Which limited slip is best?

[rubydist]

My experience is a bit different from what some of the guys have reported above. I have had many vehicles with the Ford clutch pack limited slip. My current Ranger has the 31 spline Torsen.

When the Torsen is under load, it wants to lock and not differential. That means at a stop light when turning right, I will almost always get tire chirp from the inside rear tire when accelerating even at a moderate level. Every day leaving work, turning right pulling out of the parking lot, I get a chirp with what I consider normal acceleration. Its a bit annoying.

On the other hand, I very rarely had that experience with the Trak-lok vehicles, and I had Trak-lok vehicles with 150k plus that had never had clutch packs rebuilt and they still provided enough 'limited slip' to keep both wheels moving in low traction situations like snow, ice, wet roads, mud, etc.

A clutch pack limited slip will be a lot easier to find than a Torsen for your 28 spline axle, and imho it will be a better choice for your application.

 

[Blmpkn]

I went with a clutch type in my '10 and I liked it a lot. Yukon duragrip. It was super aggressive, definitely did its job.

 

[19Walt93]

Guys, it's Traction Lok, not Trac-lok.
I have an Auburn Pro in my Mustang and it worked great when I was drag racing, it has 140 lbs of breakaway torque so it drags one wheel when turning on dirt and gets hairy driving in the rain. It also sheds metal particles into the lube so I chnge it every 2-3 years and replace all the bearings every 5-6 years.
I put a Yukon "agressive" clutch type limited slip into my Ranger(that I had bought to replace the Auburn in my Mustang). I like it a lot better.
One of my former techs had a Lock Rite in his 2wd Ranger for years, it got him up his driveway during mud season but sounded like it was grinding itself to dirt when he turned corners.
I ordered my 2004 Ranger with Traction Lok and deliberately omitted it from my 2011 because of it's tendency to slide sideways on snow. Limited slip helps in a straight line but not on turns. You'll need to adjust your driving habits, maybe find an empty snow covered parking lot and play with it. Sliding around is fun when you're ready for it but not when it's a surprise.

 

[fastpakr]

Really? I thought they just made lockers.

They make the Grip Pro series. I've got one sitting on the desk next to me right now for a Dana 35, but unfortunately it won't work on a front axle setup :-(

 

[gw33gp]

My experience is a bit different from what some of the guys have reported above. I have had many vehicles with the Ford clutch pack limited slip. My current Ranger has the 31 spline Torsen.

When the Torsen is under load, it wants to lock and not differential. That means at a stop light when turning right, I will almost always get tire chirp from the inside rear tire when accelerating even at a moderate level. Every day leaving work, turning right pulling out of the parking lot, I get a chirp with what I consider normal acceleration. Its a bit annoying.

On the other hand, I very rarely had that experience with the Trak-lok vehicles, and I had Trak-lok vehicles with 150k plus that had never had clutch packs rebuilt and they still provided enough 'limited slip' to keep both wheels moving in low traction situations like snow, ice, wet roads, mud, etc.

A clutch pack limited slip will be a lot easier to find than a Torsen for your 28 spline axle, and imho it will be a better choice for your application.

rubydist, what you are experiencing is the higher torque bias of the Torsen. It is not locking. The outer wheel is rotating faster and underload the Torsen wants to transfer more torque to that inner tire which slips the tire a little. If it was locking, you would get more than a chirp.

I get the same thing with my Ranger if I step on the accelerator pedal a little too much when going around a sharp corner. I have learned to control that by modulating the accelerator pedal. I get the same thing with my BMW that has a 40% torque bias clutch type LSD.

The Torsen does act more like a locker under acceleration, but it never truly locks. There is no mechanism in it to allow it to lock.

 

[lowspeedpursuit]

At its simplest, both gear- and clutch-type LSDs work fine, and I would say gear-type have the advantage in not needing to be periodically rebuilt, and not taking friction modifier when you change your fluid. The trade-off here is increased up-front cost.

In more detail--and anyone feel free to correct me--advantages of one over the other depend on what you're actually doing. It think gear-type tend to have a higher bias ratio stock, so maybe more total traction in low-traction situations. But, in a one-wheel zero-traction situation, clutch-type probably have preload and gear-type don't, so maybe the former gets you moving while the latter is effectively open, because a higher bias ratio x0 is still 0.

You also have some control over the exact characteristics of the clutch-type: more friction discs in place of steels, less friction modifier, or different friction disc compound could all increase the bias, possibly beyond a gear-type. The tradeoff there is road manners.


I have 31-spline 8.8s with LSDs in both my Ranger and my Jeep. One has traction-lok, the other truetrac. The decision was based entirely on budget, and they both work fine.

 

[00t444e]

They make the Grip Pro series. I've got one sitting on the desk next to me right now for a Dana 35, but unfortunately it won't work on a front axle setup :-(

It works fine in a Front axle, I have one in the front of my Jeep. A differential works the same in both directions.

 

[00t444e]

My experience is a bit different from what some of the guys have reported above. I have had many vehicles with the Ford clutch pack limited slip. My current Ranger has the 31 spline Torsen.

When the Torsen is under load, it wants to lock and not differential. That means at a stop light when turning right, I will almost always get tire chirp from the inside rear tire when accelerating even at a moderate level. Every day leaving work, turning right pulling out of the parking lot, I get a chirp with what I consider normal acceleration. Its a bit annoying.

On the other hand, I very rarely had that experience with the Trak-lok vehicles, and I had Trak-lok vehicles with 150k plus that had never had clutch packs rebuilt and they still provided enough 'limited slip' to keep both wheels moving in low traction situations like snow, ice, wet roads, mud, etc.

A clutch pack limited slip will be a lot easier to find than a Torsen for your 28 spline axle, and imho it will be a better choice for your application.

It chirps because it's a light rear end and a 4.0 with 4.10 gears has quite a bit of torque when taking off, even an open diff will do that.

 

[fastpakr]

It works fine in a Front axle, I have one in the front of my Jeep. A differential works the same in both directions.

Let me be more specific. There's no provision for axle shaft retention so it won't work in the front of a Ranger.

 

[rubydist]

If you do the math on the Torsen, you will find that the torque bias that it takes to make it differential under load is so high that it is effectively locked. That is the mechanism that "locks" it.

The amount of gas pedal that it takes to chirp the inside tire on a turn is significantly less than the amount of gas pedal that it takes to chirp the inside tire with a clutch type diff. That was my point, and why I suggested to the op that the clutch type is likely a better choice for his needs.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Let me be more specific. There's no provision for axle shaft retention so it won't work in the front of a Ranger.

Isn’t that what a c-clip eliminator is for? Nevermind that, how cheap do you want to let it go?

 

[Lefty]

So, my 92 has an un-modded 8.8” trac-lock. Factory stuff. Worked well enough for what I did with it. My 2wd Ranger got an 8.8” trac-lock with extra clutches and my Choptop got a 7.5” trac-lock with extra clutches. My green 00 Ranger got an Explorer 8.8” trac-lock with extra clutches. No real complaints about any of them.

My 95 F-150 got a lock-rite ”lunchbox” locker. It’s clunky and noisy but it does what it’s supposed to do and I’ve definitely put it through it’s share of abuse. I don’t know that I would buy another one unless I was in a bind though. An actual locker would be better and probably smoother. That truck gets worked though and not just on the pavement and the one wheel peel wasn’t doing it for me.

Good to know

 

[Lefty]

Never tried in a ranger, but I've had a few Auburn L/S in other trucks and never had a problem.

Also mind your diff cover, this video shocked me.

Interesting.

 

[Eddo Rogue]

The clutch L/S vs. Geared vs. locker etc... is like EFI vs Carb or tires debate...many sides, all have pros and cons, always a compromise. Choose based on your needs, and budget I guess.

If money was no object, I would probably go air lockers.

Also I guess it depends on usage. I went with L/S due to budget and doing mostly regular on road city driving.

The stock Ford Lok (is what I call it) in the rear of my ranger works fine for me in that thing. I baby it off road though, keep it in camp... save the beatings for the dirt bikes.

I did talk a co worker buddy out of welding his stock open diff spider gears together on his daily driver '90s chevy 1500. Kids these days SMH.

 

[Lefty]

The clutch L/S vs. Geared vs. locker etc... is like EFI vs Carb or tires debate...many sides, all have pros and cons, always a compromise. Choose based on your needs, and budget I guess.

If money was no object, I would probably go air lockers.

Also I guess it depends on usage. I went with L/S due to budget and doing mostly regular on road city driving.

The stock Ford Lok (is what I call it) in the rear of my ranger works fine for me in that thing. I baby it off road though, keep it in camp... save the beatings for the dirt bikes.

I did talk a co worker buddy out of welding his stock open diff spider gears together on his daily driver '90s chevy 1500. Kids these days SMH.

Others have recommended the Trak Loc too. I don't tow a trailer or spend much time off road. I just want something to make for a more stable ride or maybe just keep me from getting stuck on snow days. I may live in the city but our street is always one of the last to be plowed. Sometimes it takes a week or longer even after a six inch snow fall. It doesn't happen often, maybe once or twice avery winter.

After reading you and others, I am willing to bet that a Trak LoC clutch may wear out but only after 100,000 miles of moderate driving.. That's decent. I'm also willing to bet than any of these will be a very nice upgrade to my open wheel diff.