I have a 98 F150 4x4. I have a limited slip rear end with 3.55's. Every time I turn at a light, stop, etc. my rear tires spin. They dont spin too much, enough though to be annoying and wonder why in the heck do I have no traction. Any ideas on this?

 

Hi. Welcome to the coolest website! I used to be real worried about this. (Do a search for "Too much tire spin" in "Wheels and tires" forum.) I'd like to knw more about your truck...bed length, tire size, etc. Some of us are just lucky. Mine still spins effortlessly, but it's a little better with the new Michelin LTX M/S tires. Same tires as I had, but went from 265/75 to 255/60.

------------------
White 97 XLT SC 4.6, 4X4, 3.55ls, door cracks, tow pkg, long bed, Rhino liner, Owens running boards

 

Tires Tires Tires Tires

How much tread is left on your tires. I have the same problem with the ones I have. The only thing I can tell you is to get better all weather tires for the rear.

------------------
GOLD RUSH

'99 F150 XLT SC SB 4x2 Harvest Gold
Factory[*]5.4[*]3.55 limited slip[*]Trailer towing package[*]In-dash CD player
Aftermarket[*]Ford Beanie bear[*]Slip on extender mirrors[*]Powerstop brake controller[*]Covermaster C1000 topper with wing[*]BugflectorII[*]Ventvisors (front&rear)[*]3 www.f150online.com decals[*]Ford Lumi Logo[*]Steelhorse Billet grill[*]Ford hitch cover[*]Yellow wire loom[*]Hyper White head light bulb[*]Painted to match AVS slotted taillight covers[*]Ford system 4 alarm[*]Clear turn signals[*]"Blazer" strip reflectors under tailgate[*]FORD script antenna painted to match[*]Cup Holder courtesy lights[*]Next who knows???

<A HREF="http://www.firezap.url4life.com" TARGET=_blank> </A>

<A HREF="http://njf150truckclub.homestead.com" TARGET=_blank> </A>
firezap@f150fanatic.com
firezapper@home.com




[This message has been edited by Firezap (edited 09-19-2000).]

 

Rusty,

Are both tires spinning or just the tire on the inside of the turn? If it's just the inside then I would say your limited slip is working like it should. If it's both, I would look for new tires.

------------------
98 F-150 XLT 4X4 ORP Super Cab Short Bed, 4.6, Auto, 4.10's, Mag-Hytec diff. cover, Magnacharger supercharger, Superchip, Gibson single cat-back, 80/100w German head lamps, Warn HS9500i winch with semi hidden mount, Wrangler dual battery kit with red & yellow top Optima batteries, Torsion bars cranked up 2.5 turns. Needs one more door.

 

Now Now, people here spend great amounts of money to get their tires to spin and here you are complaining about it!

I had the same problem with the stock Goodyear AP's. Switched tires to Bridgestone Dueler ATP's and the problem was solved.

 

Rusty,

Do you spin both wheels or just one when you take off from a stop light (not turning)?

------------------
98 F-150 XLT 4X4 ORP Super Cab Short Bed, 4.6, Auto, 4.10's, Mag-Hytec diff. cover, Magnacharger supercharger, Superchip, Gibson single cat-back, 80/100w German head lamps, Warn HS9500i winch with semi hidden mount, Wrangler dual battery kit with red & yellow top Optima batteries, Torsion bars cranked up 2.5 turns. Needs one more door.

 

Both tires at a stop light, inside tire in a turn

 

Both tires at a stop light - use a lighter foot; inside tire in a turn - add a dose of friction modifier (yours is tired).

------------------
Y2K™ Jim

Toreador Red, Keyless XLT SC SB 5.4L E4x4 4wDisc/ABS, 3.73LS, Skid, HD 7700# Towing, LT-245's on Chrome, Tube-Steps, Captain's, 6CD, Tonneau, named: "Nick"

 

From what I've seen/heard, oe of the fastest ways to wear out any clutch type LS is go spin your tires around corners. The outside plants, the inside spins, and the clutches take some serious abuse. If yours has been doing it daily, your TracLoc is toast. No prob though. It's easy and cheap to rebuild. You can do anything you want in a straight line, the wear occurs when you are cornering.

------------------
2000 F150 XLT 4x4 Short Bed. Amazon Green, 5.4L, SuperCab, ORP, Tow Package, Sliding Rear Window, Electronic Shift, Keyless Entry, LT265-70-17 Tires, Clarion Pro Audio, Herculiner Bedliner, Air Silencer Removed.

1994 SVT Mustang Cobra. #1032 of 6009. Black coupe with black leather int., 3.73 rear, Bassani Exhaust, Aluminum D/S, Bridgestone RE-71 255-45-ZR17

My Home Page

 

My truck is a ext. cab., short bed, 4x4, pretty much stock 5.4L. Brand new tires Dueler A/T's, 265/70/17. I've kinda been thinking along the lines with 98fword. It does it on the inside on turns, but at a stop light going straight, both sometimes. My father has a truck exactly like mine, cept his is a '00 model and his, even with the crappy RT/S's doesnt do it. Only thing I know it might be is that, a) when it was serviced at the Ford dealer, they didnt put any limited slip fluid in it, or b) clutch in the limited slip is gone. Any other ideas?

 

Mine more or less does the same thing. It is a 98 w/ 3.55LS. I just replaced the factory APs (2557016) w/ LTXAT 2657516 tires. If I make a sharp turn with any amount of power, then one of the tires slips somewhat. Is this a problem I need to get fixed prior to my warr running out? I've got 35K on it now.

Thanks,

Jim

------------------
1998 F-150 XLT SC 5.4L

 

Clarification.

Is your wheel spinning (sreeeeeeeeee) - or merely locked with the other wheel (eepeepeepeep)? It's common for the clutches to over-bias -- which means that they don't 'differentiate' well -- resulting in a basically-locked diff -- which doesn't allow the inside wheel to turn slower than the outside wheel during LIGHT-to-none acceleration on turning.

This 'feature' is the reason that Ford needs the friction modifier additive. Other limited-slip designs are more tolerant.

------------------
Y2K™ Jim

Toreador Red, Keyless XLT SC SB 5.4L E4x4 4wDisc/ABS, 3.73LS, Skid, HD 7700# Towing, LT-245's on Chrome, Tube-Steps, Captain's, 6CD, Tonneau, named: "Nick"

 

So if mine hops like you described, do I need to change my diff. fluid and add a new bottle of the friction modifier? I thought the diff. didn't need to be changed until 100K.

 

Nope - just add more friction modifier.

Lubes have different static vs dynamic coefficent of friction. When the clutch packs or cones or whatever (be it in an automatic transmission or differential) sit with no motion - the oil can be pretty 'sticky' -- and/but once things are sheared loose, it's another story.

That's a primary reason for the difference between auto-transmission types. The transmission/gear manufacturer has the lube supplier custom tweak the lube to match both the stuck/unstuck clutch packs AND how the thing is supposed to change (feel) as things wear in (or out, based on your perspective).

A limited-slip differential has the task of providing high-enough 'bias' so that when one wheel loses grip there is enough friction on the LS to provide torque to the other wheel -- and at the same time it must be able to let the wheels 'differentiate' (turn at different speeds) - under light-to-no load when turning.

So, you need it to slip when you want it to, yet grip when you want it to, and do that under different acceleration. Pretty much an impossible task when you think about it.

The Eaton(R) governed (little centrifugal wheel like the governor on steam engines) LS works really neat, since things have to be spinning in order for the governor to kick in. I have no clue as to what nameplate they're used in -- or how well they're accepted in the field (I only saw them in cut-aways and sales tools).

 

When I worked at a shop several years ago, I had a customer come in with a chevy elcamino. He complained of rear tires wearing poorly and squealing on corners. 40k on the car. Dealer serviced the rear diff several times. I opened it and found that GM neglected to machine one of the teeth on one of the side gears! Neadless to say, GM gave us a new set at no charge. Hows that for quality? Dave C.

------------------
'97 F-250 LD 3dr 4x4 5.4 (toy hauler). '86 Buick Grand National 3.8 SFI Intercooled Turbo V-6 (wifes summer toy). '87 Buick Turbo-T 3.8 SFI Intercooled Turbo V-6 (my summer driver/weekend racer. Nearly stock, 12.4 @ 111mph)