What should I do as far as getting a locker?

[Snal]

I've got n expo 8.8 with l/s sitting on my porch thats gonna be going under my edge 4.0 when she gets overhauled but I've got some q's first. I'm trying to build a luxury runner but I'm keeping it mid travel or else I'd be doing a full width 9" so I wanna know what you think might be best to do as far as locking it goes. In my head a full blown locker would be best but I don't want a compressor on the truck and an e-locker is more than I wanna spend but I've heard of other locker that don't technically "lock" but are more along the lines of super limited slip. I'm gonna have it regeared with 4.56's to turn the 33's superduper easy and while it's being changed I'm either gonna get new clutches for the stock l/s or upgrade to something that locks a little more but it needs to still be streetable as it's going to be a DD. What are my options?

 

[4.0B2]

I like my Aussie in the rear..
in the front I'd love to have a selectable tho.

Detroit TrueTrac is a locker/limited slip setup. For the money, I'd get a e-locker tho.

Aussie in a open carrier case gets my vote.

 

[scotts90ranger]

I'm running an aussie in my truck and love the thing, barely know it's back there unless I'm on the skinny pedal while turning and it just goes places offroad...

 

[Surrey]

For the price, Aussies are amazing. Warranty is good too... "The No-Nonsense Two Year Limited Warranty has no restrictions on tire size or horsepower." <<< taken off their site.

Thats what will be going front-and-back in my truck when I get money for lockers.

 

[4.0B2]

I have them front and rear.. I find myself not using 4wd when maybe I should bc of trying to steer when locked. It works great and you can get "used" to it. But I highly recommend a selectable up front.

 

[jkent]

detroit would be my #1, otherwise aussie

 

[4.0B2]

does Detroit make a locker for the 28 spline 8.8?

 

[jkent]

does Detroit make a locker for the 28 spline 8.8?

sure do...I've never ran one personally in an 8.8 since I'm new to fords, but I've always loved the detroit in my 14 bolt GM stuff

http://www.4wheelparts.com/Drivetrain-Differentials/Ford-8-8in-28-Spline-Detroit-Locker.aspx?t_c=12&t_s=237&t_pt=101501&t_pn=EAT187C147A

 

[4.0B2]

14 bolt is another ballgame! lol.. Massive axles!

I just didn't know if they did a 28 spline or not. I knew they did a 31 spline.

 

[Captain Ledd]

Detroit TrueTrac is a locker/limited slip setup. For the money, I'd get a e-locker tho.

Aussie in a open carrier case gets my vote.

Detroit TrueTrac is a fancy gear driven L/S, not unlike the Torsen L/S's in FX4 Rangers.

If you want a real locker you're going to spend some $$$. E-locker is probably going to be the cheapest selectable out there.

The ECTED is the L/S locker than can tighten itself up to provide a fair amount of locking action, but it can still slip, and the clutches DO wear out. It's about the only one out there that does this.

I have an Aussie in Deathtrap, and it works pretty good. Still wouldn't want it for a daily driver though, and definitely not for a "luxury runner". Scrounge the extra few hundred dollars and get a selectable locker.

 

[jkent]

14 bolt is another ballgame! lol.. Massive axles!

I just didn't know if they did a 28 spline or not. I knew they did a 31 spline.

Oh i know, mine would take anything I could throw at it . Quite the change on going from the full floating 14 bolt to the 8.8, but the 8.8 seems to be a pretty stout axle.

 

[--weezl--]

i'm stuck at the same point, the big ones i'm looking at right now are the powertrax, and lockrite, both made by richmond. though the aussie is now in the mix... only thing i can't figure out is what the hell the differences are between the first two, and which one the aussie is most like...

i even emailed richmond to find the answers, this is how painful the conversation went:

to:techsupport@richmondgear.com

hello, I was looking at the application guide for the powertrax diff, trying to find the proper one for my truck, it is a 2007 ford ranger fx4 level II, which comes stock with a 8.8"rg 31 spline torsen differential (made by zexel torsen)

which part number would be the one i need for my application, I am interested in both the powertrax and lockright, but am not really understanding the differences between them, or which might suit my application better. I typically use my truck for commuting to and from work, short distances, with longer road trips occasionally, and moderate to difficult off road trips once a month or two.

thanks in advance for your help,

reply:

Sorry, we do not offer a locker to fit into the Torsen carrier. It is only offered to fit into an open carrier or limited slip carrier.

me:

Thank you for the reply, an open carrier is easy to get, are you able to answer my other questions?

Thanks in advance,

him:

What other questions do you have?

me: (c&p most of my first message)

I was looking at the application guide for the powertrax diff, trying to find the proper one for my truck, it is a 2007 ford ranger with a 8.8"rg 31 spline differential

which part number would be the one i need for my application, I am interested in both the powertrax and lockright, but am not really understanding the differences between them, or which might suit my application better. I typically use my truck for commuting to and from work, short distances, with longer road trips occasionally, and moderate to difficult off road trips once every month or two.

him:

Open carrier is p/n 92-0688-3108. Limited slip carrier is p/n 92-0688-3128.

me:

And the difference between the lock rite and powertrax?

the last email was sent this morning, i haven't heard back, but i'm thinking about sending a "wow this was painful, if this is how i can expect all of my customer service experiences to be with richmond, maybe i'll just buy a detroit"

 

[Frank The Tank]

I really like the Spartan lockers for a strong budget minded street able locker. I have a Yukon Grizzly in my 9" and I love it and would recommend it to anyone and everyone.... Except the faint of heart on the street.

 

[4x4junkie]

i even emailed richmond to find the answers, this is how painful the conversation went:

Not to defend their example of crappy customer service, but some research should've quickly shown nothing they offer fits a Torsen carrier.
What I suspect happened is he ("jbrown") read your email right up to the point he saw "torsen differential", and never bothered to read anything beyond that.
Had you simply asked for a 8.8" 31 spline open carrier application, there would not have been the distraction over the Torsen.

Now as for the rest of it, there's no excuse for that, he could've simply scrolled your email down a little ways and reread your questions (this assuming you didn't delete/backspace out the previous correspondence from the email)

Since you have to get a carrier for yours anyway, I'd just buy the Detroit.


To the OP,
I'd say maybe rebuild the stock L/S, but rearrange the clutch discs for tighter grip (there should be some info on this in the Tech Library). Combined with using slightly less friction additive, you can get some pretty darn good lockup out of it, but without all the clunkiness and unpredictability of automatic lockers.

 

[Snal]

well I'm thinking of just redoing the stock clutches. selectable would be too much $ for what I wanna do and I've got an expo 8.8 with ls in my other truck and it seemed fine but I figured I'd go bigger while this new axle is torn apart.