Hi I have an 83 f250 with a 6.9 diesel i want to give it positive traction (the right way) but I have no idea how or what I need can I have help please

 

I am going to assume you have a dana 60 rearend? You need to check to make sure. If you have a oil fill plug in the rear cover, you have a dana 60, or possibly a dana 70 if you have a dually.

Here's a place with a bunch of options for a dana 60.

https://eastcoastgearsupply.com/c-20...ols-posis.html

Have you ever driven a 2wd truck with positive traction or limited slip? I wasn't impressed at all. When you are spinning it will not stay straight. With both wheels spinning it wants to go either to one ditch or the other ditch. The most useful one would be the arb locker that you can turn on and off with air.

 

Is the truck a 4x2 or 4x4?
What will the truck be used for?
What rear axle does the truck have now?
Who will be doing the work? It is the same job as changing gear ratios and if you have never done this, and that'swhat it sounds like, it will not be cheap for a shop to do this.

You will need to replace the open center section with the posi/twin grip unit or what ever Ford calls it.
Dave - - - -

 

You can get as good of one as you have money for. I went for a clutch type limited slip in the last F250 I changed and loved it until somewhere around 100,000 miles on it and the clutches started getting a little weak.
Some styles are too aggressive and make noise. The cheapest (and easiest to install) are the lunchbox style but I've read comments from users all over the map on those, many claiming they basically act like a spool and others complain of the clicking when in a turn.

 

I went with an Auburn Pro limited slip in my 1981 F100 which has a Ford 9 inch rear
end. It works very well and has cone type mechanism instead of clutches. The cone
type will last a lot longer than the clutch types.

I had a good mechanic with lots of experience with rear end gears to set it up.

 

No F250's were available with DRW's.

1983 F250 with 6.9L diesel could have a Dana 60, Dana 61-1 or Dana 70.

Here's the F250 rear axle applications:

 

Here's a thread I started about all of the diff options. In it I tried to give facts and opinions, all clearly identified as which they are. It might help you understand your options.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...erentials.html

It's significantly easier to change a diff than changing gears. If you don't change gears you don't have to touch the pinion at all. You still need to research to figure out what you do need to do, and get the correct tools, and have the patience to do it right or else you can really screw things up. But it isn't as hard as changing gears. And installing a "lunchbox locker" is a piece of cake (the hardest part is getting the brake drums off).

And no, you don't have to use a factory limited slip, there are much better options (OK, that was an opinion!).

I did have an F-150 with a lunchbox locker in the rear. It was 4WD, but I didn't need 4WD much with the locker. Yes, it has quirks, and a slightly heavy foot will bring the back end around pretty easily. But I found it to have much better manners in snow than a factory limited slip. Limited slips are always trying to scrub tires so any time you go around a corner they want to make the back end slide out. That will only happen with a locker if you are on the gas hard enough to spin both tires.

A selectable locker like an ARB can be nice, but you will only be able to use when you absolutely need it. If you lock it in because you think you might need it it will be very hard to keep the back end in line.

Maybe the best option is a TrueTrac. I've never used one, but they are said to have excellent manners, and are very effective as long as both tires have some traction. That's what I plan to put in the back of my truck if it ever makes it to the top of the budget.

 

Even if you don't change the gear ratio, the carrier (center section) would need to be changed and that will throw off the gear mesh so you will need to do a gear set up...not fun as I have done a few.

I have a Lock Right locker in my 75 AMC Gremlin that has a 92" wheel base, talk about fun when wet out and only had to move it in the snow 1 time. If I did not have the locker in it it would not have moved.

I also have a Detroit locker in my 1/4 mile drag car. Works great in that but cannot tell you how noisy it might be as the car runs open headers.

I have had 2 - 4x4's that I ordered with limited slip and they worked really well as I also did not have to lock it in 4x4 most of the time. One had 230Kwhen I sold it and the other has 210Kand still going as it is my DD.

On my 4x2 project truck if I want limited slip type rear I don't know if I would go with a TrueTrac or Detroit Locker but thinking Locker.
Dave ----

 

Your experience might trump my 2nd hand info. But theoretically (and actually in others experience) knowing that the pinion is in the right place means you only need to move the carrier back and forth to get the backlash and pattern right. Still a significant job, but easier than a ring and pinion change.

My LockRight had a noticeable clicking in corners. And I could hear the ~1992 Detroit in my CJ5. But I don't hear anything from the ~2007 Detroit Softlocker in my Bronco. But even with the LockRight, the noise was the least objectionable annoyance. If you are OK with the handling of an automatic locker (and I am), the noise isn't really a factor.

 

Yea that clicking on the Lock Right can be shocking if you did not know of it.
I did not mind the clicking or on the gas going around corners and the tires making noise.


My Detroit, bought over 10 years ago, was never used on the street so cant say how it behaves.
Dave ----

 

I have dropped them in and never had to change anything on the backlash or contact pattern, just lucky those times, and used Dana Spicer limited slip units.

 

The modern Detroit lockers are not as obnoxious as the older ones and are much quieter.
With the 6.9 in the truck you likely wont even hear it. I have several 80's era diesel trucks with Detroit lockers and you can't hear them above the racket of the engine.

Lockers can be spooky on slick surfaces such as ice at speed as you can end up swapping ends with no warning. But this can even befall limited slips diffs.

The best option is a torsen type diff such as the Truetac where the torque is applied to the wheel with traction, or you can lock it up (so to speak) if one wheel is off the ground by applying the brakes and powering through them, the E brake works great for doing this, of course this a slow speed situation. You also do not end up with surprises on slick surfaces at speed with a torsen type diff.

The Torsen type diffs are the best for street vehicles but they are not cheap.

 

What about an air locker, there when you need it and open the rest of the time, no skittering sideways in a cross wind+ icey conditions or other bad manners of any type of locker/limited slip.

 

I daily drove an F-150 with a LockRight in the rear through 9 Minnesota winters. I never had it do anything to me with no warning. Yes it's less stable than an open diff (being able to spin both tires will have that effect). But I found it to be much more predictable than a factory limited slip (the only times I've ever been spun off the road were from a factory limited slip scrubbing tires as I coasted around a curve).

But I agree that a Torsen type (TrueTrac being the most popular) is the best choice.

As I said above, the only functional downside is that you can't use it as a preventative measure. Personally I'd rather have an automatic locker or a TrueTrac all the time than an open diff 99.999% of the time and a spool when I needed it. But that's just my opinion. If you want that, a selectable locker is the way to get it.

I should say that I could see situations where I would prefer a selectable locker in the rear. If I did a lot of slippery sidehill it might be better. And there's an argument for an automatic locker in the front and a selectable in the rear giving the best balance of traction and maneuverability. But for snowy street driving I'd never recommend a front automatic locker, and I've really never seen much downside that matters to me of an automatic locker in the rear. So I'd still recommend a TrueTrac for primarily street use and an automatic locker if you really want the positive performance it gives.

 

You've been lucky and could be the conditions you encounter also.


I have had lockers and limited slips give you white knuckle experiences.
This is most noticeable on black ice which is fairly prevalent here in the winter.

Black ice is basically a few mills of glass clear ice on the road surface so you can't tell it is there and roads tend to get patches of it not a continuous coating. Black can occur at any temp below freezing but is the slickest once you get below -20°C with snow blowing across the road surface.

The issue arises when your driving along and encounter a patch block ice the drive wheels suddenly lose all traction with no warning. With a limited slip diff and more so with a locker you end with both rear wheels suddenly revving up like they were suspended off the ground and this happens faster then you can react. The result is almost always the *** end of the truck trying to pass you. Lifting off the throttle may not help either, since there is no traction available the effect of engine braking keeps the tries from regaining traction and the result is the *** end of the truck try to pass you in the other direction. The only thing you can really do it slam it in to neutral and hope the tires match the road speed and stick.

In open diffs when this happens the one tire will break free and you can just back off the throttle and the truck will be less apt to want to swap ends.

In Truetrac's you will get a bit of a warning with the *** end getting a little squirrely first then it will break free, it gives just enough warning to back off the throttle a bit or drop it in neutral before you find your self spinning down the road..

Once you lose it on black ice you are just along of for the ride at that point.


The only real counter is to be running studded tires. But not every one wants to listen the drone of studded tires all winter long. And in some areas they are not allowed.