Stuck in wet grass - extremely disapointed with rear end

[eichhoma]

I have had my truck a while and love it....
however, I got my truck stuck in wet grass. When I bought it, it came with a limited slip rear axle the salesman explained to be like posi traction. So not the case. After shifting in 4 wheel drive, my dad was behind me and said he only saw the R front and the R rear tire turning. Had to go get the tractor to pull it out of the ruts it made. Is this normal for this truck??

My last truck was a Dodge and it had a posi rear end. When I went to 4WD - 3 wheels would turn, it never got stuck, not even in nasty stuff. This is really disapointing. I hear of people upgrading their rear ends in Fords often, is that because of this? What is the easiest or most cost effective way to fix the rear end so it can at least handle moderate needs for 4WD? Like I said, very disapointed this truck cant even handle wet grass in 4WD. Makes me regret trading the Dodge.
Any input would be much appreciated. thanks.

[Smiley1]

I would double check the axle code and see for sure. It might be that too much limited slip addative (friction modifier) was put in from the factory.

I had no problem climbing up my frozen over driveway on an incline in 2wd. I could see where there was a little more tire spin than the other but they both spun a little.

[RatherBNtheWoods]

Limited-slip pretty much sucks when it's in good shape. My 06 is worn "plumb" out and is now an open diff. Clutches and such to rebuild are about $350.00, so I'm thinking about getting some type of locking unit, and saying to heck with LS.

[hooknline]

Trick on these fords is to put your foot on the brake just a little...keeps both wheels spinning

[newtodieseling]

Another "trick" is to actually hammer the go pedal. I have never had an issue with my limited slip so long as I really get the wheels spinning. A little bit of go pedal doesn't engage the limited slip, unless you do the foot on brake trick. i would also question what kind of tires you've got on your truck that you get stuck in wet grass.

[eichhoma]

Thanks for all the feedback fellas.... the tires are brand new Good Year Wrangler's, plenty of meat, its not the tires. I never heard about needing to apply the brake pedal while you accellerate - I will have to try that.... but actually flooring or really putting your foot into the pedal... when already stuck?? that seems like it could make an already bad situation worse.... in the case of being stuck in mud or wet ground....

[mont91]

The reason flooring it might help is that limited slip transfers more torque as the speed differential between tires goes up. The brake pedal thing also helps on open diffs as well(in 4X4).

[RyanG1313]

I'm on my third Super Duty, and the only time that LS would lock up is on dry ground. Been stuck so often in the snow, I've since had the LS replaced with a Detroit Soft Locker. So quiet and smooth, it seems like an open dif; except when I WANT both tires to spin...

[eichhoma]

Ok, So I talked to a very reputable transmission and diff shop in STL.
He told me that the LS rear end in the ford is actually really good.... When set up right. He said from the factory that it is set up very conservatively by way of shims against the discs in the carrier and that they do that to keep customer complaints about chirping and howling to a minimum. He said increasing the shim thickenss to put more pressure on the discs in there would enable both wheels to turn and would take a lot more to get one to break loose. Does this sound right to any of you techs out there?

So, he is recomending I take the carrier out and bring it to him and that he can shim them out farther and make it a pretty bad ass posi, without having to spend the money on a locker set up. Like I mentioned before, i used to have a dodge, and sure it would bark a little bit turning a corner if going real slow, but I dont mind that.

Does this sound right to you guys? It doesnt look like taking the carrier out is a big deal; inside lugs on each wheel, pull the axles out to clear the carrier, remove cover and drain diff, remove four cap bolts and caps (he noted to mark them so they go back on the same way) and the carrier should pull right out. He said he can beef up what I have very nicely so long as my friction discs arent worn out, but with only 60K miles on it, he says he is assuming they are fine.
He will charge me approx $150.00 for this work, me doing the R&R of course.
What do you guys think?

[dlblazer]

It sounds fine (a little expensive to just add washers) .

[eichhoma]

I would not be comfortable doing the actual work myself but the R&R doesn't sound too bad. Unfortunately, this shop only works on the units, they dont do any R&R, and they dotn have the facility for vehicles to be in the shop. The pinion stays put to my understanding, so is there any concerns with putting the carrier back in after he does the work?

Do you see any concerns with any pre-mature wear anywhere by shimming the discs out?

[dlblazer]

You're right the pinion stays put. I wouldn't worry about wearing it out - once the clutch material wears out it will turn into an open diff.

It sounds like a good alternative to a locker. Worth a try at this price.

[eichhoma]

Thanks for the input dlblazer. I am going to give this a shot and pull the carrier this weekend. We'll see what happens!

[Dustin58]

I have had the same problem several times. Mose recently in 2 inches of snow in Durango, Colorado and before that in 4 inches of sand in the desert. I have 37x13.5x17 toyo mt's so there is no tire issue. Only get right wheel spin in 2 wheel drive and 4x4. The truck does have a L.S. I noticed that in auto 4x4 it would only engage the front right as the front axle is an open diff. But if you do a manual lock it helps with getting both front wheels to spin. As for the read L.S. I took the truck to ford and explained the issue. They stated that everything was fine. They lifted the truck up on a lift, out it in 4x4 and put it in drive. They saw all 4 wheels spining and said everything was good. That was the fix. I have talked with several Ford mechanics at the fleet center in my area and they also have had the same issue with there Superduty's. They said it just a cheap L.S. and go get a locker.

[eichhoma]

Awesome. Thanks Dustin. Way to go Ford on that $700 + LS option! Way to make it worth the money!