Yesterday I was riding shotgun with my 16 year-old son in our 1980 Bronco with maunual hubs and 94k actual miles. Driving on a snow-packed, icy road, he eased over to give a coupe some room that was coming at us on the other side of the road. He caught the right front wheel in the snow bank and the next thing we knew we had both passenger side wheels in the ditch and had come to a stop. He shifted into 4 wheel drive and tried to get out but the Bronc didn't budge.

There was mud under the deep snow in the ditch. Shifting into 4 wheel Low didn't help either. Some buddies came along and were trying to push us and they noticed only the driver side wheels which were on the icy roadway were spinning uselessly when I gave it gas. The wheels in the ditch did not spin. What gives? Why wouldn't the ones in the ditch spin where the traction was needed? do we have a problem?

My son theorized because of the extra weight being thrown to the ditch side wheels maybe caused this. The Bronc was sitting at about a 30 degree. angle.

We finally got out when somebody went for a tractor. Using a snap strap and chain we pulled it out backwards. It gave the tractor quite a workout, too, taking about fifty feet before I was able to find enough traction to steer out of the ditch.

 

you have open diffs, the wheel with the lesser traction gets all the power. or you have a worn out limited slip in the back and open up front. no way to cure this other than a locker.

 

Another thing is that you waited until you were already stuck to engage the 4 wheel drive. In most cases, if your already stuck, it's to late for 4 wheel drive to work.

 

84-250 has it pegged best. Open differentials will allow engine power to follow the path of least resistance. Hence, the two driver's side wheels that were not stuck are free to spin and the stuck wheels will remain stuck. Lockers front and rear will keep that from happening. Just take care when installing lockers, the truck will behave differently on ice and slippery pavement than you are used to. Selectable lockers would be the preferred solution.

 

Can you guys give a direction to go with lockers? How much? What brands? Can I install myself or is it a job for the pros? I don't know anything about them.

 

If you have never dealt with them, I'd strongly recommend having someone with the expertise do the work. There are two kinds of lockers; automatic and selectable.

Automatic lockers work just as the name would imply. When one wheel begins to slip, the centrifugal force of the spinning wheel causes the locking mechanism to engage and the engine power is then forcibly directed to BOTH wheels on that axle. As a rule these lockers are less costly than their "selectable" counterparts but they have a small downside. They have a tendency to "lock-up" when you arent' expecting it and if they do they can send you spinning out of control in a hurry on icy or snow-packed roads.

Selectable lockers are driver controlled. The locking mechanism is engaged by the driver much like the 4WD is in our Bronco's. Most operate at the push of a button. Some use electricity to engage the locking mechanism, some use compressed air, still others use a cable and linkage. No matter what the method used to engage these selectable lockers, the driver has complete control over when and where the locker engages. The operation is the same after that, the power from the engine is directed to BOTH wheels on the axle that has the locker when the locker is engaged. Selectable lockers will remain locked until the driver disengages them.

Some locker manufacturers:

ARB - compressed air activated selectable lockers
OXTraxx - cable activated selectable lockers
Eaton - Electronically activated selectable lockers and automatic limited slip differentials
Detroit - Electronically activated selectable and automatic lockers
Auburn - Automatic lockers

 

Thanks for the useful info Greystreak!

I am supposed to have a limited slip on the rear of my Bronco, but I guess it wasn't working. One of the previous posters mentioned that it could be worn out.If it is worn out, would it be cheaper to have that repaired rather than have lockers installed?

Is there any way to check the limited slip? It seems as if I read a post on this some time ago--somethign about putting the rear up on jackstands and then spinning one of the rear wheels and the other should start spinning after a certain number of turns. Or maybe I dreamed that?!?

 

Just my opinion but if this is a daily driver and you don't want the expense of a selectable locker (they are expensive) go to a good limited slip like an auburn or a true trac. Regular lockers can cause you to go everywhere on slick surfaces which can be dangerous. The lsds come on smoother. Without a doubt though a selectable locker is the best.

 

It is quite possible that the factory LS has failed. The Ford and Dana LS differentials use centrifugal clutch assemblies to engage and over time they wear out. jeep8589 has a good point that selectable lockers are probably the most expensive way to go. Limited slips are the next best thing. the drawbacks are, as you note yourself, they tend to wear out. Most also require an additive to the gear oil as a conditioner to help keep the clutch assemblies from deteriorating while they are bathed in gear oil.

Yes an LS will engage eventually as you described however I've never been brave enough to try this method on my own.

 

Would it be better to install a locker in the front (more weight) than the rear???

 

Locking the wheels that are also used for steering can have some surprising side effects, so I'd definitely go with a selectable one that can be engaged when needed.

 

Putting a full time locker in a TTB d44 will be asking for broken parts. Go for the rear.

-Matt

 

fix limited slip in rear, new clutches and maintain the friction additive previously discussed and get a selectable locker for the front. you definatly want to have control of it so it doesn't affect your daily driving, but the advantage of have both of your steering tires pulling you in the direction you are pointing them in, like a ditch will greatly increase your performance. my 93 has a ls rear end and it isn't as good as a locker but it quickly locks and spins both tires. also if you still have auto hubs on the front you may want to upgrade to some premium warm manual locking hubs, the don't cost much and unlike the autos, they won't slip! good luck whatever you decide to do!

 

First off, definintely swap to manual hubs...no contest, they are just more reliable.

Personal preference would be the opposite of Masseysbronco. Put the selectable locker in the rear. That way if you aren't in 4WD and you run into trouble without the hubs locked, you can at least engage the rear locker to improve your traction. The LS or automatic locker up front is fine. The idea here is that you probably aren't gonna be using 4WD anyway unless there is a potential need for it. So, the LS or locker won't even com in to play unless you are already anticipating the need for additional traction control and have the 4WD engaged already. When the truck is in 2WD the front axle is just along for the ride so the LS or locker won't be an issue.

 

i've read everyone's post and this is really interesting but i have a question about my truck. When i drive in wet conditions and hit the gas too hard, only the right back tire spins. does this mean that my limited slip is worn out? or could it mean that there is is no limited slip in there at all? With the snow arriving here is the northeast i want to be sure what i have. any help would be appreciated.