How to: Lock a Trans-axle or Differential

[Sharks448]

do u think i could do this with an arc welder and how much of a difference dose it make when u are mudding?

[Fearlessfront]

@Sharks448 maybe, I haven't tried it... if your good with it, then yeah, once you tack it together, take it out and weld it HOT! as hot as you can!

And it makes a HUGE differance! you'll love it, unless you like pushing you off road tractor out of the mud all the time!

[gmctruckfan94]

thanks man thats awsome !



[1bbpracing]

Good job! Very good video!

[sheseverything20]

will u lock one if some one pays u



[Fearlessfront]

@sheseverything20 yeah, but shipping is gonna be pricey, you could probably but a cheap welder for about the same price. Harbor freight has them.

But I 'll do it if you want.

[plutocrank]

Great video. Well spoken. Cool trick to make this happen. Thnx

[gpaton1234]

Dude, you do a well illustated video. Very through..clear. Thanks for your time.

[Fearlessfront]

@gpaton1234 Np, thanks man!

[thebestcheeker12]

K I found a guy here in town to do of for $60 but thanks keep the vids comin

[thebestcheeker12]

No about 30 just rearend no ,tires or anything or could I buy one from u for cheap because I ain't got a lot of money

[Fearlessfront]

@thebestcheeker12 $30 both ways? or just one way? I'm not paying for return shipping. I dont have any extra laying around right now

[thebestcheeker12]

Het fearless can u lock one for me if I cent the parts or if u have one u would do and I could pay it is not for a racer but it is for a 4x4 lawn.mower

[Fearlessfront]

@thebestcheeker12 sure I will, but shipping is gonna be a killer, you could probably get a cheap welder from northern tool for $100, shipping would probably cost around $75 both ways.

[surrynet]

Gasket things are called "O-Rings".

[surrynet]

Brass Hammer, not copper.

[surrynet]

Thats not a "C" clip. Its a "Snap Ring".

[dodgerams639]

Thanks for making these how to videos they are really helpful

[2stroke2fast]

never supoce to weld something u cleaned with brake cleaner causes cancer.

[AdamEchelon]

Its just old simple trick how to lock any Diff.

[cfscfs110]

"Try to use a rubber if you can" 4:16 lol

[Fearlessfront]

@cfscfs110 just good advise! lol!

[MrSub24]

did you lock that for the lawn cheif with the 11hp

[Fearlessfront]

@MrSub24 no, this was an extra I had around at the time.

[64gravely]

No gaskets?

[Fearlessfront]

@64gravely use RTV silcone if you want when you reassemble

[1115ronnie]

WHATS UR NUM ILL GIVE U 20 BUCKS TO LOCK IT FOR ME

[gamo98]

that transaxle is a pearless brand



[Fearlessfront]

@gamo98 Actually it's a "Foote" and they suck ass compared to a peerless.

[77Whitaker]

Ya did that to day to a peerless tranny it had been settin out side was full of a ice grease mixture nasty stuff but should have refreshed back to this vidio would have helped a lil then tryin to remember ha but that thing is solid if the rest of the tranny ends up bein junk im keepin that shaft its welded any where possible to hold them spider gears

[venturadave]

Clear thorough explanation, Good communicating skills, emphasis on keeping things clean and reminders to not forget the little details - all good qualities to have when making vaginasausage.

[Fearlessfront]

@venturadave hahahah! oh my god thats funny!

[venturadave]

@Fearlessfront Glad it didn't offend. The video was great, I was just hoping to give you a chuckle.

[abzgroupinc]

How do you go around the corners without the back end skipping around?

how fast can you go around the corner?

[Fearlessfront]

@abzgroupinc As fast as I want too! haha, but really it does loose a little turning radius, but if you mud at all, it's well worth it

[steve26180]

ive never seen brake cleaner used for brakes.

[seasonedtoker]

@steve26180 that means you do little to zero car repairs :D

[steve26180]

@seasonedtoker thats actually false because i work at a foreign and domestic repair shop. and you probably smoke to much pot seasonedtoker.

[seasonedtoker]

@steve26180 well I won't go deeper as you started judging me by my nickname, but I'll tell you a secret you can proudly share with your colleagues if you want, steve. disc rotors are made of grey iron. guess what that thing rusts like crazy when O2 is present. they coat the discs with a special oil based rust inhibitor. the purpose of brake cleaner is to clean that stuff off before installation. it's just a solvent with propellant. clear enough? dare to share your brake job stories?

[SSGHICK]

what mower has that tranny now??

[Fearlessfront]

@SSGHICK it came from a late 80's craftsman. But most trannies are the same. Most everything still in this applies on any trans lock

[Fearlessfront]

@Fearlessfront and it's a "foote" trans

[thegreatstateofMaine]

hmmm could you made a seal and fill it with oil ?

[Fearlessfront]

@thegreatstateofMaine you can try, you'd need axle seals, and rvt silicone. and you would need to drill a fill/drain hole

[Fearlessfront]

@thegreatstateofMaine what part of maine are you from? I live in Pittston

[thegreatstateofMaine]

@Fearlessfront West Gardiner 

[Fearlessfront]

@thegreatstateofMaine haha! no shit! I live like 15 mins away from you.

[sxr951]

NOYCE!

[TwiztidFreek86]

Be careful welding on a surface that has been sprayed with brake cleaner! It could cause a reaction that makes a deadly gas that can hurt you badly and even kill you! Look it up!

[Fearlessfront]

@TwiztidFreek86 I'm still alive! I weld all kinds of nasty stuff, just be well ventelated (like outside) and don't try and breath the smoke. I never have a problem.

too much of any kind of smoke or gas will kill you.

[crazyboyaustin]

@Fearlessfront it actually creates mustard gas

[Fearlessfront]

@crazyboyaustin I like mustard!

[thegreatstateofMaine]

@TwiztidFreek86 fuck it ha ha

[muddipperCOPE]

I will post videos of my mud mower when i finish it up. It's an old sears with a 16hp kohler I wanna do a full rear axle swap for a david bradley rear-end but its geared for crawling. so i'll lock the stock like you showed then make new hubs to be able to run a set of ag tires off a david brandley

[craiggeary47]

probibly shift keys they wear out and they tend not to catch the last gear but i dont know what your tranny looks like keep working on it u will eventually find the problem gitrdone racing48

[Patriotfan487]

Why does my 6th gear in my 1997 Murray lawn mower not kick in (it actually slams into gear) till a few seconds after the clutch pedal is released

[StanzelGames]

"You may need a puller to pull these pulleys off" Lol, repetitive much?

[craiggeary47]

if u race like i do u need a geard transaxle not a hydro they burn up eventually and to back the guy who did this video did a great job hes just trying to help other people so give him a break gitrdone racing48

[Fearlessfront]

@craiggeary47 thanks man, never tried the spider gear trick. seen it done though. someone should start to manufacture a locker for these things

[craiggeary47]

u can lock the dif without welding by putting 2 extra diff gears in the diff if u know what ur doing gitrdone racing48

[Khhsindian2011]

Can you do a video on a quick and cheap snorkel

[Patriotfan487]

Hey fearlessfront I have a question about my transaxle in my 1997 murray can you email me at maginniss.alex@gmail.com

[killer007644]

thanks for the tips

and i like all your video's

good job man

[jknupp2]

Have you ever thought about adding another set of spider gears? ive been doing this for 3 years now and does the same thing and is guaranteed to not break unless you throw gobs of power at it. And by gobs, I mean so much that the gears actually break

[54thebigman]

hi do having a lock it do it go fast with stock pully

[mowlonger]

hey i got a quick question i just got a hydrostatic troybuilt and everything works great on it but the only engine that i have that works is on my craftsman [reg transaxle] and it has a busted gass tank and simple electrical issues and the troy built has no electrical issues and a 2 gallon gass tank so should i switch motors ? is there any way to make an hydrostatic go faster? annd how better is a hydro over traditonal geared?

[Smilly0467]

I am going to try this

[rebalforlife1614]

what does locking the trans axle do?

[Fearlessfront]

@rebalforlife1614 it makes both tires spin, giving you twice as much traction

[ferchospapa]

@Fearlessfront not really, the difeerencial just distributes the torque as the wheels are turning making one go faster than the other, but when you block it both wheels spin at the same speed at all times

[Fearlessfront]

@ferchospapa an OPEN differential will distribute torque to the wheels separately, (usually the one with less traction).

Locking it negates this, effectively locking both axle shafts together (figuratively speaking) making both wheels spin, thus giving you twice as much traction.

[smirnofowner]

@Fearlessfront as long as both wheels has the same traction an open diff will deliver the same amount of pullingforce. However if one wheel stand on a slippery surface and the other on firm ground the wheel on slippery surface will brake traction and start spinning an no power will reach the other wheel. I you weld the diff (like a lim. slip diff) it will deliver the same amount of power to both weels regardless of traction.

[ferchospapa]

@Fearlessfront yes i get it but is not as twice the traction as it is the whole traction or torque that its transmitted from the engines shaft to both wheels, because the torque your getting to the differential is the same when its unlocked it distributes that 100% torque unequaly to the wheels making on spin fastr thatn the other, but when you lock it that 100% toruqe is distibuted equaly, so you do not produce more torque by locking it just you distribute it on a more convinient way

[philhdfxst]

@rebalforlife1614

Hey fearlessfront....DONOT USE BRAKE CLEANER AND THEN WELD. READ THE WARNINGS ON THE CAN. IT CAN CAUSE SEVERE DAMAGE TO YOU. Google it and be thankful you have not suffered any ill effects. Seeing as you recommend this maybe you should attach a warning in your video. DEATH CAN RESULT. Otherwise a helpful post onlocking up a diff..

[117nathanmyers]

@philhdfxst brake cleaner doesn't leave any residue and therefore shouldn't cause any ill effects.

[philhdfxst]

@117nathanmyers

There is a chance of little pockets of the fluid still in the material you're welding. Therein lies the danger. Like I said google a welding site and READ READ READ. Warning on cans are there to protect.

[steven1984ilb]

hey man ill trade u a 15 hp b&s motor it need a lil work but not much for u to do my tranny if u want

[steven1984ilb]

hey man i took off my tranny an now the brakes dont work i know whats wrong it just need to be bolted back on but i dont know how tight to get it ? for it to still go an work

[Fearlessfront]

@steven1984ilb they might just need to be adjusted, or the little pads inside are probably worn out. Do you live in Maine?

[steven1984ilb]

@Fearlessfront naw i live in dothan al. wheres maine?

[Fearlessfront]

@steven1984ilb haha, northeast, as far as you can go!

[petersonrulz]

Can you do this to hydrostatic tannys?

[eLiTexSickboy]

If you use a TIG welder you wont have all the excess spatter and slag. imo.

[riplouie9]

its called a snap ring not a c ring

[MrChevynova01]

If your puttin it in water,would it be a good idea to put sealent around the outside edge of the case and fill with gear oil so it can be changed

[ccgokarting]

is that a supersport back there?

[austinboy85]

thanks :)

[tottos90]

i loked mine but my bad welds didnt hold up so im try it again!

[Fearlessfront]

@tottos90 Weld HOT, and slow, try to melt the metal thats there, use as little filler metal as possible

[tottos90]

@Fearlessfront yea im going to try it again

[johnnyboy922]

@Fearlessfront also helpful the champfer (spelling) the gears where you weld just slightly for better penetration.

[Fearlessfront]

@johnnyboy922 not a bad idea, also pre-heating with a torch helps too. (not that I have one)

[victorL96]

this was pretty fucki*g helpful, I don't know if i need to do anything like that right now but it's good to know

[a7xfan012]

So this might be a dumb question, is this something i could do to my jeep? I know you can lock it but would this method work?

[Fearlessfront]

@a7xfan012 yup, you can weld the spiders, its a little different in a truck, and you'll need a bigger welder

[demojay987]

this will ruin your turning radius, the purpose of the diff is shorter turning

[akcender]

@demojay987 totally not important in offroading

[azrios]

If you use a Tig Welder you get NO slag (much cleaner) plus you're fusing metal to metal together, then you can add filler rod make a bead.

[1mudbogger]

by doing this could this help your lawn mower go fast because the power is going to both wheels instead of the one wheel

[Fearlessfront]

@1mudbogger no, it will just give you more traction, if you want to go faster, you need to do a pulley swap

[SSGHICK]

is that a peerless??

[Fearlessfront]

@SSGHICK yeah, part # mst-205 theres also a 6 speed mst-206

[SSGHICK]

@Fearlessfront ok i dis locked my 2 peerless's 6 speeds i put a extra set of spider gears in mine!! both pearlees's r out of craftsman!! i also i have a murry mower like urs and that has a 6 speed in it!!

[Fearlessfront]

@SSGHICK nice, it's probably got the 206 under it, good trans!

[pacificcloud]

Was wondering how your tractor got around in the snow like it does. Its all clear now. Solid axle is as good as 4x4, if you can shift your weight over the wheels.

[lwild04]

Great job

[lwild04]

note to self: find the balls!

[treetoad2]

Better than the last 1 i did... It broke it millions of peices after a few days :D

[kevrs2]

subbed cheers!

[badslabber]

great video ,love doing stuff like this myself ,anyway i will sub you on my other channel "kevrs2" as "badslabber" is a lunatic channel lol :)

[commando7144]

tool steel should be preheated to about 180 degrees i`m thinking your tack welds are preheating the steel?

[Fearlessfront]

@commando7144 not sure, I just tack it, remove it, then turn up the heat and melt the shit out of it... It works for me

[Lawnrider94]

I have a poulan pro with a 18.5 brigs lifted on 20in mud tires. And its snorkeled out

[Lawnrider94]

Can you for this with a stick welder?

[Fearlessfront]

@Lawnrider94 yeah, if you can be persise doing the initial spot welds, after that pull it out of there and go to town!

[poserproductions1]

i just dump quick cement in there and hope i get lucky

[daalhoffarm]

Your video's are so good!

Im gonna try this on my mower..!

Thanks man! im keep watching!

and nice racing mower btw!

[Fearlessfront]

@daalhoffarm Thanks!

[MuRkCLAN]

just got to look at it and the tire size is 10x20x6 i think

[MuRkCLAN]

yea i have like 10inch wide tires on it and they come about 2 inches from the bottom of the fender lol and i dont really know what type of transaxle it is but it is the exact same tractor as your craftman crawler.

[Fearlessfront]

@MuRkCLAN you might be getting too much traction, if the tires dont spin in the mud at least a little bit, then something inside has got to give... So your tires are probably too big, try smaller grippy tires, or find a beefier rear axle

[destro513]

Cool videos brother! Check out mine on my page.. I'm building a Cafe Racer Flattrack bike for almost no money.. I just love tinkering with shit.. My buddy who scraped an old Murry just gave me a 15.5 vanguard and tuff torq trans and I'm wondering if I should make a tractor, a crawler or mod a powerwheels.. I'm also a jeep guy. I've got a '45, an '86, a '91 beater XJ that I'm gonna chop the top on and a One Ton TJ I'm building.. You can see them all in my vids... Later man..

[MuRkCLAN]

my wleds keep breaking ive tryed everything a wire welder a 220 stick welder on the highest setting. and the last time it broke i used the stick any idea what i can do without adding spider gears? ... maybe i just need to take it to someone better at welding lol

[Fearlessfront]

@MuRkCLAN wow, are you running massive tires>? that could be doing it.

It might be time for you to go with a 3 or 5 speed peerless gearbox, and chain drive to a 1" axle

[redzz02]

@Fearlessfront sorry for creeping, but really bad idea, turning big tires with a 3 or 5 spd gear box is a bad idea i ripped 3 out of my monster turning 25's

[waszzzzz]

Im 13 and i know how to lock a trans axle -_- Everyone will be jealous

[Fearlessfront]

@waszzzzz I wish I knew this stuff when I was 13!

[dwmcdaniel13]

@ 4:15 for thats what she said or amen to that.

[kawibbyrule]

this has help a ton i was so confussed when someone said they can do this but would this help i have a craftsmen lt4000 and im planning on plowing snow withi it should lock it or leave it the way it is right now i am running dullies with snow chains but it still gets stuck alot and i have 200 pounds of sand in the back plus my 180 pounds

[Fearlessfront]

@kawibbyrule it will be a little harder to turn when its locked, but it will push twice as hard.

[kawibbyrule]

@Fearlessfront alright thank you

[themaster275]

i locked up my racing rc car tannyr

[Fearlessfront]

@themaster275 never done that!

[i1still1will]

im making a 4wd lawn mower and so far its going good but this helped alot

[Fearlessfront]

@i1still1will your building 4wd? thats awesome! I want to try that as my next project

[TheGeneral426]

Thanks for the vid!!

[rustyj3100]

WELL I WAS ASKING U UR REAL GOOD AT WHAT U DO AND I DINT WHANT TO DO IT IF I GET IN THE DEMO AND BRAKE AND AXLE

DONT GET ME WORN I WHANT TO TO DO IT BUT I JUST HAFE TO SEND MORE MORE MONEY IF IT BRAKES THO U KNOW WHAT IM SAYING CUZ IM ONLY 18 YEARS OLD I BEEN RUNING DEMOS FOR THREE YEARS NOW BUT IT BEEN BIG CARS AND SMALL CARS NO LAWN MOWERS

[rustyj3100]

WELL I WAS ASKING U UR REAL GOOD AT WHAT U DO AND I DINT WHANT TO DO IT IF I GET IN THE DEMO AND  BRAKE AND AXLE

[rustyj3100]

hey  can i do this a lawn mower that im going to demo should i do it or should not lock it in plesse let me know

[Fearlessfront]

@rustyj3100 it gets twice as much traction this way, but it's extra work... up to you really

[jwotham96]

So how much better is a locked than unlocked?

[Fearlessfront]

@jwotham96 Locked is better for mud rocks and such, but you loose a little bit of turning radius... Unlocked, one tire will spin at a time, and it usualy the one with less traction.

Lock the rearend, and you wont have to push your mower out of the mud as much

[electus7]

Can you give some advice and tips to reducing weight on a new craftsman rider to convert it to a offroad rider?

[Fearlessfront]

@electus7 Remove everything that isn't needed by you! mower deck, all the hardware that hangs the mower deck. stuff like that. Those craftsman chassis are heavy... witch is good, and bad. they are strong

[electus7]

What is the purpose to locking the transaxle?

[Fearlessfront]

@electus7 both tires always spin, giving you twice as much traction.

[386bmxvideos]

if u would could u please make a snorkle how to it would help me a bunch

[batman16242]

and yes it is 100 percent necessary i had 2 transaxles in 2 weeks have the axles pull out if u have them apart weld them up

[batman16242]

craftsman transaxel??

[wadekissam22]

yup things pulls good now i wanna make it kinda like your craftsman crawler expect mine is a craftsman with 18hp till the motor blew

[Fearlessfront]

@wadekissam22 Its makes it so you do a lot more riding, and a lot less pushing! lol

[wadekissam22]

i ended up taking it back apart cause my weld broke so now it super welded and works great

[Fearlessfront]

@wadekissam22 thats the beauty of doing it this way, if the weld does break, then its not the end of the whole rear axle setup.

[codycapek1]

could i use a stick to do this

[Fearlessfront]

@codycapek1 if your good with it, yes!

[Fearlessfront]

Watch the annotation at 17:15 that will solve your problem

[wadekissam22]

hey i welded it up and got it back together but it tight when you turn the pulley whats the problem?

[MrAlittle5150]

Hi, Great video, I have a 6 speed that the 5th & 6th gears went out. Well I took it apart and found 2 gears that were broken apart, shattered. But my question is on Assembly for the factory thay used so much gasket sealer ( gray rubber Permatex type) that it was all over the gear axles and everthing, chunks of rubber gasket sealer in the gears, big chunks. Is that normal? The tractor not that old. And as long as I have it apart I'm going to weld it up like your video shows. Thanks Mike

[MrDtpdtp]

I did this and 3,4,5th gear isnt acting right.. When i go to turn in those gears it wont go no where or if im going up hill.. Do you know what i could do to fix that?

[Fearlessfront]

@MrDtpdtp it sounds like your belt is slipping. check the tension with the clutch out. it should be fairly tight

[MrDtpdtp]

@Fearlessfront How could i get it tighter just a smaller belt?

[Fearlessfront]

@MrDtpdtp that, or look under the mower to see if any of you pulleys are adjustable. sometimes you can adjust the slack out a little bit. Or build an adjustable tensioner pulley.

[MrDtpdtp]

@Fearlessfront i will try im just trying to do it the cheap way im broke just did it to have some fun.. thanks and good videos

[MrDtpdtp]

@Fearlessfront i will look at it.. thanks and good videos

[MrDtpdtp]

@Fearlessfront i lookes at it and the pullys arent adjustable but i adjusted the pedal and it stop it from my belt popping off ever time you press the clucth but its still slipping.. Any idea on how to fix that?

[MowMachineBuilds]

The genrl if your wheels are stuck take a socket extension and hammer the shaft while someone pulls the wheel.

[thegenrl]

hi i have trouble getting the wheels off.  i think they are pressed on. any tips for that?

[Fearlessfront]

@thegenrl they are probably rust welded.... use a block of wood and a hammer and try to pound the wheels off. sometimes a little heat around the hub will help also... If all else fails, use a puller, like a gear puller or something of that nature.

[RubertaLang]

I must admit that I don't have a clue about transmissions or gears or gearboxes or whatever - but I still watched your video from front to back and really liked it! Awesome stuff!

[Fearlessfront]

@RubertaLang haha, theres a lot going on in there... I don't fully understand it myself, but as long as your careful, you should be fine!

Thanks!

[The1946chevyman]

i got my trans-axle off and all the bolts off but i cant get it open