10.25 Locker or Trac loc

ponykilr

Guest
My F350 has an open diff and I want to fix that. A Trac Loc would be fine with me but i have no idea where to find a used one.

Lock Rite for these are pretty expensive. What are my options?

Anyone have a trac loc they want out of there way LOL.

Would a full Detroit be overkill for just occasional off road?
 
I would probably go full Detroit just for strength. No sense in having an axle that big, that may potentially see some heavy use, and not put the ultimate beef inside it.
 
Depending on how much offroad you're talking about and what kind, look into a Detroit true track. It's a gear type limited slip. I replaced the worn out factory clutch type diff with one in the 10.5 in my f250 dd/tow rig. There are no noticeable handling quirks on the road but it works great pulling my loaded trailer across muddy parking areas at the Flats for example, including two years ago when we had to park on the upper flat LOL
 
A rear Detroit in a pickemup eats rear tires. BTDT

The true track (trutrak? trutrac??) is a Torsen-type, similar to what AAM puts in the Dodges. I've been really happy with mine.

A 10.25LS is an option, but they're just the clutch type, and I've got to imagine they're pricey new for what you get. Could always find a junkyard or second-hand one and do the trick where you add extra clutch discs to tighten it up....
 
Ive got a lockright in my old 96 f250 single cab longbed worktruck. I put it in about 4 years ago or so, havnt had any problems with it knock on wood. It does make the abs act up sometimes when low speed turning and braking at the same time.
I need something for my 2000 f250, the limited slip is toasted and actually feels like its destorying itself going through turns loaded.
 
redneckjeep87 said:
Ive got a lockright in my old 96 f250 single cab longbed worktruck. I put it in about 4 years ago or so, havnt had any problems with it knock on wood. It does make the abs act up sometimes when low speed turning and braking at the same time.
I need something for my 2000 f250, the limited slip is toasted and actually feels like its destorying itself going through turns loaded.
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Yea. My stock limited slip died. I decided on the torsen style diff so I wouldn't need to worry about it ever again. I read somewhere that the ford clutches are used up by 50000 miles and that's been my experience with four ford vehicles over the years
 
I have added clutches to a few 8.8 LSDs. If I could find a used one I might do it.
A lock rite is looking pretty cool because I don't have to mess with backlash or mess up my R&P wear, it was rebuilt not long ago by PO.

What are the chances a LSD equipped 14 bolt could be found for a decent price? Some folks have swapped them in right?
 
The 14 bolt is going to be a Gov-lock. That's the one where if the tire free wheels for a half turn or so, a pin drops inside the carrier and turns it into a spool. You can also get a Detroit-equipped one out of a CUCV, but it's going to be 4.56.
 
I need 4:10/4:11

I had a few GM trucks with the gov lock, it works pretty well.

What does a used 14 bolt go for? I assume new perches and maybe an adapter type Ujoint or do they use the same joint?

Just thinking out loud, but if a 14 bolt could be bought for around the same as a Lock Rite or other diff, I may would be money ahead to swap.

What years am I looking at?
 
gov-locks have too many small parts that break. tru-tracs are awesome in smaller vehicles, but also have lots of small parts that break under heavy vehicles or heavy horespower. clutch type limited-slips wear out.
 
I am not opposed to a locker, whether full case or lunch box. I used to drive a 74 with Detroits front and rear. Heavier vehs don't have as many weird side effects like a jeep or something.
The main negative to swapping to a 14B is that 92-96 trucks use a tone ring on the diff to run the speedo and cruise. There are work arounds but...I dunno
I am pretty sure the 10.25 will hold up to anything I want to do but the random pinion failures are a concern. I don't wheel this hard but I do have BB power and a manual, I have been known to get a little heavy on the throttle LOL. The 9" in the 74 held up to some hard abuse...Maybe I am fretting about nothing since this one has been rebuilt.

I did read that using washers from a 9" instead of the crush sleeve would stop the pinion issues. Shawn, what do you think?
 
My 10.5 true trac has held up behind my tuned 6.0 powerstroke 6speed on 35s for going on 5 years and 100,000 miles. I dd the truck and I'm pretty hard on it then. It tows my trail rig about once a month gross combined weight of 18500#. I put the true track in after I grenaded the original 10.5 with a race tune, it spun the carrier bearings til it wiped out the housing. When I finally pulled the stocker down I could pry the tracklok back and forth 3/8". I bought a used axle but it was open so I stuck the true trac in. I used a cover with a girdle and haven't had any issues since.
 
I am glad yours has held up well. In their defense, the one I had worked flawlessly without issue, until I parted the jeep out. But read some of the reviews posted here. http://www.offroaders.com/reviewbox/showproduct.php?product=252 The gov-lock used by GM is much more likely to fail than these.

I still say that for a full-size vehicle, go with a detroit. Maybe the torsen-style LS, I believe they can be tuned/tightened up at home, but am not 100% sure about that.
 
If you tow much, you'll dislike a Detroit or Yukon Grizzly type full locker. Under a load, especially with a manual trans, the locker will disengage (in my case, normally between 2nd and 3rd) and it sounds and feels like the ass end of the truck was hit sideways by a Geo Metro.

I picked up a Grizzly pretty cheap from ECGS because some guy wanted it put in his dually. He put about 3000 miles on it and had them take it back out and put in the Dodge limited slip. Mind you, this was an AAM 11.5 and the Grizzly is right at 1000 bucks new. The limited slip is 750 or 800.

With that being said...both of my 4x4 trucks are 5 speed and locked front and rear. It doesn't bother me any more and I anticipate it. They do wear tires a little more than normal, but its because the inside tire drives in a turn and when taking off the drive tire sometimes spins until the locker engages. I prefer the reliability of it though. Besides breaking an axle shaft which lead to a destroyed Detroit...I've never had any problems from them.
 
I've bought 3 or 4 10.25s with factory LS diffs for around $150 each. They're pretty common. That would be your cheapest route to go. If you find one, assuming it hasn't ever been changed, the tag will say 4L10 or 3L55 if it is a LS.
 
I thought that mine had that on the tag, I looked when I first bought it.
The last couple of times I had it in the air though it acted like an open diff. I will look again, maybe the clutches are just worn out.
I see rebuild kits for the clutches and stuff on Ebay pretty cheap.
 
I know a dude who has replaced a few dozen Sterling Trac Locks with ARBs. He may know where one can be located for a pretty fair price. Let me dig around later today and see if I have one laying around for you.
 
Thanks Jody. All things considered, a factory unit probably will work best for me.

It needs to have the tone ring if you can find one.
 
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The snow today really made the one wheel boogy a PITA. In 4x4 it was no problem but 2wd and 460 manual made it almost a given to spin anytime the throttle was touched.
 
May be selling the truck. But, for me the factory LS (Trac Lock) would be more than enough.
 
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