Bought the '06; more questions....

[bwright1818]

So I bought the '06...I should change my profile. Trading my '93, that I had bought new, was like taking an animal to be put to sleep. I lived a lot of life with that truck. In 20 years, it only failed to start and go ONE TIME. (And that was just the premature failure of a crappy Exide battery.) Think about that...20 years, one time...and that was not FOMOCO's fault.

Anyway, I have read my owner's manual on the 06 and have a couple of questions.....

Do these trucks have live front axles or some form of automatic, locking hub?

How can I tell if I have a traction lock type rear end?

I have seen that the later frames don't stand up to road salt like the old ones. I am being proactive here; but is the cross member that holds the spare tire up available as a seperate piece or do you patch it up? (Reason I am asking is that my local Ford dealer showed me a "really, nice truck," whose spare was long gone and the support was hanging by one corner. And this didn't trouble him any. "Oh, we'll fix that," he said.)

 

[adsm08]

The 02+ were all live axle up front. Best hub system Ford had.

Easiest way to tell if it has a limited slip rear is to look at the tag. There will be a spot that will say something like 3 73 or 4 10, if there is an L after the first number it has limited slip.

The next easiest, but better, test is to jack the rear up so both wheels are off the ground and spin one. If they both go the same direction it has limited slip.

 

[bwright1818]

Limited slip

Thanks, I'll check that out. I picked up an '06 brochure on ebay. It is pretty vague about limited slip. It will say the FX4 Off Road (mine) has it one minute; then it says the FX4 level II has a Torsen limited slip, as if to imply that the Off Road doesn't. Then in a chart of options, it says the Level II cannot even have that option. The brochure must have been made by suits and not engineers.

It's really ashame that the later frames are so prone to rust. Otherwise, what a great truck they'd be!

 

[adsm08]

There is a difference between a traditional clutch pack limited slip and a Torsen unit. The level I got a clutch pack style, the Torsen unit was only on the level II that year.

And "suit" is a very nice term for the people who write these books. I prefer the term "idiot".

 

[bwright1818]

I reread the brochure with my glasses and a bit more time at hand...and I see what you're saying is absolutely right...two different limited slip rear ends! I am sure the Torsen must be better than the one I am supposed to have; but what's the difference in function? I'm not one to go wheelin' anymore; but I do drive in the snow and pull an occasion bush out of the ground....

 

[adsm08]

Its the difference between a clutch and a torque converter. A torsen wont wear out from normal use because its a bunch of worm gears.

Postin' from teh Galaxy