Ok, so I'm at the point, where I am ready to dedicate my Jeep to being an offroad vehicle. Driven, 20-30 miles on the road to reach the trail, that kind of thing.

I have a friend, who lives really close, that is way into wheeling (he has an awesome XJ Bob's XJ (http://www.bobs4x4offroad.com) ). He is a mechanic first of all. He has talked with me about welding the spider gears in my axle.

I've thought of all of the pros and cons and discussed them with him. IF I do this, I would definitely be on my way to having a dedicated trail vehicle.

What would ANY of you DO in my situation? BTW, I have a vehicle that I can use as a daily driver. The Jeep is a third vehicle in a two driver household.

All responses are appreciated and WILL be considered helpful.

Erik

I would do it, if you cant afford a spool or mini spool. There is a higher posibility (I believe) of grenading the rear end. Alot of stresses are now going to be put on the spider gears, that were never meant to handle. If you are set on this, I would look into a mini spool, if not a full spool.

DO IT!!!!
and don't look back!
Just be prepared :D

DO IT and don't look back. Kinda like I told Rick with the wide track Scout axles. Ya know Chris, sometimes you are s-m-r-t. I will do it, and I will be prepared. Thanks Mang!

I say if 'yer gonna do it, do it right....spool it! no mini-spools either.

Oh, you are talking about the rear diff right? Not the front? I've never driven a welded or spooled front diff, but I can only imagine the amound of push (understeer) it would have.

I have a full spool in the rear. Haven't driven it on ice or snow but other than that it works well. Just chirps the tires a little when you're turning tight. Going down the road you'd never know it was back there. If you get lucky, you shouldn't have to change the gear setup with a full spool either. If you do, it's a matter of turning the wrenches.

Oh yeah, mine cost $140 brand new for a D44.

Thanks Commando, I mght have to consider that.