I just welded the rear end in my trooper and so far it seems to work great. I welded the gears right to each other, like wild cat did, but I really like the way that it looks with that plate welded in there. But to add the plate I think that big gear would have to come off, I didn't take mine that far apart.
Now with it Fozzy welded it kind of looks like it would put a bad stress on that carrier and could cause it to break apart.
Anyways your trooper looks good WildCat, any problems with it welded like that for street driving?