In my opinion the limited slip is useless. I wouldn't even consider having one. Even if they do work they won't work on ice or snow..I would get a 94 van or newer the tranny had some upgrades in 94 if I remember correctly.



Dick

 

Dick,

I have personal experiences that demonstrated the effectiveness of LSDs over open diffs. You don't need snow or ice, just a little rain on the ground, and the RWD open diff will quite often slip helplessly. This is also true on snow covered roads. If the roads are iced over, not much short of studded tires or chains will help, but it's still better to be able to have two wheels turning instead of just one in those conditions.

Khanty,

Does your RABS light come on with the LEDs installed? If not, you probably still have working cruise control, OD lockup, and 4wd, if you have that.

I'd keep an eye on those APC light housings; they're very poor quality.

I like 96_4wdr's approach; design a setup using an array of many small high-output LEDs, kind of like the way traffic light LED panels are made: Take a 9" diameter panel and load it with a couple hundred small high-output LEDs, and it makes a very effective replacement for a filament bulb with a color filter in front of it.

I'm still dubious of those 1156/1157 bulb replacements with 5 or 6 LEDs, especially from APC.

 

A good LSD is more then a traction aid, it also improves the vehicle's dynamic behavior. It can/does help neutralize under and oversteer tendencies, especially in a drop-throttle oversteer condition, making a vehicle more stable during panic situations. And xlt4wd90 is right - when the road is iced over, the only thing that will truly help are appropriate tires. Even with a locker, both wheels will still spin if the tires don't have any grip. But short of that, a good LSD is big help to traction under variable traction conditions, in rain, on dirt, on snow, etc. So to say they're useless is simply misinformed.

 

The unit ford uses in their trucks does not work in low traction situations. I've had many of them. You need torque on both wheels.They are basically for wet or dry street driving. Both my vans don't have them and both are unstoppable in the snow. What I was saying is that I wouldn't look for one to have in any vehicle that I owned..I WOULD certainly use a different design. We talk alot about this in the SD forum..over the years.


Dick

 

I agree, the Ford Traction Lok isn't a very effective unit. I said that myself in an earlier post in this thread. But you're post simply said that a limited slip was useless, it didn't specify one or another. But with that qualification, I'll agree. That was why I said (repeatedly) that you needed a good LSD. What that actually means is probably open to individual interpretation...

 

clarification to what i said....i used hi intensity LEDs that emit basically white light with a tinge toward the blue end of the spectrum....can control whiteness and blueness by controlling LED current flow....keep below 30ma for most single junction devices....read the spec sheet and test in total darkness with the red lens panel before installing permanently

 

No prob....I was answering the original post where he wanted to get a van with one in it..I certainly wouldn't advise him to look for a van with a ford unit in it.


Dick

 

That I would agree with - don't make that a qualifier if the van is otherwise in nice shape. A diff can be swapped. Rusty quarter panels can't...

 

I agree that the Ford Traction-Lok is not the best LSD available NOW. But the clutch type is by far the most common and street-friendly type, and can be made to work well. I've rebuilt mine with an extra clutch plate replacing one of the non-friction plates, so it locks up more easily than stock. With the stock preload spring on it, the break-away torque is about 50 lbs-ft. This allows it to get a grip easier than stock when one wheel has traction and the other does not. The road racers don't like the preload spring because they think it causes their cars to understeer more.

An open Torsen or TruTrac will still spin one wheel if that side has no traction at all. I think you can now get newer versions of the Torsen with a spring loaded clutch pack inside that applies torque in the event that one wheel has zero traction. So you get something the is a cross between a Torsen and a clutch LSD. A Detroit locker is the most effective locking diff short of a spool, but they're both nasty driving on the road.

My 91 has an open rear end, and it's all too easy to turn it into a 1WD in the rain, where it can spin the right wheel forever if I'm not careful with applying the gas from a standstill. Unfortunately, I can't do a direct comparison of it against another Aero with just 2WD and Traction-Lok.

 

As I mentioned before, a "white" LED is really a blue LED shining on or through yellow phosphor, to give the appearance of white light. Its spectral output has a peak in the blue region, and a a broader distribution cerntered around yellow. It's not truely "white", like a filament bulb would be.

The DOT has analysis showing that the old style traffic lights using a big filament bulb behind a color filter has over 60% of the output of that bulb blocked by that filter to obtain the red, green, or amber color that they want from a traffic light. This is why LEDs are such a perfect replacement for them; a red LED produces only red light, a green LED produces only green light, and an amber LED produces only amber light. There is no need to put color filters in front of them, so all the light that they produce are used.

So I really don't think you want to use white LEDs with a red filter in front of them when you need red lights; just use red LEDs, and hide them with a clear or red cover if you want. A red filter in front of red LEDs won't block nearly as much light as a red filter in front of white LEDs or bulbs. A color filter in front of a white LED is just wasting a lot of the light generated by the LED.

For automotive applications, you see a similar design theme. All marker and signal lights on a car using filament bulbs have optics that are designed to evenly distribute the light generated by the bulb across the surface of the lens. So LED versions of these lights (from the manufacturer) will be made up of panels of LED arrays that cover the areas that used to be lens surface. None of them use a small cluster of LEDs like those small bulb replacements, and definitely not white LEDs with color filters.

 

Really any LSD will allow a wheel with zero traction to spin, clutch plate diffs included. To get past that, you aren't talking about an LSD anymore, but a locker. Even with a 50 lb-ft preload, that wheel is going to spin. All the preload does is allows you to transfer 50 lb-ft to the wheel on the ground while the other one is spinning. When you consider that in first gear, you might have a potential of sending several thousand lb-ft to the tires if traction allows, 50 isn't much. It isn't enough to move the van if you were on a good grade and one tire was on ice, for example.

The only Torsen currently manufactured with a preload is the one used by Ford in the Ranger FX4 Level II. The aftermarket T-2R models have a increased locking effect, but no preload. We certainly could (and have) build one that way, but it isn't really cost effective to do, so we don't. The website shows a design example in that configuration, but that info is intended for OEM customers as a "what could be done for you specific application" sort of thing...

Back to the thread at hand, current diffs available for the 7.5" include the Traction Lok (obviously), Auburn, Detroit Locker, and Powertrax locker. I don't recall seeing any other options out there. For the 8.8, though, you can get just about anything you want.

 

I thought Torsen DID make one, for Quaife? Or was that just a licensing thing?

 

Quaife is a unrelated, competing company. As far as I know, neither makes a diff for the 7.5" axle. Its true that I did have one in my van, but that was a prototype left over from an old development program that never went anywhere. I had the diff in my '94 Ranger before it was in the van. Since both are gone, the diff is waiting for me to buy something else to put it in...

 

Rick,

Did you actually work for Torsen? If so, is there a chance you can still get one at some discount.

Also, have you ever compared the performance of this kind of gear diff with something like a viscous coupler?

 

> "Limited Slip Differential", specifically that it's an option on AWD equipped vans
> that further increases traction and stability.

My 1995 AWD came with a 8.8 L/S.

> MSN Autos has led me to believe that the 1994 model has the best mix of reliability
> and fuel mileage. Are there any significant differences between the 1992 and 1993
> models in comparision?

Yes, using Consumer Reports (and they have stated as such) Ford did not get the bugs worked out of the Aerostar until 1995, that is when the Aerostar stopped getting black bullets.

> I understand that some 4.0 Fords with the A4LD got more durable parts in the
> transmission from the factory. Is the transmission is this trim set up that
> way already?

My A4LD lasted until 187,000 (189?) miles, though I changed the fluid every 20-30k. I am pretty sure if my wife had not run it dry one day at 140k, it would have lasted longer.

> 8) Assuming that the van was lightly loaded with a driver and 1 or 2 passengers,
> how, much weight can the van tow with a proper hitch?

Considering it is a unibody to which you attach the hitch, I would not venture over 3,000 pounds. These vehicles have a tendency to sag in the rear, before towing I would upgrade the springs.

If you find a vehicle with the factory towing package you are all set. You just have to plug in a harness.

My 1995 AWD Ext XLT was an excellent vehicle (I bought new) and best Ford pass. vehicle I ever owned, new or used. I think the best seating arrangement is quad capt chairs and the rear bench seat. You can install two folding seats, just makes it so you have to jump over the second to get to the third, gets old fast even with small children. What you coudl do is install it for the trip and then take it out for DD use. Except being heavy, the seats remove easily.

On 1995 (not sure where the change occured) the outboard bench seats and Quad chairs have their shoulder belt points attached to the roof.

> 13) Is there anything that I've missed for ways to increase inclement weather
> predictability & trip/towing reliability?

Buy a 1995-1997 with a 4.0L (oil changes are very easy!), AWD, L/S 8.8, with towing package, with front and rear sway bars. If towing I would not be beyond installing a much bigger tranmission cooler with fan.

The AWD and L/S make it very road worthy in winter.

When buying a used vehicle, assume it will need a transmission! Then change what noone does, the coil pack and fuel filter.

Put on REAL snow tires, not all season. Something along the lines of a Blizzak. Our Aerostar handled excellent in the snow and ice and I even had mine off road in open fields and on gravel roads in the winter.