usable. The axle broke about 8" away from the carrier. Looking at a cross section of the axle material where it broke, I can see 1/8" slag pockets and porosity in the the casting material.

Im not sure what the splines had to be aligned with? Upon assembly, I Just rotated each axle till its splines matched up with the spyder spline and slid the axle in.

To minimize distortion, I treated this weld like an ASME Section I pressure part tube weld, as that it what I do at work every day... I did a preheat with a rose bud torch to 450F, and let it soak for a half hour. Tacked a 1/4" plate in-between the 2 side spyder gears, and tacked up the opposite side leaving one side open to access the c-clips and center pin. Then Welded both sides intermittently, using a method we call back-stepping. Then I Wrapped the carrier in ceramic fiber insulation this was to control the cool-down rate and to minimize shrinkage.

No I never checked the housing for straightness. Ran it on the highway a lot and didnt have any excessive vibrations.

 

Do you have a picture of the splined section of the shaft where it broke???

Maybe the Axle had a defect in it considering what you say it looked like. The spline part of the spider gear were the axle slides in is what I was referring to in regards to alignment with the splines .

I am not familiar with the welding spec your refering to but I believe it is done with an ARC welder.

Was it tight when you slide the axle shaft back in??? If so it could have been a sign of the housing being out of alignment or improper spline engagement. Just a thought.

Not trying to argue.

 

Look into the Lock Right Locker. They make one for the 14 bolt semi float. I had one in a blazer that I wheeled the **** out of and I never could break it. Really easy to install too. It basically just replaces the spider gears.
LOCKRIGHT LOCKER GM 14 BOLT 9.5" PT1950