add LSD or not when doing gears?

[Jwood562]

hi guys, so I am a very much plan mods before I buy type of guy. I want to do 4.10 gears. So while I'm in there.... should i add the ford racing traction lock LSD.

the car is a NA, with bolt ons (intake, throttle body, headers, x-pipe, exhaust, underdrive pullies) and tune, canyon carver, low miles, not daily driven, never been down the 1/4 mile.

going to add one piece drive shaft and short shifter very soon, before the re-gearing.

and benefits to the LSD? drawbacks (besides the extra few hundred bucks)

LSD or not, im excited to feel the car with the one piece drive shaft and 4.10s installed. I picture this thing reving and going through the gears like crazy

 

[JC SSP]

You can rebuild your stock traction lock unit (I have done that a many times).

Auburn and Eaton are great complete unit replacements.

 

[07 Boss]

Honestly if it ain't broke.....

But if I were to invest the $ and effort I would switch it up. I have an Auburn Pro differential with Yukon 4.10 gears in my Mustang. I have an Eaton TrueTrac with Strange 3.73 gears in my FireChicken. Difference being the Auburn is an friction based LSD and the Eaton is a helical gear unit.

 

[RocketcarX]

Always replace the carbon disks when you overhaul an axle. I would switch to the Eaton tru-trac

 

[skwerl]

Another vote for the Eaton Tru-Trac. Had it in both of my Mustangs. Awesome traction, never rebuild them. My Bullitt had hundreds of drag strip passes with the TruTrack and always performed flawlessly.

They have gone up a bit. I paid $433 each 10 years ago. They are pushing $700 now.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003XJ80UC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[yote0]

4.10 gears.

canyon carver

4.10 and "canyon carver" don't mix well.

You already have a limited slip differential. Ford calls it "Traction-Lok". Just rebuild that with new clutch packs.

 

[RocketcarX]

4.10 and "canyon carver" don't mix well.

You already have a limited slip differential. Ford calls it "Traction-Lok". Just rebuild that with new clutch packs.

N/A 3v cars love rear gear for almost any purpose, a Torsen type is better in every way for the stated purpose than a Trac-lok

 

[Miker]

We have a park by the river that is a nice cruise. It has a 15 MPH speed limit. My 05 has no problem rolling along in 3rd gear at about 1000 rpm at around that 15MPH If I changed out my 355s for 410s I could cruise it in 4th!

 

[Jwood562]

so a mixed bag of reviews, none of which are for the ford unit I was considering.

votes for eaton unit, votes for leave it alone, and votes for rebuild it.

I wonder if buying a clutch pack and rebuilding is close to the price of the ford new part. I guess that will be a discussion with my shop doing the install. thanks for the input. I dont think I will be springing of the eaton

 

[Pentalab]

Back a few years ago, the replacement clutch packs from AM were $80.00
The carbon fiber clutch packs from the GT-500 were slightly more at $100.00

IMO, they are both junk, and the carbon fiber clutch packs will melt with enough heat.
You will eventually fry the replacement clutch packs. That's a lotta labor involved to keep constantly rebuilding clutch packs....esp when you are paying for the labor involved.

I opted for the Eaton Tru-trac...and never looked back. It runs flawless, zero maintenance. It has a 3.5:1 bias ratio...and in normal operation, is totally transparent. It provides more TQ to whichever rear wheel has the best traction. Just be sure to use plane jane dino 75W-140 gear oil. NO synthetic, and NO friction modifiers.

At the time, I had the tru-trac and also the whiteline watts link installed on the same day. (The DSS-DS one piece aluminum DS was installed 3 months previously).

The combo of the watts link + Eaton tru-trac was a night and day difference. The whiteline watts link comes with a super thick aluminum differential cover, complete with drain + fill plugs for the 75W-140 gear oil. I also added a Bob's Autosport's catch can for the rear axle. On the 05-10 cars, the catch can goes on the pass side axle. They provided enough flex tubing, between axle and the billet aluminum catch can, such that when on a 2 post lift, with rear tires dangling down, the flex tubing still has some slack. Without the catch can, (or Fords turkey baster 'fix') you will end up with gear oil all over the axle..and ground.

 

[07 Boss]

so a mixed bag of reviews, none of which are for the ford unit I was considering.

votes for eaton unit, votes for leave it alone, and votes for rebuild it.

I wonder if buying a clutch pack and rebuilding is close to the price of the ford new part. I guess that will be a discussion with my shop doing the install. thanks for the input. I dont think I will be springing of the eaton

Yeah, it pretty much depends on budget and needs. I said leave it alone because she is just a weekend car that doesn't see the track. The diff might go 200K-300K miles with good maintenance and not being abused. To completely swap it out just seems unnecessary unless you plan on abusing it. For a simple weekend pleasure mobile the stock traction-loc is more than sufficient. If you want some peace of mind toss some new clutch packs in there. I would never have replaced mine if it wasn't a track car.

 

[RocketcarX]

I've smoked a clutch pack trac-loc in 1 season of messing around. They are wear items. A Torsen will torque bias AND doesn't wear out.

 

[GriffX]

I have an Eaton Trutrac and you feel the difference from the first corner. And not only accelerating also hard braking is different with a free axle. I would not go back to the friction style. One thing, it makes clicking noise on coasting with clutch pressed.

 

[skwerl]

so a mixed bag of reviews, none of which are for the ford unit I was considering.

votes for eaton unit, votes for leave it alone, and votes for rebuild it.

I wonder if buying a clutch pack and rebuilding is close to the price of the ford new part. I guess that will be a discussion with my shop doing the install. thanks for the input. I dont think I will be springing of the eaton

That's because what you are considering is a shitty option. But you will ignore the advice and use your shitty option anyway. Then in a year or so you will sell the Mustang and buy some other brand car because you can't get the Mustang to handle the way you want.

You can lead a horse to water...

 

[Jwood562]

That's because what you are considering is a shitty option. But you will ignore the advice and use your shitty option anyway. Then in a year or so you will sell the Mustang and buy some other brand car because you can't get the Mustang to handle the way you want.

You can lead a horse to water...

quite a bit of assumptions in there haha.

but seriously, the only reason my shitty option is a consideration is because I was under the impression that rebuilding my factory unit is the same as the ford unit I was considering.

Am I wrong? I hope that makes sense.

I heard the votes for the Eaton unit but I’m not sure I will spring for it just merely for costs vs what I actually do with my car.
Plus I not selling this car! First car I bought on my own as an adult. Original owner and I already told my son he is going to learn how to drive a 5 speed in it

 

[RocketcarX]

The Ford Trac-Loc diff you see for sale around $250 is your original diff down to the carbon clutch packs.
The Torsen is the better driving experience, that's the main take away here. You can install a Trosen with a solid pinion spacer and if it is set up right never have to go into it again outside of fluid changes.
A clutch pack diff will wear out over time while also requiring special friction modifier added over time to keep it functional.

 

[MrBhp]

Fuck all that. Just change the gears and you'll be good to go. Unless the car has 150k of abuse. Surprising no one has asked you the mileage on the car before handing out their opinions. If you plan on tracking the car, (not 1/4 mile) then you should use the proper diff for the desired outcome. My guess is that if the desired diff is out of your budget, the tires that are needed are also out of your budget, ergo tracking is out of your budget. Throwing money at something that's not needed is a fast track to not enjoying your car. Don't stand on it while going around corners from a dead stop. Don't stand on it with one wheel on a slippery surface. Yes, the units that have been suggested to you are much better than the stock unit. Sounds to me like you really don't need it. First thing is, ENJOY YOUR CAR. Second thing is, if you're going to be on this forum much you better grow some thick skin. You've been a member here for awhile, so I'm sure you know what I mean. It's good policy to occasionally tell individuals to go fuck themselves, metaphorically speaking. Myself included if you feel the need. Just remember, canyons only hurt when you reach the bottom without the use of the road. Ymmv.

 

[Jwood562]

The Ford Trac-Loc diff you see for sale around $250 is your original diff down to the carbon clutch packs.
The Torsen is the better driving experience, that's the main take away here. You can install a Trosen with a solid pinion spacer and if it is set up right never have to go into it again outside of fluid changes.
A clutch pack diff will wear out over time while also requiring special friction modifier added over time to keep it functional.

thank you, that’s what I was thinking. That’s why I said I was going to weigh the costs of rebuilding my current set up or drop on the $250 unit.

 

[Jwood562]

Fuck all that. Just change the gears and you'll be good to go. Unless the car has 150k of abuse. Surprising no one has asked you the mileage on the car before handing out their opinions. If you plan on tracking the car, (not 1/4 mile) then you should use the proper diff for the desired outcome. My guess is that if the desired diff is out of your budget, the tires that are needed are also out of your budget, ergo tracking is out of your budget. Throwing money at something that's not needed is a fast track to not enjoying your car. Don't stand on it while going around corners from a dead stop. Don't stand on it with one wheel on a slippery surface. Yes, the units that have been suggested to you are much better than the stock unit. Sounds to me like you really don't need it. First thing is, ENJOY YOUR CAR. Second thing is, if you're going to be on this forum much you better grow some thick skin. You've been a member here for awhile, so I'm sure you know what I mean. It's good policy to occasionally tell individuals to go fuck themselves, metaphorically speaking. Myself included if you feel the need. Just remember, canyons only hurt when you reach the bottom without the use of the road. Ymmv.

Yes sir…… thick skin has been installed not so much from this forum but others for sure.

to answer some questions you brought up. My car is a 2008 with 60k on it. All miles are mine. Never had a problem with the car at all. Dropping in the 4.10s and calling it a day is always an option.

 

[Forty61]

My personal opinion, if cost is a concern and/or you don’t ever track the car just leave the diff alone and throw the gears in. I went with 3.73s in my car (70k miles) and the factory diff is more than sufficient for tooling around and taking my 2-year old for drives.