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I have a 1979 F-150 with a 3.00 geared 9 inch rear end that I'm building for my wife ! It has a 1987 5.0 (E7TE) roller motor that I've ported both sides (intake & exhaust) ,added headers and a "68 4bbl intake from a Mustang with a Holley of course ,the truck also has a bulldog 4spd , what I'm looking to do is toturn my rear end into a Posi unit without spending a bunch of $$ or doing a crap job like welding the spiders , I heard of an article years ago called $1.98 posi , something about adding shims to the spider gears , but not sure about it and can't find anything about it !Does anyone know what is the cheapist way to get a Posi without spending major $$ !? I'd like to keep the 3.00 gearing or going higher 2.75 or so, for fuel economy with the bulldog first taking off is no problem ,but I'd like to have the Posi !! Can anyone help ??? Thanks in advance !! ...cougar...
I don't know how to convert it, but Posi is a GM term, IIRC. Limited Slip is the word that Ford uses. I'm pretty sure that I'm right but NumberDummy would be the person to ask.
The Ford units are called "Traction Lock" . If you find one in salvage you want to make sure you get the same axle spline count 28 or 31. The center sections are interchangeable other wise without having to have the unit "setup".
These trucks were availble with a "Limited Slip" differential option. Find one in the junkyard, they aren't that rare. Shouldn't be too expensive.
+1 on that-they are out there. Get familiar with the ford 9" very easy to work on. Find a parts truck with a limited slip, grab the center section and can easily swap the gears to your 3.00:1.
Just remember to "dye" the gears and see what the pattern is before you tear apart the 3.00-1, and keep track of the pinion to crown with a blob of paint-get it close pattern wise and it should be fine. There is way more info out there on how to get the correct wear pattern for gears-research!
The $1.98 posi may work, but not for long-besides the amount of work it would take to do, you could have a factory limited slip installed.
Good luck!
Welding when done right, is actually very strong. I have a welded Dana 70 in my swamp buggy, with 54" tractor tires, and have run the crap out of it for 8 years with no breakage. But getting back on track, the easiest and cheapest way is to install a mini spool ($50). The drawback is both tires are locked together all the time, causing premature tire wear, and it's hard on the axles if driven on the pavement. Not recommended for a daily driver, or if it's driven in snow, and I also wouldn't run one with tires over 35", but you will definately have true "posi".
This caught my attention too. Yall say that Trac-Lok's aren't that rare. What would be quick way to tell with out crawling under every truck at the salvage yard?
as far as i know theyve always been trac loks or true tracks today... whoever said posi is a chevy term... tisk tisk... posi or posi trac was brought used for marketing of the 66 plymouth barracuda. Chevy has "limited slip" and or auto lock
to see if a vehicle is a posi, or whatever the nit pickers want to call it, jack said vehicle up (safely) with it in neutral and spin one rear tire by hand, if other tire goes same direction its a posi, if opposite, a regular open diff
Potato potato !! Damn folks I'm not worried about who calls what what !! All I'm trying to do is find out how to convert my wifes rearend to a type where when she stomps it both tire turn over at the same time (not a one wheel wonder) I don't give a ***** what you call it Traction Lock ,Posi whatever , this is the first time I gotten such ridicule over semantics !! This truck is used as a daily driver so welding the spiders or installing a spool is out of the question , and the local junkyard wants to much, so I was trying to find an inexpensive way to do this ! Thanks I think ! ...cougar...
"Positraction" = GM from waaay back. Listen to the Beach Boys "409" from '62 or so.
Anyway, a Ford limited slip may not pop out from under each rock at the scrappy. One that does may need a rebuild.
With all due respect to the prior poster suggesting ripping into the 9" and rebuilding it on the kitchen table, I suggest you not do this. Pinion depth, backlash, gear pattern, crush sleeve torque and probably a host of others will combine to provide the first timer a daunting task, followed by a howling wolf of a rear axle. Yes, I know it's not that hard--if you have all the tools, if you've done it before, if you have the video on how to do it....
Also, you are wise to insist on no locked diff. These can be driven on the street by the "locker-wise", but will also push you right off the road in certain situations.
Check the info here: I was told by a vendor that some aftermarket LS units were less expensive than a Ford unit. Been a long time, can't recall the trade name he was talking about. Shop around, good luck:
Cougar 190, I remember the article I think it was in "Mustang Monthly" but its been a long time ago. If I remember correctly they welded a block(about 2" square) and drilled it for the shaft to go through it so it fit between the spider gears. Then they shimmed it tight with belleville washers to put a spring load against the bottom of the spider gears. The kicker was, it was cheep, it worked smooth on the street and it locked up tight on the drag strip for hundreds of runs without wearing out.
I'm with you, welding the spiders is asking for death on the street.
Every ford limited slip I ever found in a junkyard would not spin both wheels if it had more than 30,000 miles on it.
Cougar 190, I will look through my old mags to see if I can find this article, but don't hold your breath. You might try your luck on the Mustang Forums.
I had an 80 f100 ranger that had the 300 inline six in it. It had a nine inch rearend and had limited slip. After 300,000 miles the limited slip still worked perfectly. From what ive found, most if not all inline sixes had the limited slip. Most if not all small engined fords that Ive seen have also had limited slip(i.e. my 92 ranger 4cyl). To bad I scraped the f100, you could have had the axle. Several mechanics have told me that V8's, in most situations didnt need limited slip to get a load moving. Smaller engines with less power could more easily get a load moving while applying power to both wheels. From what I have seen this is true, but I definatley havent seen everything. Check the junkyards for 2wd trucks with inline sixes, I'd say that'd be your best bet.