Hello all,

I have a 1984 F-150 XLT. I got it from a farmer this summer for $300. It had been sitting in a barn for about 3 years. I had to do a hell of a lot of work to it this summer but she runs damn good now.

Previously I had a 83 F-150, not sure what the letter designation would be on it, but it was the plainest you could get. No head liner, only had Defrost and Floor for heat which was all cable driven.

I bought the 83 from a neighbor who had purchased it from a roofing company. So you can imagine the sort of abuse it was handed over the years. Anyway, regardless of the giant hole rotted in the cab and the crazy amount of cancer growing everywhere it was absolutely reliable. It really hurt to sell it for 200 bucks, but it just had to go.

I've noticed with this new truck that it just doesn't get around anywhere near as good in 4x4 as my old truck did. I moved my tires to the new truck so there shouldn't be any difference there.

One of the things I've noticed is, when I turn sharp in 4x4 it doesn't jump and bind nearly as bad as my old truck did. Now I realize this is not good for things, and it's not something I do but this new truck just doesn't bite anywhere near as good as my old pos did.

This morning I wedged it up against a snow bank and got out to see what was happening. It looks like the driver front tire is turning pretty much all the time and the other is just doing so intermittently at best. The old truck would have both tires spinning all the time.

Do I have a bad lockout or axle, or was something done to the front end on my old truck to make it hook up so much better?

Thanks for the help
Eric

 

My guess, your old truck had a limited slip in the front.

Wouldn't hurt to take the hubs apart and make sure everything is proper order in there, including the small bearing that the end of the axle rides in, but that's hidden inside the back of the spindle. Check the axle u-joints as well.

 

Unless something has been added to these trucks by a previous owner to my knowledge
none of the 4X4 F150s from this era had anykind of traction aiding differential in the front
axel. They were all open diffs and one wheel will spin if it has less traction than the other axel wheel. If you want to add a traction aid to the front differential somekind of
locker that is selectable to turn off or on is the best way to go or perhaps a Detroit
truetrack.

 

Its possible someone made a hillbilly locker and welded your other front spider gears.

 

That's what I figured, Damn I miss that old POS. The crap I could pull with it was just fricken amazing. It would walk through heavy wet snow all the way up to the front bumper with out a problem, leaving a big round divot in the snow where the front diff was. But the damn hole in the cab was so bad I was afraid I was going to fall out. The box was clear rusted through on all the cross beams and all 4 wheel wells were almost completely gone.

*blows nose and wipes eyes* It was my first 4x4.

OK, so I suppose next summer project is to get maybe a couple of Aussie lunch box lockers and install them. I don't drive my truck but maybe 20 times a year so I don't think I need the fancy air driven ones.

 

Just out of curiosity, what do I need to look for on my diffs before I order a couple of Aussie's? So I know what model to get.

 

This looks like the bad boy I need to get my hands on. (for the front anyway)
Aussie Locker XD-14430 Dana 44 30 Spline - Aussie Lockers - Welcome to Torq Masters Home of the Aussie Locker

 

A limited slip was offered for these trucks from the factory. Option code is 472. You were required to have a limited slip 3.55 or 4.10 rear end to be able to order the lsd front axle. Not sure how many of these are out there. I've been looking for one, but haven't found any yet.

 

My truck lumps and lopes if I turn sharp in 4wheel drive...is this a sign of the limited slip? It's annoying as all get out, haha. It just always feels like something is wrong is all.

 

4x4's prefer to go straight. Turning sharp makes the front end work against the vehicle as it wants to straight. So you get the funkyness as the front end fights.

Sarge

 

Thank you sir. I kinda figured it was "normal", just a little awkward feeling.