Torsen Differential

[arden13]

Okay, i'm a bit new to this still, but i've got a 93 ford ranger, 2WD 3.0 V6 5 speed manual, and fairly recently i came to a problem. It rained, then iced over wherei live, leaving a 1/8 inch sheet of ice everywhere. I couldn't get up ANY hills, and felt like an idiot when someone with a 4WD suv sprang up a hill i couldn't climb.

And today i came across the torsen differential. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torsen) Now, as far as i can tell, this would help me TREMENDOUSLY in the snow/ice.

Any opinions on it? (price vs effectiveness?)

 

[rurouni20xx]

that is known as a variable center differential for 4wd vehicles, if you can make that work in a ford id like to see it. as far as effectiveness all that does is move torque between the front wheels, rear wheels and all 4 wheels w/a switch or other adjustment. if you cant climb the hills either use less pedal or look into your choice in tires. the 99 dollar special tires dont have good grip characteristics. my uniroyal liberator a/ts dont have the greatest wet weather traction, and my tires skid on a regular basis with them. if its wet i can lay strips forever w/ them as well, the solution is use less pedal and maintain a further braking distance in my case since i dont want to pay more than 80 bux a tire. the goodyear trackers are good tires ive had them b4, but when they went to the tracker 2 and the price almost doubled i settled w/ the liberators.

 

[LittleHorse]

they do also make units for front or rear differentials. There were Miata's that had them from the factory, as well as Toyota Supras and some others. They're also pretty popular with Audi, who obviously has 3 places to use one in their cars. I also read that the Humvee uses them front and rear.

I don't see them used much in trucks (other than HMMWV)so you may have trouble finding one. I'd just browse summit racing or 4wheelparts for a viscous LSD unit. Viscous are lowest maintenance and least likely to cause any NVH issues. You could also get a clutch type but the clutches wear out eventually. The plus to the clutch type is that you can adjust the number of discs to provide varying levels of slip between sides.



The easiest option is to throw a couple hundred pounds of sand bags in the bed to get some weight on those rear tires. If there's snow, I'l shovel a bunch of snow into the bed and then when the snow melts I don't have 400lbs of sand to take back out.

 

[rurouni20xx]

thats right and that worx i read it wrong thought it was a variable center not a regular limited slip unit and most newer trks have them.

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

the fx4 rangers come with them stock.

 

[JohnnyO]

A limited-slip would be better in the winter for you, but nothing beats 4wd because the front wheels are pulling too and that's where the weight is.
A L/S diff and some sandbags, and good snow tires, would be a big improvement.
Odds are your 3.0 2wd has a 7.5" rear axle so keep that in mind when you go shopping. There are a lot more choices for the 8.8" than the 7.5". I think Summit has an OE Ford 7.5" L/S for around $235.
Re: the snow tires, my wife's Taurus has four Blizzaks on it and it goes every bit as good in snow as my truck and stops better.

 

[PickupMan04 FX4 L2]

Ive got one it works great in snow ice or sand!

It came factory..

 

[gw33gp]

The Torsen differential is a LSD. One of the main advantages is it does not wear like a clutch type LSD. The unit that comes with the 02 FX4 and later FX4 level 2, also have a higher torque transfer ratio than the Ford clutch type LSD.

The Torsen is not as good as a locker for traction but is smoother and I like my Torsen very well.

Be careful when looking for a Torsen. Some of the early 02 FX4 Torsens had a defect and Ford recalled many of the early FX4s with manual transmission. They replaced the entire axle including brakes. The automatics were not recalled. Apparently they where not causing enough shock to the drive-train to warrant a recall. So there are many of the defective units around and you should make sure you don't get one of those if your Ranger has a manual transmission.