Welding rear end housing

[Larryfishes53]

Want to weld my housing to my differential and am getting conflicting info on whether the housing is cast steel or iron. Any advice on how others do it?

 

[drive_55_not]

The center section is nodular iron,

The correct way to weld nodular iron is to heat the center section to 600'f and keep it there while running the bead.
After finishing, heat the center section to 1000 to re-nodular the welded areas, then wrap the section in heat blankets and let it cool.

That's the way mine was welded by a NASCAR fabricator and it's held up to hundred's of 6000rpm clutch dumps on slicks.

On the flip side I know a couple guys who simply 'pinned' theirs's, They drilled and tapped the housing into axle and installed 1/2in grade 8 bolts using red Loctite to hold them in place.


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[07 Boss]

When I did mine I went ahead and did the lower control arm mounts also,

 

[JC SSP]

Nice clean welds buddy!

 

[Midlife Crises]

When I welded the tubes to the center section I used 1/8” 7018 rod. Wire wheel the joint clean and wash with break clean if necessary. No pre-heating needed, just weld 1/4 of the tube, roll the dif. over and weld another 1/4 of the same tube. Roll the housing back to the end of the first weld and connect the welds then finish the last spot on that tube. Repeat the procedure on the other tube.
I have not had a bit of trouble with carrier or axle bearings and I beat the hell out of my car with many clutch drops on slicks.

 

[Larryfishes53]

When I did mine I went ahead and did the lower control arm mounts also,

 

[rocknrod]

The center section is nodular iron,

The correct way to weld nodular iron is to heat the center section to 600'f and keep it there while running the bead.
After finishing, heat the center section to 1000 to re-nodular the welded areas, then wrap the section in heat blankets and let it cool.

That's the way mine was welded by a NASCAR fabricator and it's held up to hundred's of 6000rpm clutch dumps on slicks...

It will weld, however you create a brittle part or structure if it not pre/post heated correctly. That's why the above is done.

 

[OX1]

I've fixed cast iron engine blocks with this. Mig's like mild steel (stuff isn't cheap though)

Crown Alloy .035 x 2# ROYAL 44-30 Nickel-Iron-Manganese (ER NiFeMn-CI) MIG 2 lb SPOOL (RS44/1F)

Royal 44-30 is excellent for making repairs on all ductile and malleable irons. Royal 44-30 is also useful for the welding of other high-strength nodular and gray cast irons where maximum strength and ductility are required. The addition of manganese provides superior wetting and crack-...

www.weldingsuppliesfromioc.com

 

[Larryfishes53]

Done! Preheated to 600. Welded with 7018, in steps opposite previous weld. Post heat to almost 1000… wrapped and left to cool. Thanks everyone for your input.