i own a 2wd f150, and with winter coming up im a little worried about traction. I live in the northeast and where i am we normally get alot of snow. my truck has 3.55 non limited slip, so its a one tire fire. i've checked almost every ford truck at my local u pull it yard, ive been on craiglist, and i for the life of me cannot find a ls gearset(other than 6 3.08 sets at the yard). so im wondering if buying some type of locker will be cost effective, ive found some cheaper than ls. will a locker do the same, worse or better than ls in the icy/snowy conditions. i am also going to be buying some sand bags to throw in the bed of the truck for more wieght

 

Lockers and ice dont mix.

 

I suggest Detroit truetrac, it's a good middle ground between factory limited slip and a locker.

 

I've had lockers in the rear of a few vehicles, including a daily driven F-150 SCSB (and we see snow and ice in MN). Lockers in the winter aren't for everybody, but they aren't a guaranteed spin-out either.

What you need to realize is that a spinning tire doesn't care which way it moves (slides) while a rolling tire will roll forward / backward much more easily than it will slide sideways. So an open diff, that will typically only spin one tire, gives you the best stability because it keeps one tire rolling, which helps keep the back end going straight.

Any limited slip or locker gives you the ability / likelihood of spinning both tires. That helps you move forward / backward, but it also risks losing stability and spinning out. When coasting around a corner a clutch-type limited slip is more likely to cause tires to start to skid since it tries to keep the tires turning the same speed. But when accelerating, especially around a corner, a locker is more likely to cause a spinout because when you are going around a corner a locker is literally only driving the inside tire. If you get it spinning it will catch up with the outside tire and you'll start driving it as well, but it will get hammered as the locker suddenly engages, so you are pretty likely to break it free as well. That's a spinout.

So if you can drive with a light foot, especially in turns, a locker can work in the winter. I did it for 9 years and I'd do it again. But it's not necessarily the vehicle that you send your 16 year old son out in!

A far as whether a locker is better or worse than a clutch-type limited slip in snow and ice, that's a matter of personal preference. A lot of people don't like lockers because of the potential loss of stability, but personally I'd never take a clutch-type limited slip for any use. I'd rather have anything else (even an open diff).

If you are going with a locker, any of the "lunch box lockers" are a pretty good choice for a daily driven truck. They aren't as strong as a Detroit if you're planning on serious use (like rock crawling), but they're cheaper to buy and a lot cheaper to install (an easy DIY job).

Otherwise, as PlumCrazy7 recommended, a True Trac is probably the best choice, but it's not the cheapest and it does require setting up gears, which means it's probably a $1000 - $1500 option, counting professional installation. But it does give the best balance of strength, reliability, traction and stability for a winter driven vehicle. However, I wouldn't describe is as "a good middle ground." I'd describe it as much better than either a clutch-type limited slip or a locker for winter use, for towing, and for general street driving, but much worse than a locker for serious off-road use. And much more expensive than a lunch-box locker, but a similar cost to a Detroit, and a little cheaper than an ARB.

Speaking of which, a selectable locker like an ARB can be driven open most of the time which gives you your stability, and locked when you need it for traction. That might not be a bad option either, but it would probably be the most expensive one. Personally I'd go with a True Trac before a selectable locker for a winter / street driven truck, but others will have different opinions.

Another consideration is towing. Do you tow heavy loads with your truck? That's the place where I think lockers are the worst. I'd rather have a locker in a winter-driven half ton than in a summer-only driven 1 ton that I planned to tow with. People say that an open diff gives you one wheel drive. That's not true. An open diff always drives both tires, but it only drives them as much as the one with the worst traction can support. A locker literally only drives the inside tire in a corner. When empty it's not unusual to spin that tire when starting up around a corner. When towing a heavy trailer it can be impossible not to spin it, and again, it can hammer everything pretty hard when it locks up.

A simpler, cheaper option can be putting weight in the bed. About 300 - 500 lbs as far back as you can keep it in place will probably help more than any locker or limited slip. And good winter tires help too. It might even be worth keeping a set of specialty winter tires and switching back to "normal" tires for the other three seasons.

 

About half of my trucks duty is light to medium towing. When I would get caught in the rain I would always spin one tire trying to take off from a stop. A problem compounded by the 460 and 4.10's.
After I installed the Truetrac in the rear there was no more spinning just one tire. BIG difference!!!

Now its not cheap. I did the setup myself but with the diff,new bearings, lube and such I had about $750 in it. But it was absolutely worth it.


I wish they made a Truetrac for the D50 because I would have one in the front too!!


Todd

 

I definitely agree that you need to be cautious with LS, or lockers on ice/light snow.
My 97 has LS and if you give it just a little too much gas that rear end will start to go sideways on even a little bit of loose gravel. But I am prepared for it with that truck so it's never gotten me in trouble.

 

ok well to compound ever thing i just read from all you guys, (thanks by the way). this is my first truck, im 17, and yes believe it or not, i usually do drive with a light foot, gas isn't cheap, my main concern is getting stuck, as the truck is two wheel drive, and it spins even on wet roads from rain. so i figured with snow it will be 10x worse. i plan on buying sandbags or something of the sort for weight. I almost never tow anything, if anything it is a smallish trailer with firewood, and wood in the bed of the truck, that is about the extent of what is towed with it. the occasional load of mulch too. I'm currently looking for something 4wd to use during the winter months, but i cant seem to find anything here that has a decent body that will last

 

500 pounds of sand and leave whatever snow you got in the bed in there over the winter. my truck did good with only 100 pounds of junk in the rear through about 6 inches of snow this last year. only got stuck in the driveway of all places. Otherwise It did great just being 2wd and all that jazz.

 

You will be fine with a locker or LS of any type as long as you do 2 other things, put weight in the bed and get a set of winter tires(not mud tires) for it. The alternative is you won't be able to use the truck at all because a 2wd with an open diff and all terrains won't even get out of the driveway. If you have to make a choice between a diff or winter tires get the tires, yes real winter tires make that much of a difference.

 

Lot of guys round here fill the bed with firewood for the winter and just leave it there covered in ice and snow. Good deal of added weight in the winter

 

Thread hijack:

Can a locker be installed easily in a 10.25. I seem to remember seeing something about needing to stretch the diff opening slightly to do gear work in the service manual, but doesn't seem right.

Want to get an OX Locker, and looks to be 'drop in' but the FSM 'opening stretch' procedure is in the back of my mind.

Any thoughts/experience?

 

I figured there was a pretty good chance you were pretty close to 16 when I wrote my crack about not a great vehicle for your 16 your old son. But in all seriousness, dads can be a little over-protective sometimes, so I really meant it the way I wrote it. If you (at age 17) can drive with a light foot, great. But if your dad wanted his truck to have a locker, he might rethink it if it was a truck he was sending you out in.

As Conanski said, weight and tires will make more difference than a diff. Personally I get by with BFG A/Ts, and I think they're pretty good. But I know that actual winter tires can be better. And if studded tires are allowed in your state that might be a lot better (studs aren't allowed in MN so I don't have any experience with them).

 

I don't have experience with a 10.25, but yes, some diff housings need to be stretched open to remove / install a diff. They make a spreader for that, which was so expensive the time I looked into it that I decided it didn't make sense not to pay a shop to install my gears. But they aren't very sophisticated, so it wouldn't be too hard to make one either.

As far as drop-in or not goes, don't forget that you need to get the gears set up correctly. It's not just a matter of throwing it together.

 

You mean setting up the pinion "preload"? I didnt think that was required unless you take the pinion out and replace the seals/bearings.

 

if the entire carrier is replaced you would have to completely reset the gear set.

if by "drop in", you mean a lunchbox style locker, that just goes in place of the spider gears in the original carrier, then no, as long as the shims and whatnot end up back where they started, there's no additional setup.

*not sure how the 10.25 is set up, if it's a split carrier like a 9" that has to be removed from the housing and split open to be worked on, or if it's just a standard dana 44/60 style that you can leave in.

FWIW, I wouldn't recommend a 2wd truck with a locker to a teenager unless they're a farm boy that has been driving forever. You'll spend most of your drive going sideways. It can be fun at times, but it gets old quick. A selectable would be sweet though, lock it up when you need it, otherwise leave it open.