I am thinking of changing my open differential to a limited slip in my 97 longbed. Should I go with after market or OEM? Is one better/cheaper than the other? How much is this going to cost me? Can I do it myself? I'm pretty handy, and don't mind taking the time to do it right the first time.

 

Just bringing this back to the top. C'mon guys (and gals), there has to be someone out there who's proud of their knowledge on this subject! Help me learn.

 

My personal preference (for daily driven truck) would be Auburn, Eaton-Posi or Ford OEM Track-loc. The Auburn & Eaton-Posi are @ the upper $$$. You get what you pay for. "Traction is money--How tight do you want to grip the Road?"
I have seen a conversion unit called, lock-rite (which is used to convert your standard open diff. to a limited slip). The Lock-rite would be very easy to install in an 8.8" Ford axle. The diff. carrier would not have to be removed; however, your existing axle gears should be in excellent condition to utilize the Lock-rite.
I would not recomend installing the Auburn, OEM Trak-Loc or Eaton, unless, you have the know-how or seek professional help.


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1999 Teal Blue F-150 S/C
4.6L, XLT, 3.55 L/S 4x2
Tow pkg., Rhino liner, Engine block heater & Swiss hard toneau cover. Premium sound
255/75 R16 Generals-owl
This" is Mama's pride"

 

I'm thinking of getting the Truetrac from Tracteck but I wanted to here some peoples opinions before i add a ls. The reason I'm leaning towards them is the fact that you dont need special additives for it to work.

 

How much is the trutrac?

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2001 Bright Red Supercrew 4X4, 5.4L V8

Mods: (shhhh don't tell anyone)
Superchip
BFGoodrich TA KO 285/75/16
Airforce One intake kit
Exhaust: Hooker AeroChamber Muffler, SI/DO
SurePull Class III Hitch
Rhino Liner (Planned)
Catch-All Floor Mats (Planned)

Go Buckeyes!
&
Go Bluejackets!

Truck Pull Kills: 4

 

"If you look closely at the true-track" application guide; I believe you will see in small print "true-track is not recomended for street use". The true track is all gears. No springs, no cluches, cones or govenors, etc. In some racing applications they are great; however, I don't believe I would put one in my dailey driven vehicle.
I have put many of these in 9" ford diff's. for racing. I believe they sell retail for the $400.00 to $450.00 range.

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1999 Teal Blue F-150 S/C
4.6L, XLT, 3.55 L/S 4x2
Tow pkg., Rhino liner, Engine block heater & Swiss hard toneau cover. Premium sound
255/75 R16 Generals-owl
This" is Mama's pride"

 

chelly- The differential will cost $300-400 uninstalled for the most common ones. If you want gears, this is the right time for that too $200(already torn down to that level). Installation kit and fluid next. If you're not familiar with setting up a rear end, and don't have the proper tools available, you should let a experienced person do it. Do a general browser search of changing gears in a Mustang, there are tons of sights that show pictures of the whole process: pinion bearing removal and pressing, proper backlash setting, parts and tool lists, etc.

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2000 F-150 XL, RC, LB, 5.4L, 4R70W, 3.55LS,
Class III tow, Payload #3, & Convenience pkgs.,
4-wheel disc/ABS, Chestnut/Parchment 40/60,
Ford bedliner w/Paintsaver & gas/wheel/spare locks,
K&N F.I.P.K. w/Outwears pre-filter, Superchip,
Dynomax ultra-flow welded 3" cat-back w/ 3" Y-pipe,
Hellwig front & rear anti-sway bars, Rancho RS 9000s,
Mobil 1, K&N oil filter.

 

After doing some more research I will have to agree with a statement made above. I will not be using the Truetrak in my truck. When the truck does end up on the pavement I usually drive it for 4 or more hours straight and I do not want to fight the rear end the whole time.
I'm open for suggestions on a ls I can put in my truck.

 

what does ford use in the ORP half ton's ? That's kind of what I was thinking of using.

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1997 4x4 supercab lariat, leather, white & gold. stock for now, purchased with 104,000 miles on it, I have the cold start PS, it's probably had it since day one, 5.4 still running strong, looking at custom true duals as first mod.

 

I agree with gearmanx17...auburn, eaton-posi, or FORD OEM Track-lok. I had the stock Trac-lok "beefed up" with a couple more clutch packs ($75) and this helps it grab better...it apparently is what all the mustangs are doing also, because its reliable and relatively cheaper...anywayz...hope this helps...

 

I did an Auburn Pro install and so far I am very happy with it. Max Mitchell gave some great advice in his post. If you plan a gear change, that would be the time. A couple of heads up items; when the limited slip is installed, especially with lower gears, it will cause more wheel hop and axle wrap than before. I could not launch at full throttle from a stop without backing out of the throttle or I would have to get it rolling at about 5 mph then nail it. I ended up installing Cal Tracs which solved that problem. For pictures of the Auburn Pro on a table,and installed, go to my Zing site. I hope this info helps, Good Luck!

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"The Beast" 98 White 4.6 Triton STX (It's not an STX anymore) Flairside,Class III hitch.
Appearance Mods: Blue Cobra Stripes, Euro Lid by Astro, Bed Rug, Fiero Wing, Air Dam,Ground Force 2-4 Drop,Custom MB Phantom Wheels,clear corner lenses,monster battery terminals.

Stereo Mods: MTX Dual Sub Box with 2 10 inch Polks, 4 Polk Speakers, MTX 102 Amp with a Pioneer FH-P4400 CD, Cassette Head Unit

Performance Mods: 96 Crown Victoria Electric Fan Mod, Custom Programmed Super Chip,BBK 75mm TB, Pro M 80mm MAF,Custom Welded Powder Coated Intake Tube,Pillar Pod w/ boost and trans temp,Jacobs DIS Ignition,Art Carr 2400 Stall Performance Transmission,4:10 gears with Auburn Pro Limited Slip,TA Performance Rear End Girdle, Cal Trac Traction Bars, Jet coated JBA stainless headers, custom Y pipe after the Cats, Magna Flow Muffler with Stainless Duals and of course fully Blown Magnacharger!

http://www.zing.com/album/?id=4293450711

[This message has been edited by Flats Man (edited 04-12-2001).]

 

I've been running a TrueTrac in my 8.8" axle for about six weeks now, and I love it. Mine's a '95 XLT SC SWB, with 5.0 and E4OD. I posted some time back both here and on the ford-trucks site, because my pinion bearings were shot (after 92k of easy, daily driver use, 101k at time of replacement). I had the TrueTrac installed on Mar. 9th, along with new gears (Motive Gear Performance Line 3.31 R&P), and Yukon master install kit). And yes, my pinion bearings were bad. The outer (small) one was blue from overheating, and the inner (large) one was pretty chewed up. The installer guy figures it was from too much preload from the factory.

The TrueTrac is great, and very well behaved on the street. No spider gears to worry about, no wimpy cross shaft lock bolt to break, and best of all, no clutches to wear out. The only sound I've heard from it is a slight bump-bump-bump on a couple of occasions when exiting a corner, and even then it was barely noticeable. It's a great improvement over the open rear end, and gets power down much better. I've got 800 miles on it so far, and had it back in the shop last week for the rear axle oil refill (necessary after 500-1000 after putting in new gears), and a great gear pattern and no metal in the housing. It was refilled with Mobil 1 sythetic, by the way. I didn't see anything in the manual that came with it warning against street use. I highly recommend the TrueTrac. I bought it from Randy's Ring & Pinion (for $350), and the guy I spoke to there recommended it over the Auburn(!), which had been my first choice. I also bought the master install kit from Randy's, a Yukon kit for, for $66 (cheap!) The gearset I bought from National Drivetrain, for $169. The gears are double-lapped, which is supposed to make them run quieter (they are *very quiet*), and easier to break in (according to the tech guy I talked to at Motive Gear). The total cost, parts and installation labor, and refill after break-in, totaled about $1050. That also included a new ABS tone ring, about $40 (they are not reusable, and the Ford manual recommends removing the old one by beating it off with a hammer - yikes!). I also highly recommend the shop that installed it, Competition Machine in Plano, TX. The rear end guy there (Vance) is very knowledgeable, and has done lots of 8.8 rearends (mainly in Mustangs).