Limited slip/locker for street

[exbass94]

So, long story short, I had to replace my rear axle because of bad pinion bearings. My truck originally had a Trac-Lock limited slip, but all the junkyards around here only had regular open diff rear axles. So, I installed an open diff. I don't really like that I just basically downgraded my axle. My original plan was to use this new open diff temporarily, and rebuild my Trac-Lock axle in my spare time and eventually install it back in. But now I'm thinking maybe I can skip rebuilding the old axle and just install some kind of lunchbox locker/limited slip into my new open diff, and have an even better axle than before.

So, what kind of locker or limited slip would you recommend? My requirements are that it must be a "lunchbox" type, something that does not require setting up gears. If I wanted to set up gears, I would just rebuild my old axle like I said.

My truck does not go off-road AT ALL. It is 100% street use but we do get a fair amount of snow in the winter. I'm really curious to see how an open diff does in the snow; hopefully I don't get stuck.

I don't want something too clunky/ratchety around turns. The smoother and less noticeable the better.

I was thinking about the Powertrax No-Slip. Thoughts?

 

[Teddyzee]

You can install a Trac Lok without dealing with setting up the gears. Just install the original shims in the same location. You'll want to chack the gear pattern to make sure, of course.

I've done this before, as have hundreds of others. And, I'm just grabbing a sweater to go outside and do it right now in my '01 winter Ranger.

The Trac Lok in my green truck is rebuilt clutch/steel/clutch/steel and performs very well.

 

[Teddyzee]

Well, I got started on the job anyway!

 

[Mac]

I've used and been quite happy with my "No-Slip". Just DD and Winter use, no problem cornering at all, quiet. Lots of different opinions.
http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4086
Dave

 

[stegomon]

I have rebuild a few trac loks. Easy to do. But I like the lunch box locker better. Last way way longer

 

[mkimber]

I love my powertrax no slip. It does make a little noise when turning real sharp on dry pavement but other than that I hardly notice it's back there. Real easy to install too.

 

[bigmark303]

If you run a good set of winter tires or anything with good siping and water/ice grip youll most likely love the open differential. The open will mostly never get you sideways around a corner even if you floor it. Only one tire breaks loose and that helps alot when you need some gas on a corner but dont want to end up drifting.

My trac lok was kind of unpredictable and I didnt really care for it. The open differential on even traction situations where both tires have traction or both tires dont have traction in a straight line will both get power but once you turn one tire will take over.

If you stay on the road I dont see any reason why you would need a limited slip or locker. With a good set of tires there wont be a storm you cant handle.... on the road of course

Been driving rwd all my life and in winter its all about the tires and not as much the traction aid.

 

[exbass94]

I know I don't really "need" the limited slip, but it is/was nice to have. It was mostly a novelty thing at first; when I first bought the truck I thought it was a really cool thing to have. And I liked the slight chatter and tire chirping I got when I gave it some gas in a corner. My truck is so smooth and civilized now. Not sure how I feel about that lol.

So, after some more research, the more I'm leaning away from lockers. It seems they just are too aggressive for all street use and aren't really practical for my application. What would be really awesome to have is a selectable locker. Smooth civilized open diff most of the time, full on spool traction when I need it. But the astronomical price it just isn't worth it, not for the rare occasions I would need it. So I'm back to living with an open diff, or rebuilding my Trac-lock.

I think instead of doing a full rebuild of my Trac-lock I can just fix what's broken. Replace the pinion bearings, install a crush sleeve eliminator so the pre-load never gets screwed up again (the reason the bearings went bad in the first place), assemble it, check gear pattern and button it up. The axle only has 48k miles on it, so I doubt anything else is really worn.

 

[bigmark303]

Yeah, dont go locker at all. It gets scary sometimes even though you know its going to kick out. I will not drive my locked truck in the winter on roads.

Even my trac-lok got away a few times. Under no load it just hooked up and kicked out.

Youve got the right idea though. Just replace what broke and call it good. Its only going to give out again. Or better source a trac-lok from a Lincoln Mark VII. Ive nevver had a bad one in a Mark VII 8.8. Ive had 11 Mark VIIs and 7 with trac-lok. All over 120k on them. Im not sure if there is a difference but the ones in Rangers sure do go out often.

 

[exbass94]

Well it wasn't the Trac-lock itself that went bad. The problem was a few years ago, I had a really minor pinion seal leak, which was so small and minor I probably should've just left it alone. But I was really OCD and wanted my truck to be in perfect running condition, so I had a shop replace the seal. They apparently didn't torque the pinion nut down properly which messed up the pre-load and eventually destroyed the pinion bearings. At least that's my theory. I can't think of any other reason pinion bearings would go bad after only 48k miles.