Diff. Carrier Swap
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Joined: Mar 2006
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Originally Posted by pazzo
I open up my differential and found that it is NOT a LS! The code on the door tag is H9 which indicates a LS, but the tag on the rear end does not have the LS. Also I did not see any clutch pack where Jbrew indicated. Appearently the privious owner did some swapping. Now I'll have to figure out what to do to restore the LS to my truck.
Well you have a few options here. You can either get a new 8.8 LS unit from Ford like this one:
http://www.gefracing.com/Merchant2/m...ry_Code=46REAR
for $239.00 they are hard to beat. I ran them in my nitrous GT and am running one in my Mach 1 w/ 4.30 gears and never had a problem yet. Once you have the diff in hand bring it to a shop that can handle the swap and have them do it.
You could always go to a junk yard and try to scavenge one out of a truck there.
You can search E-bay for Ford 8.8 trac-loc, and just make sure you are getting one with 31 splines, however I would also suggest getting a rebuild kit for any rear end you use unless it is new. Re-build kits are fairly cheap(usually less than $60.00) and take all of about 15 min to do.
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Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 84
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From: Indiana
Originally Posted by 01TruBluGT
With a Limited Slip diff if you jack up the rear and turn one tire, they both should turn if it is functioning properly.
The "Limited Slip" simply means that in a turn the clutch packs on the inside wheel will slip allowing that wheel to turn at a slower rate than the outside wheel.
That out of the way you CAN NOT simply pull the carrier out and replace it with a new one. Granted you won't have to worry about setting pinion depth but you will need to adjust the carrier for backlash and add or remove shims for propoer bearing pre-load.
If you suspect that the clutches need to be replaced you can do that easily with the carrier still in the truck. You can buy a diff rebuild kit for about $50.00. Its a bit more involved but I will give you the short and sweet here. Remove diff cover, remove cross pin bolt, slide out cross pin, push in on axles to remove c-Clips and slide axles out of diff housing. Pull S-Spring, rotate diff to remove spider gears, then you can remove the side gears and clutch packs. Replace clutch packs and steel friction disc. Re-Assy. is opposite.
I have done this more than a few times in the car with 4.10 and 4.30 gears which are taller than 3.55's and make it 10x's harder to get the S Spring back in. Overall it takes me about an hour to do a rebuild.
Call around to a few shops, it will be cheaper for them to re-build your diff in the truck than it would be for them to replace one as the steps are pretty much the same but with re-building you don't have to measure anything out so it saves time = less cost.
The "Limited Slip" simply means that in a turn the clutch packs on the inside wheel will slip allowing that wheel to turn at a slower rate than the outside wheel.
That out of the way you CAN NOT simply pull the carrier out and replace it with a new one. Granted you won't have to worry about setting pinion depth but you will need to adjust the carrier for backlash and add or remove shims for propoer bearing pre-load.
If you suspect that the clutches need to be replaced you can do that easily with the carrier still in the truck. You can buy a diff rebuild kit for about $50.00. Its a bit more involved but I will give you the short and sweet here. Remove diff cover, remove cross pin bolt, slide out cross pin, push in on axles to remove c-Clips and slide axles out of diff housing. Pull S-Spring, rotate diff to remove spider gears, then you can remove the side gears and clutch packs. Replace clutch packs and steel friction disc. Re-Assy. is opposite.
I have done this more than a few times in the car with 4.10 and 4.30 gears which are taller than 3.55's and make it 10x's harder to get the S Spring back in. Overall it takes me about an hour to do a rebuild.
Call around to a few shops, it will be cheaper for them to re-build your diff in the truck than it would be for them to replace one as the steps are pretty much the same but with re-building you don't have to measure anything out so it saves time = less cost.
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Member
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 84
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From: Indiana
Originally Posted by 01TruBluGT
Well you have a few options here. You can either get a new 8.8 LS unit from Ford like this one:
http://www.gefracing.com/Merchant2/m...ry_Code=46REAR
for $239.00 they are hard to beat. I ran them in my nitrous GT and am running one in my Mach 1 w/ 4.30 gears and never had a problem yet. Once you have the diff in hand bring it to a shop that can handle the swap and have them do it.
You could always go to a junk yard and try to scavenge one out of a truck there.
You can search E-bay for Ford 8.8 trac-loc, and just make sure you are getting one with 31 splines, however I would also suggest getting a rebuild kit for any rear end you use unless it is new. Re-build kits are fairly cheap(usually less than $60.00) and take all of about 15 min to do.
http://www.gefracing.com/Merchant2/m...ry_Code=46REAR
for $239.00 they are hard to beat. I ran them in my nitrous GT and am running one in my Mach 1 w/ 4.30 gears and never had a problem yet. Once you have the diff in hand bring it to a shop that can handle the swap and have them do it.
You could always go to a junk yard and try to scavenge one out of a truck there.
You can search E-bay for Ford 8.8 trac-loc, and just make sure you are getting one with 31 splines, however I would also suggest getting a rebuild kit for any rear end you use unless it is new. Re-build kits are fairly cheap(usually less than $60.00) and take all of about 15 min to do.
01TruBluGT, Do you know if this carrier will work in my truck?
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Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 344
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Originally Posted by pazzo
01TruBluGT, Do you know if this carrier will work in my truck?
Honestly I wouldn't go with anything else, Eaton, Detroit Lockers, they are all $400+ so for the price the Ford OEM is pretty hard to beat. I ran one in my Nitrous GT with ALOT of passes down the track and never had a problem, I am running one now in my Mach with even more passes down the track and not a problem. My brother used to drive the Mach before me and he would launch the car like a missle, still no issues. The only problem I ever had with the rear end was I shreaded about 6 teeth off of the pinion gear, but the diff held up fine.
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Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 725
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From: Jacksonville, FL
Originally Posted by pazzo
I opened up my differential and found that it is NOT a LS! The code on the door tag is H9 which indicates a LS, but the tag on the rear end does not have the LS. Also I did not see any clutch pack where Jbrew indicated. Appearently the previous owner did some swapping. Now I'll have to figure out what to do to restore the LS to my truck.