Lets say I was buying a used detroit full case locker for a ford 8.8, and it was cracked on the crown mounting plate, but it had been tig welded, would this be a potential problem? I need to have a perfect gear set up as this is in a truck i drive every day, and I will be running 36' tires on this with mild power. i really dont want to spend $ and time installing this when it could just break. has anybody heard of a detroit cracking, and if it can be fixed and still be true? Thanks guys.

Phill,

Personally, I would advise against it. No offense to whoever welded it. You'd have to talk to the person who welded it and question how he preped it, right from cleaning & buffing, groove or bevel width & depth & angle, use of backing strip, pre & post heat or stress relief and was it LPIedor magparticle tested and brinell tested. Even with a backing strip and GTAW, there's NO way to guarantee %100 penetration or weld quality, without xray. Almost on the same lines as welding an axle, crankshaft or conrod, it would be taking a chance, especially with 36's. I haven't heard of to many detroits cracking, so I'd be a little skeptical of the abuse this unit has seen. There's just too many variables involved. Just my $.02