When purchasing axles....

[BigRed40]

I am looking to buy a set of good used 40 axles for my cruiser. I received an email from an individual who had a pair and said they were already cut and turned for an axle over (which I need) and he said the rear was welded. My question is should I purchase an axle that has been welded? I know 40 axles are pretty tough but I have heard some bad stories about welded diffs.. As I have heard plenty of people say that they do fine. Does anyone have experience with welded 40 axles? I also have a strong SBC and 38's. Just looking for some input. Thanks to everyone for the always helpful comments.

Alex

 

[FF LC FREAK]

If you don't want the welded diff, just swap in your current diff. No biggie.

 

[Poser]

I am looking to buy a set of good used 40 axles for my cruiser. I received an email from an individual who had a pair and said they were already cut and turned for an axle over (which I need) and he said the rear was welded. My question is should I purchase an axle that has been welded? I know 40 axles are pretty tough but I have heard some bad stories about welded diffs.. As I have heard plenty of people say that they do fine. Does anyone have experience with welded 40 axles? I also have a strong SBC and 38's. Just looking for some input. Thanks to everyone for the always helpful comments.

Alex

So are you getting later model knuckles with the larger pattern, or are you getting someone else’s problems they no longer want to deal with?



Are you getting Toyota brake components, or a drum brake axle that someone installed GM or some other disc brake components onto an axle that is still running the smaller, outer drum brake axle garbage and the smaller knuckle studs/pattern?


Do you KNOW the guy you are getting these pieces from?

Do you have pictures of these axles?


So you have a V8 and 38 inch tires. There are so many variables with this, and to complicate things further, there are a litany of options that you will likely want to install while you have this axle out, including, but not limited to:


New knuckle seals/bearings/gaskets
Brakes/wheel bearings/seals
Marlin inner axle seals
30 spline Longfield axles
Long Chromo drive gears
Front range knuckle studs
Front range lockout studs





As far as the welded rear is concerned, they can last a long time, or, they can fail strait-away; all depends on who did the melting of the metal, and how they did it.

 

[BigRed40]

I appreciate the input. I just received an email from the guy several hours ago and I haven't replied back because I figured I would compile a list of questions to ask him before I make any kind of offer. I don't personally know the guy but he is local and I figured I would drop by and check them out and/or have him send me plenty of pics. I know the welded rear thing has many variables, I just thought I would see what the overall opinion of them is.

 

[inkpot]

Howdy! Application make a big difference. Is this a hard core wheeler, or a daily driver? Lincoln Lockers (welded diff) gives great traction, but not great for street manners. It can easily be swapped out for something else, and then sold for $$$ expenses. John

 

[rckddy]

fj 40 parts

hi there bigred40 if you need some parts for a 40 give me a call.i have a 40 that im getting ready to tear apart to make a toy out of.im in ft smith 903-701-6070

 

[orangefj45]

welded diffs can hold up fine if they're done properly, as mentioned above. i've run a couple and they worked out well. definetly can't beat the price.

another thought:

how much are you gonna have to invest in these axles? if you're going to run 38" tires, then i assume you're going soa. so you'll also need a track bar and a t-case saver at the very least.
you might want to consider getting some bigger axles under the rig, like domestic 1-tons. the initial investment might be higher but they'll hold up a lot better. 38s are a lot of tire for cruiser axles.......

 

[Poser]

another thought:

how much are you gonna have to invest in these axles? if you're going to run 38" tires, then i assume you're going soa. so you'll also need a track bar and a t-case saver at the very least.
you might want to consider getting some bigger axles under the rig, like domestic 1-tons. the initial investment might be higher but they'll hold up a lot better. 38s are a lot of tire for cruiser axles.......

Oh, he is spring-over bud...

 

[orangefj45]

looks like he'll be in the market for a track bar for sure. how did i guess?!

 

[BigRed40]

Yeah BUD! I am spring over... How did you not know that! Good thing Poser let you in on that... To be honest... The 38's are fun and its nice to have a 350 with alot of power but I really would like to go to a 2F or possibly a 4bt with some 35's or 33's at some point in the future.. Maybe on down the road it would be cool to have a large buggy project. For now, I just want something to Cruise around in and have some fun on the trails too. And since I got my FJ for a good price with the 38's and the 350 already in it I really just had to go with the flow from there. Kinda wish I would have just got a nice old relatively stock 40 all the way around and gone from there but I got to work with what I got now. Although I've had some troubles and several problems so far, its really been a fun process and I've learned alot about my 40 already. I'm just trying to figure out which direction I wanna go with it now

 

[dx379]

Alex,

You should have stopped by the GCC meet last night...

Jonny

 

[BigRed40]

Yeah I know Jon, I couldn't make it out there but I would definitely like to check that out soon!