BigBlue

gunracer 1, what all is involved in restacking the plates? Do you have to reset the pinion angle and all that fun stuff or can you just unbolt the things? I'm always looking for a little better lockup in my rear end.

gunracer1

you just pull the ring gear/carrier, pull it apart and re stack the plates the way they were designed. you don't have to reset the gear lash/pinion dept. but sometimes the carrier is very hard to get out of the housing. they sell a case spreader, but i have never had to use one.

BigBlue

Hmm. Interesting. And about how long does this take? Assuming that all you have is a set of ratchets and sockets and a torque wrench.

bentwings

There is a special case spreader available..not cheap. I think most just use a porta power from the rental shop. It doesn't take a lot. What really takes a lot is if you are on a creeper and need to manhandle this thing. It helps to be a weight lifter. Although doing a clean and jerk from the floor to the housing on a hoist is a close second. You also need to enjoy taking a bath in gear lube. It is not meant to be washed off easily either.

Otherwise it is not a bad job. I think the ring gear needs to come off too. As I recall there is one ratio that it does not but I can't remember which. It's been a while.

storx

is there anyone that knows how to identify them from taking the cover off? Im really wanting to find out what i have so i can go ahead and order the locker

gunracer1

if it is a limited slip you can just jack up the rear end and put it in neutral. then spin one of the rear tires, if both spin the same direction, it is a limited slip. if one spins forward and the other spins backwark it is a open diff.

RowJ

Or just go to a dealership with your VIN#. Ask for a "build sheet" on your truck. Will list everything installed at the factory. Takes them about 1 min. Should be free... mine was!
RJ

storx

i will do that thanks.. and the spint he tire thing... when we did it the right rear spun and the left would slowly start to spin the same direction.....

Crimedog

sounds like you could possibly just have a tired LS. If that's the case just order a rebuild kit for it (new clutches) and stack them every other and you'll be nice and tight again. You can pop the cover off and take a picture of the diff, make sure you can see the internals, and post it on here and we can identify it also. If you didn't buy the truck new, it is always possible that there is a different rear in it.

TRCM

you have a worn out limited slip.

Time for a rebuild, plain and simple.

yarddog

I've seen Detroits break too. That doesn't mean they're bad lockers but they break just like anything else. Everytime it's because an axle snaps and the shock breaks the locker. Come to think of it I saw an arb break that way too.

Anyway... I'd say go with an EZ-locker or a lock rite. If you have decent mechanical skill you can install either of these yourself. They only replace the spider gears, you don't have to take the carrier out and are only around $200. A detroit replaces the whole carrier so unless you can set up r&p's you'll have to take it to a shop. Be warned though that you might get a huge BANG every once in awhile from any racheting locker. It scares the crap out of me everytime but it doesn't hurt anything.

pitr

Oh just be a man and weld it up

storx

the 2 lockers you stated above how durable are they and how well do they perform under a lot of stress...... I put the truck on the lift the other day and when i pressed the pedal the i could get to nearly 40 mph before the left side would even start to turn....... i was wandering what was going on in this.. haha i guess its just worn out... but **** i learned something here....

B KIRK

I posted about re-stacking clutches several years ago on another site.
The issue here is if we are talking about a Trac-Lok, or a Powr-Lok.
Big difference between the 2.
The Trac-Lok uses different style clutches than the Powr-Lok.
They are flat vrs the concave shape used in the Powr-Lok.
Even once the Trac-Lok is re-stacked, it will wear and loosen up.
I had my Trac-Lok out about 5 times to get it where I wanted it. only to have it loosen up a month later.
With the Powr-Lok, the clutches can be set without guesswork.
The specs I posted are from a Dana Spicer manual.
And with the concave shape, as they wear, they are still under pressure against each other.
Add to that, the ramping action of the spider gears.
In a Powr-Lok, the 4 spider gears are on 2 seperate shafts that interlock, and are able to move in the case.
As traction is lost on one wheel, power is transfered thru the spider gears to the other.
When that happens, the pressure applied to the spiders cause them to move, thus applying more pressure on the side gears.
The extra pressure applied to the side gears is then applied to the clutches.
This tightens everything up, and will result in less chance of slippage between the 2 sides.
A Trac-Lok spiders are on a fixed cross shaft that cannot move and has no effect on the clutches.
That is why the Powr-Lok is preferred over the Trac-Lok.
Sorry for such a long post.
HERE'S a link to the article so this post doesn't get any longer.

Brad

ramtd02

get a D80....my truck cam from factory with a D80 and it is posi...