And Ford's spec on the breakaway torque is something like 28 ft-lbs

 

Are you serious about the 28 ft-lbs?

As far as testing with a torque wrench on a wheel stud, that is not quite right and won't yield the most accurate results. You need a special adapter that bolts onto the wheels studs and puts the torque wrench in the center over the hub.

I have a '03 Dodge 1500 with the factory Dana LS and the specs on it are from 30 - 200 ft lbs. The truck has 71,000 miles and I can change my rear tires and torque the bolts to 120 ft-lbs and the LS will hold with both tires in the air.

 

I changed axle fluids when I put the Mag-Hytec diff covers on my truck and I didn't use any friction modifier at all in the rear. It still doesn't work worth a hoot as far as being limited slip. I've said before that it should more properly be called "Unlimited Slip", in other words an open diff.....

I've looked into the Detroit True-Trac units, they were about $500+/- on eBay and it's a bit more than that, around $6-700 each, to have them installed. That was with the master installation kits that had all new bearings, seals, etc. I would not do this job myself as I don't have any experience with axles or the tools to do it. I found a shop here it CT that would do both ends for $2600 or so, but that was keeping my 3.73 gears. If you're thinking of regearing and upgrading your LS, you might as well get it all done at the same time.

 

I just checked again, the manual shows a break-away torque of 20 ft-lbs to be spec. This is after installing new clutches and soaking them in friction modifier, so that may make a difference, probably a lot higher after the gear lube is mixed in. Still though, 20 ft-lbs...

 

I think the spec is 25 ft/lbs.

 

I mentioned 25ft/lbs being for the 8.8 I think.

You can figure it out without the adapter.

Measure from the center of the axle to the stud. Say it's 3".

With a ft/lbs torque wrench on a lug nut, with the wrench pointing directly away from the center of the axle, I THINK it might be like this:

Say you get 25ft/lbs at the torque wrench. That's 25 lbs at 15 inches.

So that's 15/12*25. Or 31.25ft/lbs at the center of the axle.

 

From my 2003 Service Manual, it states in a previous step to soak the clutches in LS additive, so this will probably be tighter with diff fluid:

 

The OEM L/S is very mild. You can reduce the friction modifier and they it will improve some but wear out much faster. I changed one out in my F150 and went to a True Trac L/S. My truck performed much better with no noise or other issues. My F250 is new and the factory unit barely worked so I switched it out and again totally changed the truck. See below from another thread I posted several days ago.

"Well yesterday i was able to take on the mud as the rain finally came and man did it rain. Anyway, the conditions were a little worse than before so I knew this would be a good test. So I did the same test as before having the locker and Truetrac and headed up the hill in 2 wheel drive. Unexpectedly, i made it half way up the hill before needing 4x4. Last time I couldn't even get the truck to start in 2wheel drive. I did this test several times all with the same results. Each time starting from a standstill and moving very slowly up the hill. I also tried some other test in the mud just to compare. In all occasions the True Trac L/S was much better than the factory Trax-Loc limited slip. My truck has only 5000 miles on it so I know the factory clutch plates are not wore out. A big thumbs up for the rear Truetrac. Now time to test the locker. However, the problem was (good problem though) is that the Truetrac added so much traction to the rear that the truck made it all the way up the hill in 4x4 without the locker. This was not the case during last test with the factory rear L/S. So i keep going up and down the hill till it was an aweful muddy mess. Finally it was very difficult to make it up. When i eventually got her stuck I flipped the #3 upfitter switch to activate the front locker. To my amazement I didn't notice the lock and go sensation i was expecting. In reality only a little improvement was felt. The improvement seemed to be when I turned the wheels from side to side that she seemed to bite a little better. I tried a few more test and to be honest most of the improvment seems to come from the Truetrac. The only times the locker in the front helped is when the vehicle was leaning real hard one way or the other or when turning the wheels from side to side. Another plus is when one tire is in the slick stuff but the other has traction then the locker is a big plus. So I think my expectations for the locker were a little high but in the end I have accomplished my goal which was to gain at least 25% more traction than I had from the factory. I did accomplish what i was after but surprising enough it came from the cheaper modifcation of adding the Truetrac to the rear of the truck. So if you want solid traction improvement at the cheapest cost just add the TT and you'll be happy. If funds are available then I for one would do the locker again which covers a broader range of limited traction issues."

 

Don't forget most of the weight is on the rear while going uphill so only a minimal locking action would be needed in the front. I bet it would climb better backing up that hill.

 

Unless its close to a 45 degree angle there is still more weight on the front.

 

It would surely back up better then. (Good if you were in a pinch). I hear they do that in the Army.

 

I use my 2005 F-250, V-10 6speed, 4.30 posi, mostly offroad. After getting stuck a couple of times with 1 tire spinning, I pulled the diff. plug and was amazed at the metal in the oil. 2500 miles and Ford did a complete rebuild on the rear, carrier, ring & pinion, all bearings. Seems the friction material on the clutch pack came off when I got stuck and took out the entire rear.

A year of babying it later and 7500 miles, Ford only had to replace the clutch pack the second go around in the posi. I quit using it so much, and now at 13000 its going again, jumping and chattering when I go around a corner.

Failing 3 times in 13000 miles, I'm looking for something different. It's out of warrenty time wise, so the local dealer told me to stuff it, he would fix it back to stock for around 2k. Needless to say he had his chance to fix it and failed, I'm not wasting my money on a Ford diff. any time soon.

 

I have a TrueTrac, way better than the Stock LS. I was going to rebuild the stock LS with an extra clutch to tighten it up but was talked out of it by the gear shop, ie not worth the money.

 

Mine works in moderate conditions, but I would not upgrade to one. Def go with a reputable aftermarket setup.