We will be in the phoenix, quartzite, yuma, az area this coming Late nov, dec time frame (winter) and I am looking to have a eaton truetrac locker installed in my 2 wd pickup. was pulling RV into boondocking area north of moab and run into a 10 yard long sandy section that I almost made it through till the rear, or should I say, had one rear wheel started to spin in the sand.. someone came along and pull me to the hard pack ..

I went back to this same sandy area the next night to observe others coming and going.. I watched a 30 ft motorhome dually putter right through, a transit connect (the smaller front wheel drive) go through and a older chev van get almost stuck and gas it and watch BOTH rear tires throwing up a rooster tail as he made it through.

SO i figure a locker is a better than non locker short of a 4x4 that I can do, and get better offroad tires (thinking goodrich TA K2?) to help iwth traction.

I am needing a lead on someone in the southern az or calif area that can do the install correctly. any help/suggestion appreciated.

 

Installing a posi will help but you might try lowering you air pressure. In sand it makes a big difference.

 

The TrueTrac is not a locker. It is an LSD. It will still spin the one wheel that loses all traction. I have one and can speak from experience.

https://www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/1...-differential/

 

Noob,
I have a truetrac, it will almost instantly engage and spin both tires. You can always light foot the brake to give some resistance to a wheel that has no traction, or is in the air and it will engage instantly.
On my gravel driveway I can stand on the brake pedal, give it throttle to check for pre turbo exhaust leaks, and it will hold the truck and spin both rear tires easily.
It runs smooth on the road compared to a full locker. Personally I can not think of a better option for me, if I lived in an area that I rarely needed both rear tires to engage I may think about an e locker or air locker. But the truetrac has been flawless for me, empty or towing 12k+

 

ESwift, I didn't say the Truetrac is a bad option. It's just not a locker. I too prefer its characteristics over a locker.

 

Ok, I missunderstood and took it that it wasnt working and you werent happy.

My brain isnt fully functional from sleep deprivation😝

 

I an not looking for a locker as more of something that is not a open spool rear end.. the truck is our only vehicle at present so it tows the trailer and get the beer and such. if the tru track will help with not having to worry about one tire spinning at the first hint of trouble that is what I am looking for..


I am mainly looking for someone that can CORRECTLY install one in the SW Arizona area of US..

 

DIY

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/a...9&d=1574003332

 

It's all good.

 

DUDE,, I wish i had the place, tool, time, talent, etc "do it myself" but that is not possible. Now if you know of someone in the area that has the place, tools, some talent I would love to buy them a case of beer and have at it.. but in the meantime that is not an option as we travel full time and pull RV..

I got a quote at lock national chain 4x4 store and all total was like 1200 bucks.. I can get the tru track on ebay for like 600.. and figured about 400 to install, set up etc. from a non chain local shop.

this brings up another question... What should be "replaced" as a matter of normal wear.. When i check the and changed the rear dif fluid I do get the usual amount of metal stuff on the magnet of the mag- hytec diff cover. the bearing are quiet and appear to be like new.. (i did not remove anything jsut did a flush when putting on new cover and fluid.)

mayeswell do what is needed while the pumpkin is on the ground..

 

Well, seeing that you're not pulling the pinion.....unless you have a pinion seal leak...you aren't changing the pinion depth, so all one would need to do is measure the backlash prior to removing the carrier...and replicate that backlash on the TruTrac install. I can't recall if the carrier shims are inboard of the carrier bearing or outboard. I would probably install new carrier bearing cups and races. My guess is that are great starting point for the carrier bearing shims would be exactly what is in there now. So measure those and record them (side to side).

$400 labor is fair.

People like the Lube-Locker cover gasket as well.

 

All you need in addition to the Truetrac is new carrier bearings, races and shims. You can get a carrier bearings and shim kit on Ebay for $100. As said before all you have to do Is measure the backlash before you pull the carrier and reset it to the same with the new one, the Ford 10.5 uses outboard shims just like all other Ford axles except for the 8" and 9" they use side adjusters.

 

How many miles on your truck? Have you ever had the diff cover off to inspect the pinion and ring gear? It would suck to find out you have a chipped gear tooth or damaged pinion and suddenly HAVE to replace everything. I would inspect your diff, remove the cover, clean everything up look for any damage or areas of concern. Keep in mind that the TruTrac needs to be matched to your gears so make sure you get the correct model for your current gears, that being said, Now would also be the time to consider a re-gear or replacement should you find damage. IF you decide to re-gear to deeper gears you will need a different model TruTrac so a pre-inspection of your Diff is important! If you decide on a full re-gear have the shop buy the gears and bearings after consulting with them on what brand(s) they recommend and you both agree on.

I re-geared to 4:10’s, added the TruTrac and obviously new bearings. I bought the TruTrac for a D80 4:10’s for $260 new and had the shop buy the gears, bearings etc. He charged me $800 for installation, gears and bearings. He’s located in Parker, CO which is about 15 hours North of Yuma, AZ. PM me if you want his information.

Also keep in mind most installers recommend a minimum of 500 miles on the gears (heat and cooling cycles) and a fluid change before towing.

 

John,, thanks for the info.. current miles 200K,, when i got truck it had 162K and not sure if rear fluid had been changed.. it was mainly used as daily drive or pulling a lawn care trailer one summer according to PO.. I replaced the cover and new fluid at that time. i recently changed the fluid after 35-40k miles.

One question on going to the 4:10 gears,, how did that affect your MPG how did it help your towing.. My understanding is you increase the RPM at a
speed by appz 200 rpm.. ( have the 3:73 gears and at 65 MPH I am turning about 1800 ish rpm.. so this would put me at about 2K ?)

when i change the diff cover I did a cleaning of the head and checked with a flashlight and did not see any chips, missing etc..everything looked fine to me. I did replace the pinion seal as it was weeping.. (counted revolution of nut coming off and when back that many turns.

I would LOVE to go see your guy but 15 hr is a bit much to travel.. I see a lot of 4x4 places in phoenix and might try to see how they might work out..

thanks man i appreciate the info..

 

My rpm’s increased right around 200 almost on the head. Mileage went up a little but nothing to brag about especially at this elevation. The 4:10’s did make a big difference towing though, I seriously considered 4:30’s but thought they might be too deep. Overall I’m satisfied with the 4:10’s especially when paired with the KC300X. DEFINITELY vet any place you decide on. If you do gears have the shop buy them...