New Differential or Rear End for heavy snow in 2wd

[DanielLiam]

Hi All,

I have a 2005 2wd 5 speed 2.3 liter with open 3.73s (axle 86). It has 30" Hankook Dynapro ATMs (snow rated). I also have sandbags and a topper for rear end weight. I spend most of my winter in the mountains backcountry snowboarding and mountaineering. I am too broke for an upgrade to a 4wd truck (believe me, I have been looking and prices are soooo high right now). But I could afford to upgrade my axle or rear differential. I currently have to chain up if there is any incline to the road in packed snow or ice. I would love to come up with an option to avoid this. All summer, I drive this car all over to climb and love the gas mileage of a 2wd 4cyl so I am happy to keep that if I can figure out how to improve my traction in the snow.

Are there any specific differentials that would make a massive difference for me? Or am I dreaming to think I can upgrade the traction enough to not need to chain?

I have looked at f6/f7/r6/r7 rear ends. I recently found an f6 for $240 that seemed worthwhile but then my mechanic friend suggested maybe I look at just installing a new LSD or automatic locker instead. I know some automatic lockers are supposed to be okay in snow. Most LSDs are right? Is there a specific differential that is a best option for 2wd traction in the snow?

Thanks for any info and thoughts you can provide

 

[ericbphoto]

For what you describe, i would think a 8.8” with 4.10 gears and a Torsen or Tracloc LS would be a good choice.

Lunchbox lockers are inexpensive. But are probably not the best choice on snow and ice. I have Aussie lockers in my diffs. However, I don’t do a lot of snow driving.

 

[Roert42]

Just swapping the carrier out for a trak-lok or any other limited slip would probably help a lot.

The only thing about a LSD is that when both wheels lose traction the whole rear start to go sideways, as opposed to an open rear where one wheel lose traction you just stop.

Some people do not like the LSD for snow because if you are not careful it is easy to get yourself sideways. I personally prefer them because if you are careful and understand how they react, you can get a hell of a lot farther in snow with a LSD then an open rear.

 

[sgtsandman]

For snow driving, an LSD is a better than a locker. And more forgiving.

Since you plan on doing a lot of snow driving, I would strongly suggest you get actual snow tires. Four of them, not just two for the drive axle.

M+S ratings in my experience often don’t mean squat. I’ve seen M+S rated tires that couldn’t fight their way out of a paper bag in the snow.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

^^^ x2
Studded snows on all four corners.
If you're really tight for money you can pack a couple extra shims on the side gears and the open will act like a lsd for quite a few thousand miles.

 

[pjtoledo]

dedicated winter tires, 4 of them.
I have the same ranger as you, open 3.73 rear.
with 400 lbs in the back and REAL winter tires it would go thru anything up to 8".
on light snow or hard pack the braking and handling were fantastic.

 

[sgtsandman]

I agree. Real winter tires make a world of difference. Many a year, I’ve driven around with an open diff and winter tires. I often got around better than the FWD cars that are supposed to be so much better. I might have been going up the hill side ways but it was controlled and I was getting up the hill!

 

[DanielLiam]

For snow driving, an LSD is a better than a locker. And more forgiving.

Since you plan on doing a lot of snow driving, I would strongly suggest you get actual snow tires. Four of them, not just two for the drive axle.

M+S ratings in my experience often don’t mean squat. I’ve seen M+S rated tires that couldn’t fight their way out of a paper bag in the snow.

In Oregon, tires that have the mountain and snowflake on the side are considered snow traction devices. I bought the Hankooks because they have that rating which means by law I don't have to chain. Might not be a terrible idea to upgrade to some actual dual compound snow tires or studs instead. If I did that I could probably avoid worrying about the differential. then again I've also found myself on craigslist looking for four-wheel drives again...

 

[Bgunner]

If you do much highway driving avoid studs in snow tires as the can act like ice at high speeds but if you do mostly city driving studs will work well.

I run 2 snows in the rear and all seasons on front for now with my 2wd 3.45 open diff and do well in the mountains in my area. I do have about 150 lbs of weight back at the gate for added traction. This setup is not ideal as I need to be more causious with stopping distances on snow covered surfaces.

I've run LSDs in the past and as long as you dont spike the throttle you get much better traction but did .notice that the limited slip was much better than a full locker since it releases as you let off the throttle and let's the rear hook back up quickly ker than it being locked both ways.

My suggeation is swap the axle for a LSD and add 4 actual snow tires. Snow tires have a softer compound and more little gaps that grab snow, ice and road for better traction. My all seasons have a mountain and a snow flake on then but they are not a snow tire. Hands down snow tires have better traction. You may still need to chain up but should be less often going this route.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Get rid of those hankooks.

Install BFG A/Ts.

I run BFG A/Ts on my 2wd F250s and ive had them rocker deep in snow, with no weight and an open diff and never found myself stuck.

Finding a trac-lok axle to swap in would also help alot.

Dedicated snow tires are also great but i say the BFG A/Ts cause you can run them year around and will also do good on other kinds of terrian you may encounter.

 

[pjtoledo]

another trick for snow driving,, get in 3rd gear as soon as possible. if conditions permit.
there's something about a higher gear that smooths out the power to the wheels.
take off in first,,,,wheel spin, 2nd wheel spin,,,hit third and the truck just goes.
I've experienced that on several vehicles.


I have BFG A/Ts on my 2000 4wd. they definitely dig thru the real deep stuff better.
for stopping and turning the winter tires on the 2005 2wd beat them.

 

[sgtsandman]

In Oregon, tires that have the mountain and snowflake on the side are considered snow traction devices. I bought the Hankooks because they have that rating which means by law I don't have to chain. Might not be a terrible idea to upgrade to some actual dual compound snow tires or studs instead. If I did that I could probably avoid worrying about the differential. then again I've also found myself on craigslist looking for four-wheel drives again...

I'm from PA, we understand snow and the concept of the Mountain and Snowflake icon. Being in an area that is relatively flat and dealing with snow and being in an area with hilly and mountainous terrain are worlds apart. As and example, my girlfriend lived in Ohio when we first met and her car had tires with that rating. She got around fine in Ohio. She moved here and started getting stuck left and right until she got proper snow tires installed.

Now, rusty's comment is not out of line either. Not all M+S rated tires are equal. Some are pretty decent and others are absolute crap and should never have gotten the rating. Nothing beats a good set of winter tires in the snow unless you start getting into chains and studs. The BFG KO2s I have on the 2011 are reputed to be a pretty good tire and I'm going to test that but I have a second set of rims for snow tires that are worn out and need replaced. If the KO2s work as well as they are supposed to, those rims will get mud tires. If they are not, another set of winter tires will get installed on them. My 2019 came with the same or similar tires to what you have on your truck. Looking at the tread and based on past experience, I don't think they are going to be all that great in the snow. For that reason, the 2019 has a second set of rims with snow tires on them. I'm willing to take a chance on the truck that I'm typically the only one in and getting stuck. The 2019, that hauls the family, I'm not taking the chance. Rear locker and 4X4 or not.

In the end, we are just some guys on the internet giving suggestions and opinions on the internet based on our experience. It's your truck and your money to do with as you please. Just keep in mind we are trying to help you get the most out of your truck and there is nothing in it for us regardless of which direction you choose to go. The ball is in your court.

 

[RonD]

IMO, a trac-loc(Ford brand) limited slip will help and you can swap out the whole axle so its just wrench work
3.73 or 4.10 would be fine with 30" tires, 4.10 might be a bit better if available

Limited slip just means if one wheel starts to spin faster than the other some of the power from that wheel is transferred to the other wheel
If both wheels have limited traction then both spin
So you will most likely still have to "chain-up" if traction in both sides/tracks of the road is poor

The benefit of 4WD, AND FWD, is that its much easier to PULL a weight up a hill that to push it, that's just the Laws of Physics
All factory 4WDs have an OPEN differential up front, as do FWD, it's just that PULL factor that makes either better
I.E. many with RWD will be able to reverse up a hill that they couldn't get up going forward, pulling the vehicle up the hill vs trying to push it up
Not an arguable point its just Physics

You certainly will be able to go farther with Limited slip, traction will decide how far that is

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Or just put er to the wood and hope for the best

 

[racsan]

Ive never had a ranger with limited slip, but with winter tires and about 200# of weight in the bed, ive never had any issues. A muddy field however is another issue, thought it wasnt that wet & went to drive around the barn. Talk about laying frame! Glad we still had the oliver around. Now it is possible to have too much weight, I had a full-size 3/4 ton 2wd with a limited-grip rear axle, about 600# in the back. While its great going straight, if you do start to slide it wants to keep coming around. And if by chance you have a fwd car - put winter tires on all 4, I had the back pass the front last winter with brand new winter tires on front, reg tires on the back. Wound up in a field , on the side at 2 am. I thought Id be ok with just snows on the front- nope.