Front differential on an 86 Silverado

[J-Ri]

It's about time for me to replace the ring and pinion gears in my front diff. A while back, I replaced the pinion seal, but didn't have an in-lbs torque wrench for the pinion bearing pre-load, so I just used a ratchet and socket. Long story short, I found 9 tooth parts sitting in the drain pan filter when I changed the oil in it. That explained the growling noise, as well as the periodical snapping noises

So anyway, with spring coming up and the mud pits getting muddy again , I need a ring/pinion set that I know won't give out when I really need it. What does everyone think in regards to reverse cut teeth? I'm usually behind whoever gets stuck, so I pull them out in reverse.... which would be better with normal gears. But at the same time, going full throttle up a hill would be better with reverse cut. Also, does anyone know the price difference when going to reverse cut? Doesn't seem to me like it should be that much more expensive.

What is everyone's opinion for lockers? I know on the front I want an air locker... unless someone knows of problems with them. On the back I have a posi-trac (158,000 miles on it [with two shattered discs from the left side]), so i probably don't need to say how good it works. I'm thinking about just welding the spider gears and seeing how long it lasts. How bad is it to weld the spiders like that?

Thanks,
Jason

[abaird]

Air lockers are good, but I hear that eaton lockers are good too. They make electirc ones. As for welding the spider gears, my buddy who builds and races derby cars does that and it works great for intant posi but the problem is it is posi all the time.

[J-Ri]

Thanks for the input. A buddy of mine told me the gears can shatter if they're welded and have too much load on them. What kind of horsepower are we talking about on those cars?

[abaird]

There just stock 350s with 4 barrel carbs. So nothin special.

[J-Ri]

Cool, same engine/carb ans my truck, but mine's geared about 12:1 in first gear in 4x4 low.
Does anyone have offroad experience with welded spider gears?

[kenny-1907]

I knew a guy that had an older toyota with a chevy 350 in it and he welded the gears front and rear and he BEAT the hell out of that truck and never had them break. Yes it is true they can shatter because the gears are hardened and welding on hardened metal improperly can harden it even more making it brittle. I personally would not recommend welding them , sure they may not break but if they do...........you could end up paying more for repairs than buying a proper posi unit now. Just my two cents.... One more thing , i usd to own a K1500 jimmy with a 350 TBI and 33" tires and 4:10 gears. I had an auburn cone style posi in the rear (it sucked) and the gm governor style posi in the front and never had any problems with it. There was more than one occasion where i was almost stuck and beat on it pretty good and it held up.

[J-Ri]

Thanks for the input. I'd need a full locker because I have a 3/4 ton with the 1 ton rear springs on it (about 3 inches articulation ), so it's not uncommon for me to be sitting on 3 wheels. A posi just wouldn't hold up to that for long.