Ok. I see that there are a lot of people having problems with the differential making noise. Mine makes noise, and I believe I know the cause. A supercharger.

Well I put the supercharger on a couple years ago. The truck is awsome. The engine is running great. The drive line isn't taking the abuse so well. I recently had a Centerforce Dual Friction clutch/pressure plate installed. The factory clutch started slipping at around 48k. Now I've got a good, strong clutch, the rear is starting to protest. I believe that the clutches on the diff. are wearing. I don't think it can be fixed, I've had the fluid changed a couple times. I need a new diff. and figure it might be time for a gear change too.

So I've started my research, like I have done with every part I've put on this truck. Now I could use your help to come to a conclusion.

I see diff's. from Eaton, Auburn, and a cool looking one from Trac Tech (the Detroit Truetrac). I'm not sure if I should go with that I've got now, the LSD or if I should go with a locker. I'm in New England so I will have to drive on wet and/or slippery roads occasionally. So I guess a LSD would be better. The Trac Tech looks cool and would probably work nice but I'm guessing it would cost a lot. I've got a tight budget here. So, I'm thinking something from Auburn. I just need to make sure that I get something that will hold up better than the factory unit. That's what I was hoping some of you could help me with.

I figure that while the rear is apart I might as well do a gear change. I've got the 3:55 right now. I don't hit the strip much and most of my driving is highway. I was thinking I could go with 3:08's and still have good off the line power. First gear on this 5-speed is real short. I figure that with the taller gear I can make better use of first gear. I'm also not sure who to look at for gears. Richmond? What do you think?

Any words of wisdom from you folks that have already been down this road?

 

Oh. I just though of something else. Where to buy? Has anyone delt with Drivetrain Superstores (link located on the ads by Google, often on the left side of this page)? They seem to have some good package deals.

Anyone?

 

try ringpinion.com - drivetrain.com - and precisiongear.com
I just purchased a ring and pinion gear from ringpinion.com and they had the lowest price. All of the web sites I listed carries differentials and any gears you may need.

 

Shoot me an email if you still need some diff stuff . I can set you up with a guy that has some good deals .

 

wittom,
I installed the Eaton LS unit when I put in 410 gears. This past winter I was not happy with the performance. With one wheel on ice and the other on dry ground, it would not pull an incline. I think a good locker should be able to do this. I also got stuck in the snow twice because I could not generate enough traction to get up a hill. Needless to say I was not happy with the Eaton unit.
When I contacted Eaton they told me it was because I was using both Synthetic fluid in my rear and Anti-friction from Ford. The two together were causing too much slip and the rear was not able to generate enough resistance to transfer torque. After I changed out the fluid there really wasn't any weather severe enough to test the rear.
I also "in a previous life" had a true locker and it was very uncomfortable.
I think if I had it to do over again I would consider one of the worm gear lockers (as you mentioned the Detroit Truetrac). The Truetrac is about the same price as the Eaton unit and if you get stuck, you can use your emergency brake to get unstuck. Click here for more information.
http://www.ringpinion.com/tech/techind.html
There is one out now that has an electric lock-up feature as a back-up; that would really be nice. I know worms with the electric feature are more expensive but, take it from me, now that I have bought two different systems and still don't have what I want, you can save by paying a little x-tra now. I live in Maryland and get enough snow to appreciate what a good locker can do.
Good luck...

 

Thanks all for the replies! This site is awsome!

I think I've decided what I'm going to go with, but I'm wondering if the change can wait a month or so. Here is the deal. Every time something happends with my truck I assume that the supercharger is the cause. In this particular case I'm wondering if the service dept. may have missed a step or put the wrong combo of fluids in when they resealed the diff. cover. It really wasn't untill the second time that they resealed the cover that it really became a problem.After the first time I did get the noise every once and a while. After the second time the noise is more frequent. It's not there when the truck is cold. It's not thill I've driven for a while and is especially noticable after driving on the highway. It only happends when I'm turning from a stop. I looked at the procedure for resealing the diff. cover in my Ford manual and it mentioned something about checking to make sure that the vent is clear. After thinking about it for a while it seemed that if the vent were plugged and/or there was the wrong mixture of fluid the noise could happen.

I guess my question is, do you think it's worth it to see if the dealer will open up the diff, check the vent and replace the fluid, at their expence? Do you think I have a valid concern?

Thanks again!

 

Rebuild the clutch pacs, they do wear out, or get a 9.75 like the Lightnings use. If it is making noise something is not right. You have to open it up to inspect what is causing the noise.

JMC

 

Thanks JMC.

I talked with Mike Troyer after I did that post yesterday, and he seemed to think that even the 8.8 should be strong enough to handle what I've got. He mentioned that you've managed to keep your diff. intact with driving that is much "different" than what my truck sees. I guess that for now I will rebuild the clutch packs and then if I decide I'm going to hang on to the truck for a while I'll upgrade to the 9.75.

 

I replaced 3 diffs before I decided to upgrade to the 9.75. My truck weighs 5500 lbs and chirps 2nd with 33 inch tires.
Where your rear tires would break loose mine grab and hammer the 8.8 to pieces.
Two weeks ago I just put in a new M5OD from a 03 F-150 with 9000 miles on it. I am hoping that this one lasts as long as the last one. But my engine is making more power now so I doubt it.

JMC