Need a little info please, I currently have a 7.5" 3.73 open. would like to go with a LS or locker. any ideas on cost or difficulty? also would I be better switching to 4.10? From what I understand going to an 8.8 involves welding new mounts etc. don't want to get involved with that. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

Locker depends on which style you want. You know TRS is the place to go for locker info :) Link: http://www.therangerstation.com/tech...erComparo.html

From what I understand an average Joe shouldn't try to install a locker. You really need to know what you're doin or you can cause a lot of damage in the long run. But there are install guides: http://www.therangerstation.com/tech...y/Lockers.html

I have an 8.8 3.73LS and I want 4.10 and a locker...just waiting on money :)

With 4.10 you have worse gas mileage than 3.73 and even worse with 4.56.

 

its much cheaper and easier for a person that doesnt have tons of mechanical skills to start calling junk yards and find a 8.8 LS axle and just swap it in takes about 4 hours tops

 

 

here when i was doing mine the things i can think of for someone that doesnt know much bring a problem is the parking brake bacuase you have to do some funky things to it for it to reload tension. and bleeding the brakes afterwards. just becarful if your brake lines look rusty dont reef on them then unscrewing them work it back and forth to make sure the line isnt turning with the nut. other then that your cool. take off the shocks on the bottem unbolt the driveshaft undo the brake lines and the e-brake unhook the breather tube from the frame, then unbolt it from the leafs and take it out and go in reverse from there. I needed to regear and get a LS soo I got a whole rearend for half the price it only cost me $150 for the whole thing

 

no diff in driveshaft length from 7.5 to 8.8 housing?
...and, what is that white stuff on the ground in your picture? lol

 

leath no but i think you need the end stock of the drive shaft where the u-joint is for it to match up. and that white stuff is what we call snow thus why i got the LS

 

I believe they call that SNOE...or SMOE...maybe SNOW...something like that...

 

down here it would be sand, and warm

 

I bought a set of 3.73s and a T-LOK for my Mustang and found a place to install them for me. No way was I going near that install. I'll get an axle swap once I break my 7.5 rear.

 

I thought I already posted this somewhere else but anyway.


Quaife makes a LSD unit for the 7.5 rear end...usually installed on T-Bird Turbocoupes and Merkur XR4Ti's...it can be had for the low low price of $995.


So this means you'll be going to your local junkyard and getting an 8.8 and finding someone to weld it if you really want a Locker or LSD! About half the price!

 

YOU DO NOT HAVE to weld unless you get a explorer rear axle just stay away from explorer one's and just get a ranger 8.8 direct bolt on. and that is WAY TO bloody expansive for a locker....

 

Ford Racing, Auburn, and Powertrax all make 7.5 LSD that can be had from $169.00
http://www.gefracing.com/Merchant2/m...egory_Code=38L

 

Wow I've never seen those other diffs before...it must be that T-Coupes and XR4Ti's are 31 spline axles then or everyone just desires an actual locker vs. limited slip!

Interesting tho...$170 is an unbelievable price!

 

The only 31 spline 7.5s I'm seeing are made by Holden and the 8.8 31 spline limited slips go for $190.

 

That must be the big cost difference then...all those others you're listing are plain ol'
Limited Slip Differentials. The Quaife unit is just like the Ford TorSen...its a torque sensing unit with NO clutch plates or other "wearable" parts...its extremely reliable, you'll see it used on lots of rally cars etc. Also they're made in England so thats probably part of the price difference too...but well worth it if you're looking for a quality unit. It will not break your axles due to slippage and then sudden lock up either!

 

The Auburn and the Powertrax units I've seen on Ebay are top notch and are only in the $300-$550 range, but they are limited slips. Also the ones I've posted links for are made by Ford.

 

Although I guess it was Carl or someone broke an axle shaft in Centralia last year with the Torsen differential...so it'll be interesting to see if that happens again the future!

I want to swap a Cobra IRS for the stock 7.5 IRS in my XR4Ti...its a really neat car if you've never had a chance to see one.

 

The Cobra IRS is so heavy though.

 

Unloading the parking brake tension is SUPER easy. Look at your parking brake pedal bracket and you'll see a little 1/4" or so hole in the side. Just reach under the truck, pull down hard on the cable (with the brake released) and put a nail or something like that in the hole. The cable will stay slack.

Mine is still in that condition because with the extra lift and all new brakes my brakes were so so tight they were smoking and it was all because of the parking brake. I need a longer ferrule or whatever you call that little cylinder that joins the front part of the cable the rear cables.

Shame too, that no one who needs an axle is up here. My 8.8, 4.10, LS is on the block. So far it looks like Djaye wants it for a friend of his, but if not it'll be for sale. Tom needs it to prototype some brake brackets on so I'm lendind it to him -- but after that if's going to D. or if he doesn't want it, it's up for sale.

 

The PowerTrax units are automatic lockers and never act as a limited slip.

Auburn makes both LS and lockers. My locker is an Auburn ECTED which is an LS when not energized, and a locker when you turn it on. It's electrically activated.

Well, Carl had a PowerTrax "NoSlip" and I think shock loading from the tendency they have to slip and re-engage caused the problem. Tom believes it was more related to a brake failure but it's sure hard to say. For sure the axle was candy-caned and the brakes were twisted and broken.

I prefer a selectable locker because then you control the engagement and disengagement. With an automatic locker, things can happen that you cannot control -- like when they slip and re-engage.