what should i do to upgrade my non-LS?

i had - 265/70/17 goodyear and 3.55 gear.
i put a 3" bodylift and cranked the torsions a extra 2"
and put 315/75/16 Goodyear MTR's (VERY NICE TIRE)

now i want to upgrade my drivetrain.

i'm thinking 4.56 gears putting in a LS unit and even lockers.

can i put LS in front and rear? and what about the lockers?

dose this sound like a good setup?
i want to do alot of trails.

help me out with the best setup!
thanks!

scottie

 

Due to your overdrive you can prolly get away with 4:56's but in my opinion they are too much if its your daily driver. If im not mistaken your 315's are only 33" and stock were 31.5 or so.

As for a LS in the front I wouldnt recommend it if its a daily driver. You would likely want something like an Air locker that can be turned on when off road.

 

315 75 16 are 34.7 in tall....

 

Well then do the math and see what RPM range the 4:56's put ya in.

 

ok, i'm not to worried about daily driving. I have a S-10 that i take to work. Not worried about losing top end. (I'll be trail riding! 50% of the time, how fast do you want to go on the trail! 100mph? and speed limit on Highway is 75mph here)
I'm not worried about gas milage! if i was i'd get a Geo Metro!

the tires are 35" tall (34.7" to be dead on!)
i hear alot of 33" tire guys going to 4:30's!(and lovin it) why would this be any differant?

I'm really wanting to know about the lockers.

i'm going to get LS in rear (set on that)
should i think about LS in front? what are the downfalls?

would lockers give me any plus (for the price) over just LS?

I have been seeing others with LS and Lockers front and rear.
(like new jeep) how do they get around the driving problem?

scottie

 

i just found out that running 4.56 gears and driving down the highway at 75mph i'm only doing 2,600rpm's thats not bad at all!!
thats with 35" tires!

 

If you have the 8.8 rear the 4.30 gears is the highest you can go without additional modification to the rear. That should be plenty anyway. If you change to an aftermarket LS unit then most of them come with a new carrier as a complete package. This would replace your open carrier. If you go with a locking rear like I have then you purchase the one for the open rear. Mine is a RWD but on the FWD you should leave the front diff open. 4.30 gears should be readily available for the front diff as well.
Good luck and have fun.

 

If It were me I would get a locker for the rear. Either a full detroit locker if you have the money ($550 plus $300ish for install), or a more affordable inside the stock carrier locker, like the POWERTRAX. Detroit also makes one of these type of lockers.

I have a locker in my F150 and do not regret it. At first the noise will worry you, but you get used to it. I cannot see owning a truck now with out a locker in it. I had the factory LS at first, but broke it. The locker is worlds better in my opinion.

If your a serious off road guy then look into a LS for the front. When not in 4x4 you will never know it is there, and when in 4x4 mode you will still be able to turn.

Good tires do no good if only one of them is turning

 

I would recommend an LS in the front, only if the truck is driven only off road. It will work on road, and many people do it, but a selectable locker would be a mutch better alternative. Both while in 4x4 and not in 4x4. If you had manual locking hubs, then an LS would be just fine up front, but since F-150's don't have them, and I havn't seen any conversion kits for the newer models, you'll brobably be time and money ahead going with the selectable locker, than converting to manual hubs.

as for the rear, thats a no brainer. Locker. period. the price difference is insignificant, but the traction advantages are enormous.

Basically it comes to this: A limited slip in the rear offers a little help to keep you going, but in some circumstances, they can easily be overpowerd, wich makes them no better than an open diff. Try putting a nice size rock in front of one wheel, while the other is on ice, or a slick puddle of mud. that LS isnt going to help one bit. A locker on the other hand will eat that rock and spit it out (don't let anyone stand behide you.)
In the front an LS works the same way, but without manual hubs, you may find times it will just not handle the way you expect it to, and you could end up in a ditch. where you encounter that rock that is keeping you from moving because you don't have a locker.

 

Thanks guys!
The Locker in the rear is on my Christmas list!!!

i'll think about the LS in the front!

The truck is a 50-50 offroad/onroad truck.
would i be losing if I left the open in front?
would the LS in the front give a Off road advantage?
(if i had a Locker in rear)
Or dose the locker in the rear just not need a LS in front?

scottie

 

The more wheels you are turning , the better. No way around it. With a stock 4x4, with a non limited slip diff you are only really turning 2 tires when in 4wheel drive. A locker bumps you up to three, and is a HUGE difference. Adding a LS or selectable locker in the front gives you as much traction as can possibly be had.

A selectable locker will give you more traction potiental, but they are more expensive to buy and to install. They also make it difficult to turn while locked up.

A LS is cheaper to buy and install, but gives no where near the traction as a locker. They are easier to turn with, but not as easy as the stock open diff.

Look at it this way. You have two open diff's now. You off road your truck. How many times have you been stuck, or unable to get over an obsticle? Lockers front and rear may well be money wasted for some. It really is up to what you are wanting the truck to do.

keep in mind more traction can = broken parts. Instead of tires spinning you might well be placing a huge load on an axle and possibly breaking it. Something to keep in mind.

I have a locker in the rear, and the stock open front diff. I have climbed things I thought were not possible, and gone through more than I could have imagined. My truck is much more 4x4 worthy than I am...lol

Good tires and a rear locker in a 4x4 will get you alot of places. And of course the more ground clearance the better. Most common cause of being stuck is lack of ground clearance.

Good luck what ever you decide.

 

I'd leave the front open. The 8.8 IFS will not stand up to a locker but will tolerate a LS. The weak point is the CVs. The rear locker is much better for traction compared to a LS. An LS uses clutchs which can slip and will eventually need to be rebuilt over time. The detroit is the best locker to get as its a full carrier. The only problem with it is its cost prohibitive. One option would be a lunchbox locker like a Lockrite. They are about $250 and just replace the spiders. They're not the best ones for the street, but they do well offroad and they're a little easier on the pocket book. I was going to run a Lockrite in the front of my trail truck but I ended up welding the front instead. Since it doesn't see the street and it has a Dana 28 front axle (locking hubs) I can unlock them and it makes no difference whats in the front. As far as the gears, get 4.56s. Almost everyone I've talked to said they wish they woulda gone deeper. I think you can get 5.13 gears for a 8.8 and reverse cut 8.8 IFS but you have to worry about breaking pinions because they get so small. If you get 4.30s with 35s you'll wish you'd gone 4.56. As far as having to modify the axle, the only thing I can think that would be would be a stage 2 carrier. To my knowledge you don't need one for these axles, but I'm not 100% on that. I know in Rangers there is a stage 1 and stage 2 carriers. The cutoff for that is 3.73 and higher gears is stage 1 and 4.10 and lower are stage 2. If there is a cutoff like that in F150s then you'll have to get another carrier, which should be at most $100 for a standard open one, but if you run the detroit locker you don't have to worry about it since you're replacing the carrier anyhow.