id lock it and run it, pick up some spare shafts for the front and know how to change them and youl be fine

i whent with the Arb front because id rather have the thing drive well on icy roads when im flyin up the pass, im a fast driver, and a fully locked up vehichle requires you to slow down

 

Stokes does the rear full time locker make it bad on icey roads?we get alot of snow and ice here where im at thats another thing im worried about.

 

its all second handknowledge since i havnt had this locker out in snow conditions yet, , you just have to be carful around corners or it will want to kick around on ya. its just when you have the front locked that you dont really want for street use, but people manage all the time so if you wanted to make it work, i doubt it would casue you any trouble.

 

It can make it a little hairy if you are not used to it.

My 4x4 with locker has mismatched gears, which makes it really bad on ice, so I can't really say how well it works in 4wd, but it did ok in my 2wd truck.

 

So the EZ Locker lives up to its advertising ? No real drawbacks. If you can drive you wont have a problem with it? Sounds great. But what about the front end, I would assumed I would just want a full time locker up front. And I think I read somethin sayin the ez locker isnt recommended for the front. Any thoughts on this?

 

the EZ locker is a full on locker and will have the same drawbacks, the nice part is that you dont have to remove the carrier to install so you dont have to re-setup your gears. its not going to be as strong as a full case locker though due to it relying on the strength of the stock carrier.

 

You cant put a locker in the front because the 97 and up F-150 4x4's front differential is always engaged on the driver's side. Running anything other than an open differential in the front of these trucks will cause the front driveshaft to spin constantly which increases drag and wear on components.

Zman, you will do just fine with a locker in the rear. A single locker will still make a world of difference in traction both on and off-road.

Simply having both rear tires spin at the same speed makes the front work harder because in order for one of the front tires to spin, BOTH rear tires must also be spinning.....and if that happens, I doubt a locker in the front would help much.

A locker will adversly affect the way the truck will handle around turns on wet or icy roads. The rear end will want to break loose and spin much easier.

 

As long as you're hubs aren't locked, it's not gonna be locking the right and left tires on the axel.. so why not put a locker in the front, and just keep it open on the street... you shouldn't even notice a difference.

 

the only issue with that is that he has a 97 which does not have front unlocking hubs, but as long as he does not transmit power through the d-shaft (shift it into 4wd) the locker should just differate instead.

 

Wow clears up alot and confuses me more, so in my truck when i engage the 4 wheel drive, the onlything that happens is the transfer case sends power down the front driveshaft to the pumpkin and to the wheels which are always locked to the axle?

I thought a friend of mine w/ a 2000 4x4offroad 5.4 had factory lockers all the way around? (not a good friend, thas why i dont know for sure)

The ez locker says 33" maximum tire size, well my truck has factory 32 (31.9 actually) Im worried about it lastin a long time do I need to worry about my 32's or possibly 33's in the future?

But I dont understand why the case of the diff. adds strength to the gears and lockers?

 

i guess i should say that i have never taken a newer setup apart, but it does not use lockouts like conventual setups, the CV's are constantly spinning with the tires, im not shure if ford used some type of vacume dissconnect.

i think your friend is mistaken, Ford has not given a factory locker (at least for nothing new) mybe your thinking of a trac lok? which would be a type of limited slip.

they give that size warning for the strength issues with the stock carrier, the locker is not what is going to break, its the carrier that it sits in that is taking all the stress. the desighn of the EZ-locker is just like a Lockright where it just goes inplace of the spider gears. and the stock carrier is just not up to that kind of stress.

its all just sugestions though, one of my buddies i wheel with is running lockrights front/rear with a bigblock and 38s on stock carrierers (warn shafts mind you) and hasnt had any trouble. but at the same time i have herd of them nuking with just the stress of 35" BFGs.

if your serious about playing around fully locked on anything bigger than 35s id consider getting rid of the ifs anyways. just my .02

 

When you put it in 4 wheel drive, The transfer case engages the chain for the front drive shaft and a vacuum actuator on the front differential housing locks in the passenger side shaft. it disconnects in two locations to reduce drag and wear. I made a quick drawing to show you what this set up looks like.

Http://amtek.ehughes.ca/truck/power.jpg

The blue is the flow of power, the red are the parts that lock together to give you four wheel drive. When the passenger side axle is disconnected for 2wd, the driver's side still goes through to the OPEN carrier in which the spider gears spin freely. If the carrier were replaced by a limited slip, the friction of the clutches would cause the front driveshaft to spin constantly at all speeds. which would be the same if you replaced the spider gears inside the open differential with an ez locker. This will increase wear and tear at both the front differential and transfercase, reduce gas mileage, and possibly create vibrations.

I really recommend you leave the front as is and just put the locker in the rear. Its just my opinion though. For just a little more money, you could get a limited slip put in for a pretty good increase in traction, but with no drawbacks like you would get with a locker. I have a 99 F-150 4x4 with 5.4 and 35" BFG MT's (no lift) and have wheeled it pretty good for the past 6 years. The stock rear limited slip worked almost like a locker when you use the E-brake. When I get stuck in a rut with one front and opposing rear tire spinning in the air, I would set the E-brake and give it a little gas, just enough to over power the brake and the resulting torque to the differential would lock up both tires...then the whole truck lurches foward without any wheelspin.

 

Yea I dont want to lock out the front right now, I just want the rear to be fully locked I dont have any serious money right now, im just 17 years old with play money and want my truck to perform better. I want it too hook up on assphalt in sand in mudd. I am lookin forward to actualy bein able to do a donut. I think its sad my v8 f150 cant even cut a donut.
But im still a little confused, The EZ locker mounts to the case? How does it recieve strength from the case?

 

here is a EZ locker installed inside the origanal carrier:

notice that the locker is inside of a case(aka the carrier) that bolts to the ring gear


this is a full detriot:

notice that it bolts strait to the ring gear.

 

Just my 2 cents but my experience with my 79 F250 460 4x4 , 35" BFG mudders, dana 60's front & rear with detroit lockers front and rear. I was in 12" of snow and between the tires compacting the snow to ice and the action of the lockers, it was scary as hell. I was on a point about 300 ft up trying to turn around. Every time I "touched"(and I say touched, not a little gas, not a lot of gas, just touched the gas pedal) the gas pedal the whole truck moved sideways 2 feet. It wasn't long and I was on the edge of the point sweating bullets. I finally ended up digging all four tires down to dirt to get out of the situation. Later I found out I could have improved things by unlocking one front hub, but at the time I was stumped. I haven't been in the snow with the truck since. One other thing I'd say about a locker up front is when I'm on the flats near Glamis there is a light crust on the surface that nomally I can "float" over, but with the locker up front as soon as I turn the tires, they "bite"(not in a smooth fashion) and break through the surface. After that it takes a bit of going straight to get back on top and "float" on the surface. If I had it to do over I'd have a limited slip up front and locker in the rear. Although if I were in snow country I'd double check the information and be darn sure it's not a problem.