So I'm trying to decide what I would like to do with my differential. I've got a 95f-150 2wd truck which will have a lift kit and 33" tires by the end of the week. So I was considering getting/doing something with the rear axle to get better traction. I was thinking about having someone weld my spider gears to make it an all the time limited slip, the pros are that this would be cheap and it would greatly improve light off roading activity I get into.

I realize that this will effect my turning and accelerating being that I run a chance of fishtailing under hard acceleration. What other cons are there? Would it hurt my gas milege by having to turn both wheels simultaneously?

I guess my other option would be installing an entire locking unit, what kinda money are they going for? All input in appreciated.

 

Welding them would cause you to loose the differential action of the rear end, making it pretty much a no go on any pavement. You're better off getting a limited slip carrier. You can go with a ford one off ebay for pretty cheap, or an aftermarket one. I don't recommend a full on locker for a daily driver, it's not comfortable, eats tires, and makes it difficult to drive in the snow. The ultimate would be a selectable locker like I have. I've got the new Auburn ECTED, it's limited slip until u want to lock it up via a switch on the dash. The limited slip should be good enough for you. The only con to a limited slip is that they usually don't have enough bite when rock crawling or situations where one tire is off the ground. I don't expect you to get any tires off the ground on a 2wd truck, so I think a locker is a little overkill. You could always swap over to 4wd, that aint a tough swap (tech article on our site, link on right)...

 

Yeah I guess it would eat the tires when I'm turning as one wheel would rotate more than the other. How much did you pay for that auburn limited slip? I don't understand why ford would automatically put in a limited slip, I guess it may cost a little more. I'll go look on the auburn website.

 

I agree a welded spider diff (Lincoln locker) isn't a good choice for a street driven 2wd. For lots of choices of limited slips and lockers, visit any of the following websites: www.tractech.com www.powertrax.com www.reiderracing.com www.precisiongear.com

You may also want to consider doing a gear change with your lift kit and oversize tires so you retain your power/performance and fuel mileage with the larger tires. The increased tire diameter has the effect of raising (numerically lowering) your final drive (axle) gearing. Changing the gears to the correct ratio will keep your engine in it's proper operating range allowing it to be most effecient. The websites above have charts and formulas you can use to determine which ratio should be best for your truck. All you need to know is your current gear ratio and tire dia and you can make comparisions with different tire sizes and ratios.

 

The Auburn I have was $530, my ARB was $850 including compressor.

 

Hey Justin did you install your lockers yourself or have a shop do it? If you had a shop do it how much did they charge for labor?

 

So I'll be running some 33" tires on a 4" lift, my question is what gear do I have stock? and I am fairly certain my current differential is not a limited slip but how can I tell?

I guess I'd like to get something with say 3:73 ratio in a limited slip. So with a rear like that If I get caught in the mud lets say and I floor it both tires would fully engage correct? What is the difference with a locker?

Sorry for the dumb questions I was asleep during the differential discussion. thanks again guys.

 

'95, you can find your axle ratio by looking on the door sticker and finding the axle code. Then go to the 'tech articles' section of this website (link in box in upper right corner of page) and then go to the axle decoder section and look up your code. If your code is two numbers (ie: 19) you have an open diff. If it is a letter and a number (ie: H9) you have a factory limited slip.

For 33" tires, I would go with a 4.10 ratio. Depending on how you use the truck you can go as low as 4.56, which is what I have with 33" tires, but if you don't have overdrive, you will lose high speed cruising ability. The power is great though.

The open diff simply allows the inside wheel to spin slower when turning. The detriment to the open diff is that when you are in a situation where one tire has traction and the other doesnt, the one with the least traction gets all the power and the one with traction sits there and does nothing.

With a limited slip there are friction clutch packs inside the diff between the 2 axles that 'lock' the 2 sides together as long as both have equal traction. When one wheel has less traction, the wheel that wants to spin has to overcome the friction of the clutch discs to 'unlock' from the other axle. This limits the amount of tire slipping. The strength of the clutch packs determines how effective the differential is at providing traction and allowing wheel speed differentiation during turning. They wear out and become less effective at providing traction over time but can be rebuilt.

A locker has a geared ratcheting mechanism inside the case between the two axle shafts and both shafts are always driven by the driveshaft. The ratcheting mechanism allows the outside wheel to spin faster than the inside one to make turns, but no axles spin slower than the differential case/ring gear assembly, so there is always power to both wheels, just one axle's speed is overrunning the case and the other axle. This provides positive traction in all conditions, even if one wheel is off the ground. The drawback is that you feel and hear the ratcheting mech locking and unlocking when turning and the it also makes a clunk when you go from coasting to accelerating. If you can handle a little noise comming from the back end, the locker is a great differential to have.

I have a Powertrax LockRight locker in the rear of the F350 and love it. It works great off road and the noise doesn't annoy me, but it's not for everyone. Limited slips are much smoother, you don't even notice they're there in normal driving, but they do help when you need them, just not as much as a locker helps. The front and rear limited slips in the Bronco have helped get me through alot of places.

For more info on the different types of differentials available for your axle and how they work, check out www.reiderracing.com www.powertrax.com and www.tractech.com For gears and differentials you can also check out www.precisiongear.com

 

wow that was a great reply Desert rider. That really got me up to speed as far as differentials are concerned. I don't mind noise coming from a rear as long as I know somethings not breaking. The only thing now is to decide whether or not I should get a limited slip or a locker. I've got an overdrive gear so that should help alot on the highway. First thing tomorrow I'm gonna check the door code and see what I have, I'm quite sure it's an open rear.What would I be looking at for a L/s vs a locker price wise? Thanks for you help man really appreciate it.

 

my fears have been confirmed, I got the 3.08 non limited slip rear according to the door jam sticker.

 

Another great sorce of info, as well as great pricing is randy's ring and pinion in Washington state. They have helped me out before.

 

Asigalet, good suggestion. Thier website is www.ring-pinion.com

'95, my LockRight was $325. It uses the stock open differential's case. The Powertrax NoSlip locker also uses the stock case and was about $450 for my axle. A Detroit Locker for my axle was going to be $575 and uses it's own case. I priced other differentials too but those are the only ones I remember off hand. Prices for your axle will likely be different than for mine.

If your axle is the 8.8" (probably is), you have plenty of choices for differentials. Cheapest is probably a stock Ford Traction Lok. You also have a few selectable locker options. The selectables are very pricey, but cool because you can have a locker when you want it and an open or limited slip when not in locked mode, depending on model. ARB Air Locker, Detroit Electrac, Eaton E-Locker and Auburn Ected are some selectables to look into. Selectable prices start around $650 and go up from there with the ARB probably being the most expensive. For clutch-type limited slips there is the Auburn and the Eaton Posi and for geared limited slips there is the Detroit True Trac and the Torsen.

Going from a 3.08 ratio to a 4.10, you will feel a very noticeable difference in power, about similar to what I felt going from 3.55 to 4.56. That change turned my truck into a completely different truck . I think you'll be alot happier with the 33" tires once you get rid of the 3.08 gears.

 

That lock right looks good. So it's about 325 without the gears, I guess I'd need some 4:10's also ehich would be another 100 bucks or so. Then I gotta figure an install for about 150 or so. So I'm looking at around 600 said and done. That math sound about right? I will have to consider this in the near future. thanks again.

 

Unfortunately, those figures are a little low. Figure 500-600, plus the locker.

Gears you can get in a range of prices but good ones aren't real cheap. I went with Precision Gears in my rear axle and Dana Spicers in the front axle. The gear sets were about $275 per axle. Superior brand gears which are also good were about $200 for my rear axle. Stay away from asian made gears like Genuine, their steel is not up to US strength. The price is attractive but they may not last a long time.

The installer will charge labor and for the install kit. As long as your axle doesn't need anything else in the way of rebuilding, you should be able to get the gears and the locker installed for $800-900. Mine was $1650 + tax for both axles and the rear locker. Labor rates will vary depending on area and who does the work. A shop specializing in axle/driveline work will usually do good work and have good prices on the parts. Speed shops and 4x4 shops sometimes do gear installs too. The Ford dealer's prices will likely be a total ripoff, if they are willing to do it at all. Shop around for quotes and talk to people at your local 4wd shop and ask them who does good work.

 

A locker and gears sound pretty pricey. If the rear cost 1000 dollars I only paid 1500 for the truck. What other option is there to get the axle I want for around 500? Perhaps I'd be better off with a junkyard axle off an f-350 which would already have a limited slip and some gears in the ballpark of 3:55. If this is a feasable option what years could I look into?

I really want a kick *** differential but they're real expensive. tough decision.