I have a 87 Jeep Cherokee I'm planning on welding my front diff I spend most of my time off road and I am still going to be driving on road with my Jeep my question is can I weld the front diff and still be able to drive on road in 2wd? I know that in 2wd with both front tires off the ground I can spin a tire and the other side doesn't move at all in 4wd if I spin a tire the one on the other side spins the opposite way so in 4wd the differential works but in 2wd it doesn't do anything, so can't I weld it and have 2wd not be affected on road? I'm dead broke right now and I can't afford a locker, also any tips on welding the diff?

 

You can do it on yours because you have the front axle with a disconnect on the pass. side. As long as the disconnect works, you'll be ok.

 

So if it does not affect 2wd driving why isn't it a common mod? Does every Cherokee have a disconnect in the front axle. I would greatly appreciate any tips or a link to something like a write up or a link to a good thread about front axle disassemble

 

the disconnect stopped in 92(i think) the reason this isnt a common mod is that if your front wheel gets bound up it puts a lot of stress on the disconnect and it will fail. I would just go with a lunchbox up front then you will still be able to turn in 4wd

 

So if the disco fails does it lock the front axle or prevent it from locking? If it does fail couldn't I upgrade it to a posi lock to fix it?

 

Basically, the old CAD systems had two points for engaging 4wd. Both have to be engaged for 4wd to work. Locking over the CAD will not cause you to be in 4wd all the time.


borrowed from Comanche club
basically the cad is this little shift fork inside the front axle it all depends on how it fails but usually it snaps and makes it so you dont have your front passenger wheel at all and im not sure what you are talking about with the posi lock

 

Could I use a wedge of some kind instead of welding it? I remember hearing someone did it I don't recall where though

 

http://comancheclub.com/forums/viewt...hp?f=9&t=18415
this is one way to fix your cad you can also get a new one piece shaft and replace it