I just traded a '88 Sami for a '82 Bronco. 302, TTB and a 9" rear with 35" Boggers.

Anyhoo, I was wondering if anybody has had any luck with a mini-spool. Yes I will be running it on the street and yes I know it squeal the tires in corners.

Anybody?

 

okay if know already know it will bind in turns and is extreamly hard on the axles and will make the rear tires wear out prematurelt, Then what is it your wanting to know? yes you can run it on the street, there very dangerous when the pavement is wet, would i recomend it? no! DW

 

what the heck is a mini-spool? I mean crap! I dont even know a full size spool is much less a mini one?!

Help me out here

 

hahaha .. treehugger .. what a spool does is go into the differential in the rear .. and just locks the left and right axles directly together .. the splines on each axle slide into a solid piece of metal .. a mini spool is exacly that .. a small piece that goes basically wherethe spider gears are .. a full spool replaces the entire differential

 

Cheap way to force the axles to always spin, always the same speed whether you are turning or not. Drag race stuff and a terrible idea for a street truck.

 

I do know someone running a mini spool in an original Bronco (1966) but the tire wear is terrible on the streets and the bind causes him all sorts of trouble in the rain. He's only had it in for about a month and he's already talking replacement of his 35's. Don't know about the rest of you folks but replacing 35" BFG X/T's at 15,000 mile intervals is gonna get expensive. And thats not even that many miles with the spool... just had a few thousand miles already. Put the mini spool in the trail rig and spring for a selectable locker for the street. Just a personal opinion. You will get differing opinions on this one but for me its a safety issue more than a money issue.

 

so do a spool and Lockers do the same thing? and if so, I assume that that is the reason selectable lockers are the way to go, right? I understand that both tires rotating at the same speed and at the same time is a bad thing.

and also, this might be a lil off topic but, limited slip only spins the other tire when the original one loses traction, right?

thanks for sorting me out guys...

McNabb

 

a spool is always no matter what equal power to both tires ... a locker .. or selectible locker as you called it .. such as a detroit or a powertrax type unit operates somewhat like a wratchet wrench .. when you put power down the driveshaft .. they stay locked 50/50 .. but when you let off the gas into a corner .. it ratchets .. spinning the inside tire at the speed of the driveshaft .. and the outside tire spins faster ... a traction loc unit (use the ford name not gm's) or limited slip unit uses a series of clutch plates in the differential that limit the amount one tire can slip as opposed to the other .. so if one tire has traction, and the other doesnt .. the traction wheel should get at least half as much power as the other wheel is recieving .. so that you will still move forward when one wheel is in mud or the air ..

obviously the effective power transfer decreases as you go to the trac loc .. but the street drivability is much better and tire wear is much reduced

I see no reason at all to run a spool on the street aside from the fact that a mini spool for a 9 inch is like 40 bucks .. a locker can be just as effective as a spool, and tire wear will be less then if you were using the spool. If you hit the power .. in a turn or not .. you will spin both tires .. if you let off into a turn .. they wont chirp at all, or anywhere near as much as with the spool.

spools are intended for high horsepower drag cars to insure that there is 100 percent even transfer between the two wheels, because when your front tires are in the air .. you cant exactly steer

 

Treehugger,

A fully selectable locker would be one that the driver can lock or unlock from inside the cabin. ARB's air locker, Eaton's E-locker, OxTraxx's Ox Locker, and Detroit's Elec-Trac are all driver actuated lockers. The ARB uses compressed air to engage the locker, the Eaton uses an electromagnet, the Ox uses a cable and the Elec-Trac uses an electromagnet. The Detriot Elec-Trac has the added benefit of still being a limited slip differential even when the locker is NOT engaged. Not all of these are available for all axles and differential combinations and I may have missed a couple manufacturers but IMHO these are the way to go for reliablility and desirable operation both on and off road. The major drawback to these units is the pricetag they carry.

 

I have been running a mini-spool in my 79 step-side for a couple monthes now and i love it. Ya you need to be more carefull, Also the tire wear is increased, but they wear out anyhow.