So last year I bought a 10.25 axle from a guy in town for $100. It was supposed to have 4.10 gears and an open differential. He had the axle spare because he had swapped in a 4.10 LS axle for himself. He is actually a member on this site.

I am just in the process of installing it to replace my 3.55 open gears and I noticed what looked like clutches on each side of the carrier. Now I am wondering if he made a mistake and it actually is a Limited Slip diff which would be awesome. I already put the cover back on but I did look at the axle tag which clearly states 4L10 which would be for an LS axle. Does anyone have a picture of what the clutch packs look like so I can know if that's what I saw?

Here is the tag

 

Might want to have a look over at Pirate4X4, they don't have very good things to say about the factory units. https://www.google.com/search?q=ford...l=np&source=hp

 

V132C = Sterling WFD 10.25" Rear Axle / 4.10-1 / Limited Slip.

 

Thanks I took at look at the thread there. I would just be happy to have a little extra traction on logging roads so I can go up a slightly steeper grade in 2wd before having to put it in 4x4. At pirate4x4 aren't guys more into hardcore wheeling? they are talking detroits etc. which is way more than I need.

 

Thanks for the diagram. That is exactly what I have.

 

i would not pay much attention to anything the idiots at pirate have to say. they are a bunch of know it alls, and if you do not do it their way you are doing it wrong. period. even if their way is wrong.

 

I disagree, there's alot of good information over there. Especially on rear ends. I don't know why you would say that, unless maybe you had a bad experience. I'm not a regular over there, but for info on the Dana/Spicer or GM Corp 14 bolt I don't know of any better place. Johnny L - you are correct they are into hardcore 4 wheeling, just saying you might be better off with a open, according to the "idiots".

 

I am thinking that the clutch packs could just be worn out and that's why the previous owner mistakenly thought it was an open diff. When I had the axle away from the truck and rolling on the ground the tires could be spun in different directions from each other but with some solid resistance. I thought it was just the brakes being sticky, but now I realize it was the LS. If I was able to turn the wheels by hand at all does that mean it is worn out?

 

If you jack one rear wheel off the ground there's a spec. of how much torque it takes to turn the wheel on a limited slip dif. I would say if there's some but not very much, it's shot.

 

You can rebuild the clutch packs, I'm not sure what the parts go for these days, but it can be done in less than a day without any special tools.

 

Yeah the clutches are well worn so its almost and open diff now. I might rebuild or shim the preload up a little some day. for now i will be happy just to have the 4.10 gears in there. 3.55s and 37" tires arent that awesome. Almost done the axle swap. They are heavy for 1 person :s

 

Just took her for a test drive with the 4.10 axle. Man what a difference! Puts my RPM right back where I have wanted for almost 3 years. The diff and brakes all seem to be in working order. Now I just gotta get the front D60 done before I can 4x4.

 

Probably trac lok. Later models of the trac lok got a bad reputation for anemic performance due to the factory stacking the clutch pack neutered. Folks "restack" them by taking all the frictions and plates out and stacking them to alternate friction/plate/friction instead of having all the components stacked up with only a couple friction surfaces biasing the traction.

I believe that the factory did this so they could say a rig had positraction but without dealing with bellyaching ridiculous customers who were unhappy with the quirks of a traction device.

 

Sounds legit. Yea the factor trash-lok is a POS. Im going with a helical locker once i have the money.

Next, why on earth go from 3.55 to 4.10? Im stuck with 4.10s and was hunting for 3.55s, still stuck with 4.10 for now.

 

The trac-locks were just built to say you had a limited slip. They are useless in all conditions, I believe in a detroit trutrac in the front, the weight of the diesel, it feels like you can climb anything. doesnt get loose in the snow and gives great confidence while driving, any locker or strong limited slip like the eaton, will cause the rear to slide out in snow, ice or sand. I just dont recommend it, unless your a hard core off-roader and need to lockup all four tires, just remember lockers and stong limited slips will cause your rear tires to wear real quick. And the bigger the tire, the faster the wear and the price. David7.3