Will this differential fit in my 2 WD Ranger

[Blmpkn]

Just buy a new carrier and have it installed already lol. All the time you've spent looking for a used one all year could of paid for it by now

 

[RonD]

Locker is only good in a straight line, it can be scary going around a corner in slippery conditions, lol
Limited slip is better than OPEN, in any situation

Locker does need an ON/OFF switch if using on the street, otherwise just weld the axles together, cheapest option

4WDs slip and slide on snow and ice, even Tanks do, lol
So not really a good reason not to use limited slip

 

[scotts90ranger]

I like a ratcheting locker in a 4x4, you have the front wheel drive to keep things straight... I have 50k on the limited slip in my '00 Explorer, haven't played in low traction areas lately to see how well it still works but it's been running over a quart low of oil for that 50k miles... and no modifier... I know for a fact it's not as tight as it was when I put it together...

It doesn't snow enough around here for me to know much difference, my '97 has an open diff with 4.10's and 2 wheel drive, I've driven it in some of the freak snow we've had mid day when things are dumb (somehow people here don't know how to drive in the rain, fog or snow? it was rainy for 6 months straight earlier this year, was still a shitshow...) and it did ok but I wish I had more than one wheel drive starting from a stop a couple times... I'm kinda with rusty, I think tires might make more difference...

I kinda want to put an explorer 8.8 with shimmed up limited slip and 4.30's or 4.56's in the '97 and a transfer case with 31-32" tires and leave it 4x2...

If there's any lunchbox lockers for 28 spline 8.8's that would be a cheap and easy way to go, just keep everything and it's completely reversible and if yo didn't like it I bet you could get 75% of your money back...

 

[bobbywalter]

Locker is only good in a straight line, it can be scary going around a corner in slippery conditions, lol
Limited slip is better than OPEN, in any situation

Locker does need an ON/OFF switch if using on the street, otherwise just weld the axles together, cheapest option

4WDs slip and slide on snow and ice, even Tanks do, lol
So not really a good reason not to use limited slip

No.


Just no...


Trac Lok is good for 20k


I see more limited slips in the ditch then anything ... Not as predictable as a spool or locker..... especially with a low tire.


Best thing to stay out of ditch is to stay home. Second best is an open diff.

 

[franklin2]

Ive had tons of 2wds. Just keep good tires on them and they'll do about anything you need if you arnt afraid to horse them a bit.

You need to try out a 4x4. The difference compared to 2wd is amazing.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

You need to try out a 4x4. The difference compared to 2wd is amazing.

Ive had quite a few 4wds too. Honestly yes its nice, and i find myself being dumber with them, and my next one will more then likely be a 4wd, but ive always gotten by with 2wds with not much issue.

 

[Roert42]

I like the track lok in the snow. Yes, once you start to slip you are loosing control of the rear, but you are less likely to slip.

Plus, normally, if you hit the clutch the rear will pop right back in line with the front. As long as you didn't loose control of the front yet.

Easier to keep control of the steer tires on RWD since they shouldn't slip much unless you turn going too fast or hit the breaks on ice.


I've said it before. For someone who drives on paved roads back and forth to work, 4WD is a toy. Yeah, I can drive over a 4' high snow bank, but why. go around it through the 1' high pile of slush.

 

[Lefty]

I'm sorry I didn't buy 4WD. I looked for a very long time. I finally gave up. I bought a winch instead. Who knows? It just might come in handy someday. Meanwhile I will think about a locker or even a limited slip.

 

[don4331]

I've never been sorry that the Ranger I ordered was 2wd - it means I need to use the thing God put between my ears.

I've seen more 4wd in ditch than any other vehicle - they're 10' tall and bulletproof right up until same physics applies to them and then they are that much further into ditch.​

The 1st company I worked for out of school wouldn't buy us 4x4s - too many accidents/parts damage. It was either nice enough to drive a 2wd to the rig, you could wait for the cat to tow you out, or don't need to go out right then.​

For driving on roads, proper winter tires make more difference than 2wd/4wd (Yes, 4wd with proper winter tires is best, but people are surprised that my Ranger with narrow Blizzaks is 2wd).​

​

Trac-lok can be destroyed in as little as 50 miles (putting 235/75R15 spare on one side while other has 31x10.5R15. (My daughter wasn't happy about changing 2 tires to fix one flat, but liked the idea of rebuilding Trac-loc less).​

​

I have done just fine with Trac-loc. Yes, it isn't as predicable as open differential or locker, but if I use a little grey matter (along with good tire and a little weight in box, I haven't had any issues.​

 

[Blmpkn]

There's nothing wrong with a limited slip in the snow. Total game changer. Removes the need for snow tires on a 2wd in my experience.

 

[franklin2]

In my experience, the 2wd guys try to justify their purchase by saying their trucks will go anywhere. Of course the 4x4 guys are the same way. On plowed roads or roads with not over a inch or two on the road surface or a packed snow surface, I am sure a 2wd will suffice, I have driven them myself. A couple more inches you had better have some weight in the back. More than that, only a 4x4 is going to make progress without any trouble. Of course it will get so deep that even a 4x4 is not going to make it through. I have had my 4x4 stuck many times.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

In my experience, the 2wd guys try to justify their purchase by saying their trucks will go anywhere. Of course the 4x4 guys are the same way. On plowed roads or roads with not over a inch or two on the road surface or a packed snow surface, I am sure a 2wd will suffice, I have driven them myself. A couple more inches you had better have some weight in the back. More than that, only a 4x4 is going to make progress without any trouble. Of course it will get so deep that even a 4x4 is not going to make it through. I have had my 4x4 stuck many times.

Dude i faced many a michigan winter in nothing but a 2wd (open) ranger, snow tires, and about 200lbs of ballast. Living in the middle of no where, i can remember many nights getting in so much the belts would slip.

With my 77 F250 2wd riding on BFG A/Ts ive been to the rockers in it and made it through.

Just gotta know when you put your foot down, and when to back off it, and cant be afraid of the ass end whipping.

Yes 4wds offer a piece of mind, and i get most people are scared to drive in anything that isnt dry pavement...but thats not me. Not to sound cocky but i consider myself above average in the um..."technical" driving department...and ive been told so.

But all that aside like i said, 4wd is definantly a nice to have, and for alot of people who freak out whenever a tire spins its great. But a 2wd with good tires and good driver will surprise you with what itll get through, and just not in the snow.

My last 4wd was an 89 F250...i think i pulled the lever two times in the snow....and that was simply conveience.

 

[Blmpkn]

I hit the diff lock button during winter more than I turn my 4x4 knob

 

[Lefty]

In my experience, the 2wd guys try to justify their purchase by saying their trucks will go anywhere. Of course the 4x4 guys are the same way. On plowed roads or roads with not over a inch or two on the road surface or a packed snow surface, I am sure a 2wd will suffice, I have driven them myself. A couple more inches you had better have some weight in the back. More than that, only a 4x4 is going to make progress without any trouble. Of course it will get so deep that even a 4x4 is not going to make it through. I have had my 4x4 stuck many times.

Yes, I can easily handle a couple inches with 2WD. I drive on pavement all of the time. I live in the city, but our side street is the last to be plowed.

 

[Shran]

My dad had nothing but 2wd trucks when I was a kid... all the bad words I know came from him right before they got stuck in a snow bank and I had to crawl out through the window and walk.

I have had my 4x4s stuck a million times. But that is not the point. If I am out deer hunting in and get caught by a freak snow storm in a 2wd pickup, I am guaranteed to be walking. If I go out to get a load of firewood in a 2wd pickup and it rains and I can't get up the hill because of the mud, I am walking. I have needed 4 wheel drive to get to the grocery store that I can see from my house on occasion... a 2wd truck would have been stuck and I'd be walking. Burn up a clutch in a 2wd pickup trying to pull a trailer up a steep hill and don't have low range... walking. At least with a couple more wheels turning, I have a chance to keep the tread on my shoes.

Right tool for the job.