Hey gang so I have some diff questions I am looking to rebuild my rear end in my 2002 2wd ex I want to regear and also install a locker for it, work is taking me from Texas to New York next fall and well I love my truck to much to trade it for something 4wd and I think a locker will help enough with snow travels anyhow my questions

First are there any specific brands that are better than others? I am partial to eaton and or Detroit locker however they only offer positrack and auto locker is there any other brands yall would suggest that would allow me to control when it is locked?

Second question I have rebuilt a few diffs mostly on jeeps and the sterling from what research I can find on it seems similar to the Dana set up obviously way stronger but I have never had to do a complete rebuild with gears and all can anyone tell me if there is a tool that measures the pinion depth or is it really a trial by error method for finding the correct pinion depth? Most of the research and how to's I've seen utilize the trial by error method to set the depth and I gotta believe there's a better way

Any useful help is always greatly appreciated

 

Not Sure this qualifies as useful help, but the trial and error method is the only one I've heard of. Ian woulda shared a short cut if one existed.

'69 International Scout Part II | Xtreme 4x4 | PowerBlockTV - Full Episodes

 

I trade for a 4x4 if it were me. If your dead set on a locker in the 2wd you should consider an E-Locker or some other form of manual engage/disengage locker. If your using a full bore , full time locker, you'll most likely end up in the ditch the 1st time your in snow & ice

 

Ya I'm from Michigan military has taken me to tx for quite some time now anyhoo I'm familiar with driving in snow and ice it's where I learned to drive and never owned 4x4 never felt the must have need for it lol I've also seriously considered doing a 4x4 conversion on it I'm just way attached to this truck got a hell of a deal on it when I bought years ago it's taken me all over the country made lots of memories with it never once even considerd leaving me stranded or breaking down I'm sorta attached to it

 

Get a Detroit True-Trac and call it a day. No clutches to wear out (it uses helical gears to engage), will engage 99% of the time if both tires are on the ground. It will get you through any snow you might encounter on roadways or even mild trails. You are dead in the water if you lift one of your rear tires off the ground though.

I had a True Trac in the rear of my 4X4 Suburban and can't remember having to engage the front end once to get through some pretty heavy stuff..... glad I had 4WD, but didn't need it after I installed the True Trac.

Just my thoughts....

Oh yeah, and while you have the diff torn apart, I would go ahead and install 4:30 gears from Ford. 4:30's made a HUGE difference in the performance of my Ex.

 

You are familiar with driving on snow and ice but have you done it with a locked rear end ?

With the rear wheels locked the back end acts completely different on snow/ice roads in that the rear wheels can't spin at different speeds, this causes one wheel to break traction anytime they are not going perfectly straight ahead, on crowned roads the rear end slids to the low point, around turns the rear breaks loose and wants to spin you out. Yes this happens in open diffs as well but it is exegerated with a locked rear.

Typical road driving with a locked rear end is less then ideal, obviously where having both wheels getting power is best is avoiding getting stuck. But even then the rear of the vehicle will seek the lowest point or fall line as soon as the wheels slip.

The solution ? Either a selectable locker like an ARB or a turning brake that you can use to lock the wheel that is not getting traction when you are trying to either get unstuck or avoiding getting stuck. ( with practice you can become somewhat effective using e emergency brake to this effect also )

I have front and rear ARB's and I rarely have to engage 4wd out exploring in the desert, I just lock the rear and that usually does the trick. 4wd sure is nice towing in the snow however

 

Also, with a non selectable locker in the rear you will chew threw tires quickly. Every time you make a turn the wheel on the outside gets dragged along causing rapid wear.

 

Yes I very much planned on changing gears I have 3.73 now and although it yields the best gas mileage for the truck it's a little sluggish on takeoffs and I mean let's face it if I was worried about mpg I wouldn't have bought an EX lol. I have been looking into 4.30 or possibly 4.56 but I worry that 4.56 would be to much for not going up in tire size you sound happy with your 4.30 knowing what they are like would you consider 4.56??

 

Yes I have always had a locking rear end on my past trucks up north thus the reason that I've never felt the need to own 4x4 however they have all been eaton e-lockers also why I'm partial to the brand I have never had a set up that is auto full time locked and not really sure that I want that it's not snowy everyday in NY lol

your arb's are they manual or electric lockers have they ever given you any issues? I will definitely look into them thanks for the tip

 

ARB's use compressed air to actuate. the small blue hose coming out of the top of the diff is air line. the setup uses a small compressor and electric solenoids.

ARB's are solid and proven design. We have been using them in Rock crawling for years and they get abused way more in a day then your Ex will ever dish out in a lifetime.

40" tires and 500 hp and they live just fine. ( the ford 9" model has a weakness due more to the axle design )

 

With the sterling 10.5 your locker choices are pretty limited.

I don't know what is involved with retrofitting the OEM e-locker into your computer system but if you could find a used one of those it may be an option.

otherwise here are your choices.

http://www.4wheelparts.com/eSearch.a...ary&Ntt=locker

 

I have stepped up to 285's, and frankly the 4:30's work great for 90% of what I do and tow. Everyone pretty much agrees that Ford should have put 4:30's in the Ex from the factory to begin with and save us all a lot of trouble.

There is ONLY one event that I wish I could temporarily have 4:56's and that is when I hook up to 8500 lbs of travel trailer and head for mountains. Usually we are in mild grades and flatlands, and the Ex performs wonderfully in those places. It still gets the job done in mountains, but with more effort (high RPM's and downshifting more).

I know from another member on this forum who has 4:56's and he reports that his Ex is an absolute locomotive with them. Kinda up to you on whether you will really NEED the extra grunt more often than not. You will be very happy with either one I'm sure of it!

 

Pirate thanks so much for your input after some research and much consideration I decided to go with the ARB slightly more in cost however the name is solid and I can control them when I want to

DSN thanks for the input on gears I will most likely end up with the 4:30's at best I will run maybe 2 tire sizes larger and I don't really tow much maybe 4500lbs from time to time the ex is more of a Cadillac for my 3 Great Danes... Worst case I kick myself and end up changing to 4:56 later on in life but doubt highly that I will need that much gear

Thanks again to all who chimed in on this still can't believe that there isn't a tool that someone knows of for measuring pinion depth oh well maybe I'll get it right the first time ha ha

 

Inexpensive is definitely not one of the ARB's attributes but when it comes to near bullet proof performance they are top notch.

If there is a weakness in the design it is the air hose. Not so much the material as it is durable enough ( you can get a stainless braided upgrade but it is more for show IMHO ). But in the 5mm metric size. The only place to get the dang stuff is from ARB or a ARB dealer, had they used a standard 1/4 line it would be much more convenient. The only other issue is burning up the compressor but that is typically done when people don't use the factory wiring and the compressor runs continuously or gets submerged ( off roading ). The compressor doesn't really run much , just a few second to build pressure as the ARB doesn't use volume of air but pressure. If you hear the compressor running continually during operation turn it off until you find out why and correct the problem. The fittings are remarkable leak resistant ( in 15 years I don't recall mine ever leaking at a fitting ) but I have damaged a hose due to routing it poorly. Unfortunately the ARB will leak from an O inside the unit if you are not careful and damage it during install.

 

Doh. Memory is starting to slip in my old age. LOL

Yukon gear also builds a air locker for the sterling 10.5 axle
I am not up to date on pricing but they are likely a few hundred bucks less expensive.

The Yukon air locker is a "zip" locker. Long story short is the design was "inspired " by the older ARB design. Some will argue the older ARB design to be better but the new design is well proven, it is or was all just industry drama. I have been to the Yukon factory and I would have no qualms with the quality of the product. Ford vs Chevy kind of argument IMHO