hey guys, im about sick of the rear end locker in my 05 f150, the things simply sucks, period. i was doing a u turn in the medeon today, one of my guy friends looked at me and was like you wont make it through that, it was just a little ditch, nothing big at all, i was like, ill do it in 2 wheeldrive for ya, well, 2wheel drive didnt do to well, the suspension started to flex a little, and i was left with 1 wheel spinning and him laughing, so i put her in 4hi and crawled out, but still, i used to have a tahoe and it would do that in 2hi all day long, no trouble, what the heck ford!

so anyway, what are my options and how much would it cost to get a new locker or LS in the rear. Most of my driving is on the highway, but it just bothers me now that i my LS sucks, i was thinking it might be the friction plates, but hell, it only has 16k miles on it, there is no way they are bad, so what do you guys think, eaton, auburn...? ARB is to expensive for me by the way, i need something cheep and reliable.

 

Usually, doing U-turns in ditches isn't how you would test the capability of your LS-equipped differential. It amazes me that some (if not all) people have no clue how a limited slip differential works. Even I dont know exactly, but I do have a pretty good idea.

By the way, cheap and reliable usually don't go together.

Here's a link:

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/differential.htm

By the way, we have differentials, not lockers.

 

I guess you have never driven a Chevy with a factory locker. You get that thing twisted up in a ditch, with one rear tire almost off the ground, gently push throttle. If you don't spin the tire faster than 20 mph, it will lock up solid and you will just crawl right out. I did this with my 04 Z71 all the time, worked really good. Too bad that they were so weak. My cousin broke his locker in his 04 Z71 and my brother in law broke 2 in his Z71. Mine was starting to clunk pretty bad when I traded it off.

 

first off, i know what a locker is, i know what a limited slip is, and i know how they work very well, what im asking is why they suck so bad in the fords, my chevy ls was awesome, pulled me out of everything, this ford ls looks like it wont handle that much preasure.

 

Check your axles codes to make sure that you do have a LS and not an open diff. These problems sound like you have an open diff. I have 3.55 LS running 35" it stays locked pretty D### well, I have the rear tires dig down until i sat the Diff on the ground, went up many rock hills the other day that had large holes and only need 4 wheel drive once and they were pretty steap. So next time try using your parking brake to apply alittle pressure (about 3 or 4 clicks).

 

its deff got a LS, maybe there is something wrong with it, ? like when i powerbreak it, both tires spin, so i know its back there, but if i flex the suspension any, even mildly, it acts open, is there something i can do to make it lock better, maybe do something to the cone to make it have more friction or something, any thoughts on why it might be doing this or if there is something i can adjust, because if this keeps up, haha, i will get stuck, no quesitons

 

Nope, wouldnt drive a Chevy POS if someone gave me one.

 

Tisk, Tisk, now that is not very nice. You remember what your parents taught you, if you don’t have anything nice to say then……..I just sold my Chevy HD to buy this Ford. (Couldn’t be happier ) Chevy is not bad, it just so happens that Ford makes a better truck these days. I to have been wondering if I will miss the good ol, G80 rear locker on the Chevy. Come this winter I guess I will find out. I have a 5.4 FX4 with 3.73LS. Can anybody out there give a good comparison on the Chevy with the G80 rear end and the Ford LS? Will I need to change driving styles at all to compensate? Will I even notice?

 

How do you know you have the best if you don't drive the rest?

 

bofer, try adding less friction modifier to your rear diff fluid, this will cause the friction plates to engage with less of a preload aplied to the plates, yes they will wear out faster and you might get alittle noise doing tight turns but it will "lock up" easer, i put in around 4oz instead of the recomended 6 you could try 3oz,good luck

 

Before I bought my F-150 (the newest generation), I test drove them all. Before this truck, I have been a Ford guy for the last 6 vehicles. However, each time I buy, I go out and give everyone else (manufacturers) a fair chance. If they can't measure up to Ford's quality standards, that's not my problem. You know what I dont get? These people who complain about the "vibe" and the "steering wheel nibble" and the "noise when backing up" and the "clunky rearend." Maybe I'm just lucky (either that or deaf) because I havent had any of that happen to my truck. After all, it IS a truck, not a Lexus or a Mercedes, so if it does rattle, I just turn up the Audiophile and go on my merry way.

 

i had the clunck in my 2005 after 600 miles , it did it for about a month or so then it was gone. i believe give things time to break in before you jump the gun . then bring it in to have it fixed

 

That's cool, I drive them all too, and go with the best deal. I don't keep a truck very long and i like to try new stuff. I got an awesome deal on this truck and I like it, it's not perfect but that's ok. I have steering wheel nibble, but on mine I can tell that it's the tires because it goes away after about 10 miles or so. And if I swerve back and forth pretty hard it'll go away quicker. The colder the morning, the more nibble I have, until the tires get warm. My brakes make a loud squeaky moany noise when I back up, no big deal for me. Use to have trans clunk, it went away a long time ago.

 

[QUOTE=swayse]That's cool, I drive them all too, and go with the best deal. I don't keep a truck very long and i like to try new stuff. I got an awesome deal on this truck and I like it, it's not perfect but that's ok. I have steering wheel nibble, but on mine I can tell that it's the tires because it goes away after about 10 miles or so. And if I swerve back and forth pretty hard it'll go away quicker. The colder the morning, the more nibble I have, until the tires get warm. My brakes make a loud squeaky moany noise when I back up, no big deal for me. Use to have trans clunk, it went away a long time ago. [/QUOT

i get the same nibble in mine in the morning and it is gone after a 10 mins of highway driving. but after sitting at work all day it doesnt seem to do it on the ride home

 

[QUOTE=jcc] Mine is the same. I can leave it sitting all day, and no nibble when I go home, I just figured that the tires hadn't cooled down all the way. If I leave the truck sitting for a few days it's even worse in the mornings. I sure hope it's the tires. 275/65/18 Goodyears, btw.