open differential

[Worm]

I had originally planed on getting the LS on an X. Well the one that I bought does not have them. I had read that the ford LS is a poor to mediocre peformer anyway. So, now I'm wondering what to do. I will not be using 4X4 very often, but I've been known to get stuck now and again. Does anyone know what is available for both the front and rear axles on the X. From what I understand the rear is the ford 10.5 and the front is a dana 60. Is this correct?

[coldair]

worm, The front is a dana 50 and the rear is a sterling 10.5, check out my signature to see what I did. The Aubroun gear limited slip works great, I have yet to bury one back tire, and what can you say about the ARB other then expensive but it works like nothing else on the market. I have had my set up for 15000 miles and no problems, plus I intend to add rear air bags for towing, so the onboard compresser will really come in handy.
mike

[Worm]

I'm interested in the auburn, is the part# 542089? Did you install yourself? I was also concerned about driveability on snow and ice. We don't get that much here in central texas, but I'm planning a trip up north. Anyway, does the auburn use the original ring gear? The ARB looks like one complicated install. There looks to be amillion and one parts. Is there a reason that you used a limited slip for the rear and a swithable full locker on the front. Back to ice, I read that LS and lockers might have a greater tendency to slide on ice and was wondering about leaving the rear open and a LS on front?? Or the other way around?? Thanks

[coldair]

worm, the reason I chose the aubroun for the rear was I drove lockers before and I did not like the banging when making a turn on the street . as far as driving insnow and ice ice don't count on anything working without a good set of chains and alot of careful driving.
installtion should be done by and expert, it takes a person with alot of expernice to set up an axle not something you want to do yourself unless you are a good mechanic with all the tools. ask your dealer what they charge and ask your local speed shops and your local hot rod clubs they might help you chose one. set up right you will not shorten the normal life span of the axle nor ruin your fuel economy.
I paid 350 per axle for installtion and I installed the ARB compresser myself, I mounted it to the lower side of the battery tray on the passenger side, I mounted the switches for it to the removable panel under the steering wheel so I could control it with my left hand and steer with the right, you don't want to drive around turns with your front axle locked it gets kinda hairy.
there used to be a great guy on this site Dukes2fords but some smart aleck kid ran him off but if your search for his posts on arb's he has a lot of good information on them.
mike

[ceferino]

I got the optional Ford LSD on mine. It has failed once already in that it was completly open by 15k miles. I asked around and found that such early demise is apparently not common. The Ford dealer nicked the ring gear [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] when they replaced the LSD under warrantee, so next they replaced the R&P...Wonder why I put my wife and kids in a new a Toyota instead of a Ford? [img]images/icons/crazy.gif[/img]

Anyway, back to LSD and lockers. My understanding of the Ford Dana-sourced LSD versus the Auburn is that they are similar in durability. They have slightly different clutch designs but are similar otherwise. Neither is suitable for heavy-duty use or rock crawling. But for most of us they're both fine.

I had a LockRight installed in the front (Dana 50). I don't care about any clunking because I'm rarely in 4wd anyway. But I don't like the way the vehicle handles in 4wd with the front locker in there. It's hard to steer in 4wd, and tends to steer itself at speeds above 5 mph. So if I had to do it again I'd put in an ARB despite the extra cost. Then you could lock it only when you need it.

But recently I learned (in 4Wheeler) that Ford's front hub assemblies for the Dana 50 require axle shafts that are no stronger than a Dana 44. So I don't think I'll put an ARB in my Dana 50 front. Maybe I'll get a front axle out of an F-350 Super Duty and put it in instead. At 7400 lbs unladen, xCRUSHn is no lightweight so stronger is better for axles. I do go offroad frequently.

[Worm]

Hey Reno, Did your front have a LS or does just the rear come with the LS option. The aftermarket dana traclock is supposed to be better than the one that comes stock from ford(2 more clutch plates)but noisier also. I'm glad you mentioned about the lockright. I was leaning that way before,but was concerned about drivability. as far as I can tell the ARB and the lockright is about the only thing available for the front. I would leave'm both open but the first time I get stuck I'll be pissed. Did you do your own install? Thanks

[ceferino]

Only my rear had LSD from the factory. I don't know if any manufacturer offers front LSD or lockers. I think it used to be a special-order option on Land Cruisers but they dropped it a few years ago. Oh, and Mercedes Gelundwagons (sp?) have 4x4 locking too but they are imported at a cost way over our budgets.

I didn't put in my front LockRight myself just because I have kids and no spare time. But it's an easy job if you can wrench. You don't need a case spreader for the Dana because you just pop the locker in where the spider gears are stock.

You're right, ARB and LockRight were the only options I had when I installed the locker a few months ago, and I haven't heard of any new offerings. Randy's Ring & Pinion has a great tech phone line that can tell you anything you need to know like this.

But having a front locker is awesome when you're rock crawling. I walked over boulders as high as my rocker panels and had total control, no wheelspin. Front LSD would have allowed a fair amount of wheelspin before sending torque to the other wheel, and that wheelspin could have slid the spinning tire off the side of the rock so my rocker panel slammed down on it.

A front ARB would be killer.