advice on traction device

[brother rat]

My 2WD Ranger has an 8.8" axle with 4.11 gears. I want some type of traction device in the rear, but I'm not really interested in learning to setup gears and what not. So, I'm looking at a lunchbox style locker/limited-slip. The truck is my daily driver and only sees occasional snow/ice, occasional runs on the beach, occasional fire roads and 99% pavement. When I say occasional, I mean 1-2 times per year - so I think a factory limited slip will probably be adequate. My question is: would something like this be a bolt in affair? Or am I limited to the Powertrax offerings if I want a bolt in, lunchbox style device?
Thanks!

 

[PlumCrazy]

All the 8.8 limited slip units are a full carrier replacement and require gear setup.

For your application a locker would not make sense.

Your easiest route would be to find an Explorer rear axle with 4.10's and limited slip which are pretty common in 95+ Expos and can be had for less than $300. Throw an LS rebuild in and some new brakes on it and already have your gears setup.

You will also get the added benefit of rear disc brakes and larger axle shafts.

They are not 100% bolt in though. You will need to have the spring perches welded on as well as shock mounts.


-PlumCrazy

 

[Teddyzee]

A Ford Traction Lok will bolt right in.
You want to take note of backlash and gear mesh, certainly check to see if you have wild changes, but myself (in my Ranger) and countless Mustang owners have swapped the the Trac Lok in with no adjustment, using the original gears. Takes almost an hour.
There is no setup involved, just transfer your ring gear and ABS ring to the Trac Lok. Simple.

You will be looking for a 28spline 8.8 Trac Lok, if you weren't aware of variations.
They are around $200 new, and much more affordable used. A rebuilt one can be made to perform much better than stock if you desire. New clutches are under $100 if go that route.

 

[brother rat]

Thanks for your responses. I guess the link I posted was a little bit hidden in the text (I thought it would show up underlined).
Anyway, I'm assuming that this is what you're referring to Teddyzee

Traction Lok

 

[Captain Ledd]

My 2WD Ranger has an 8.8" axle with 4.11 gears. I want some type of traction device in the rear, but I'm not really interested in learning to setup gears and what not. So, I'm looking at a lunchbox style locker/limited-slip. The truck is my daily driver and only sees occasional snow/ice, occasional runs on the beach, occasional fire roads and 99% pavement. When I say occasional, I mean 1-2 times per year - so I think a factory limited slip will probably be adequate. My question is: would something like this be a bolt in affair? Or am I limited to the Powertrax offerings if I want a bolt in, lunchbox style device?
Thanks!

The others' advice are still too complicated. Do this:

Find a RANGER in a junkyard with the 4.10/4.11 ratio and a limited slip, and grab the whole rear axle. If the limited slip is not tight enough, you can do the rebuild trick where you re-order the clutch packs in the differential. You'll have to pull the shafts to do this, but you shouldn't have to pull the carrier or ring and pinion.

rebuild_tractionlock

Why? An EXPLORER 8.8 is NOT a bolt in affair. You need to cut off the spring perches and weld new ones on along with new shock mounts. It is a stronger axle, but you don't need that for what you use your truck for. This is from someone who has done an Explorer 8.8 swap.

Disk brakes can also cause issues if you have certain kinds of a master cylinders. Abs vs non abs, supposedly the non-abs master cylinders don't have the volume. Either way, drum brakes are fine and work well, you're not going to jam them full of mud with what you use your truck for.

AND the Ranger 8.8 WILL bolt in. 4 bolts for the driveshaft - 12pt 12mm if memory serves. 8 bolts for the springs (4 on each side) I reused the u-bolts on mine, 2 bolts for the shocks, and of course the brake lines. No messing with gear setup. All you need is wrenches and a weekend.

If you get lucky, and find a FX4 level 2 Ranger, they have the super nice gear driven L/S's, grab the u-bolts and spring plates from these as they'll be different, but will still bolt up to your suspension - wrenches and a weekend. These also are very common to find 4.10/4.11 gears in.

*edit, found your link: That one specifically will not work, it's 31 spline, you need a 28 spline carrier. You'll need to set up gears when replacing the carrier. You can get away with getting it close on a trail rig but if you pound out miles on the highway and need it reliable, set up the gears properly.

 

[Teddyzee]

Thanks for your responses. I guess the link I posted was a little bit hidden in the text (I thought it would show up underlined).
Anyway, I'm assuming that this is what you're referring to Teddyzee

Traction Lok

Yes, it is. But you want 28 spline as we've stated. I've got about 20 or 30K KM on mine, behind an engine approaching 300hp with no issues. There are many opinions on this, just sharing mine.

 

[projectnitemare]

If you don't feel you are up to the carrier swapping yes the lunchbox locker will do what you are asking. On a 2wd I personally prefer a locker so I definitely have 2 wheels spinning but you also have to remember the back end will slide easier. As far as swapping the carrier for a factoy limited slip most of the time it can be done without resetting. If you go that route look into a shim kit or just ask around for some 8.8 shims before you start because it kinda sucks to not have them if you need them. You only need to worry about the backlash because nothing else will change. I put a factory limited slip in my IRS Explorer a good while back; it didnt' need any shims. The variance between carriers is very little but like I mentioned earlier if you need shims it's better to have them than need them.

 

[brother rat]

Sorry about the link. I know I need 28 spline. I guess I didn't read the details before I posted it.
I appreciate the insight here.
I'm not quite ready to fork out cash just yet, just trying to get some info together.
I probably won't be buying an entire axle to swap. I will either install something that requires no gear setup, or pay someone to install and do the setup.
I'm really tempted to modify clutch packs and hope for a clean install with the Traction Lok, but I don't want to have to pay for a gear setup later on down the road.
I'm also tempted to just go with a Lock Rite, but it's a little more money than I intended to spend. I also have to consider that other people need to be able to drive my truck on occasion.

 

[adsm08]

Have you tried the poor man's limited slip?

Just set the parking brake half way when you get stuck. It helps even out the resistance on the wheels.

 

[Andy D]

The Rat is side wise on slope that drains the drive way. That is its normal parking space Today it was a little muddy, but I walked the Rat out easily . Later I looked at the tracks, it looks like both sides are working. Door says it should be 3.27 open gears. I would prefer 3.55s with a LSD if I had my druthers. More hot rod dreams

 

[dla]

A Ford Traction Loc is only ~$120 or so. I'm gonna guess that a shop would charge about $300 to put it in. Might as well replace the axle bearings while they're at it for a tiny bit of additional labor charge. Seems like that would be much, much cheaper and less hassle for a DD that just needs a little extra traction.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

A Ford Traction Loc is only ~$120 or so. I'm gonna guess that a shop would charge about $300 to put it in. Might as well replace the axle bearings while they're at it for a tiny bit of additional labor charge. Seems like that would be much, much cheaper and less hassle for a DD that just needs a little extra traction.

Depending on how you shop you can get an entire axle cheaper than that too.

My '96 Explorer axle was $100 with the leaf springs, 3.73TL axle. As mentioned before they don't exactly fall in but the same would apply to a regular Ranger axle.

 

[dla]

Depending on how you shop you can get an entire axle cheaper than that too.

My '96 Explorer axle was $100 with the leaf springs, 3.73TL axle. As mentioned before they don't exactly fall in but the same would apply to a regular Ranger axle.

The problem with a junk yard axle is that there's a reason it is in the junk yard. So when you add a junk yard special to a POS 80-something ranger - you probably have a net improvement regardless of the junk yard axle quality.

Unless you rebuild it, adding a junk yard axle is rolling the dice.

 

[scotts90ranger]

The problem with a junk yard axle is that there's a reason it is in the junk yard. So when you add a junk yard special to a POS 80-something ranger - you probably have a net improvement regardless of the junk yard axle quality.

Unless you rebuild it, adding a junk yard axle is rolling the dice.

The reason explorers are usually in the junk yard is a blown auto tranny, it's a fairly safe bet pulling an axle from one

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

The problem with a junk yard axle is that there's a reason it is in the junk yard. So when you add a junk yard special to a POS 80-something ranger - you probably have a net improvement regardless of the junk yard axle quality.

Unless you rebuild it, adding a junk yard axle is rolling the dice.

I just put new clutch packs and seals on it, bearings looked good and the ring gear had an excellant wear pattern. At 10 years old and 100k it didn't need rebuilt, getting groceries isn't that hard on them. Use some common sense (a rollover or something that took a hit in the axle probably isn't a great donar) and it is stupid easy to pop the cover off and inspect things before you commit.

Mine was in a mint '96 with a blown 4.0 a guy was parting out in his garage.

That was $100 for the entire rear suspension, suppose just a used carrier could be cheaper?

It runs silent and works great, but then us POS 80's Ranger drivers are easy to impress anyway...