Fox T-Bird/Cougar Forums

Technical => Drivetrain Tech => Topic started by: Nate on February 15, 2005, 01:49:50 PM

Title: who's installed lockers?
Post by: Nate on February 15, 2005, 01:49:50 PM
who's installed them, and what does it intail? i know its probley a stupid question but humor me. how long did it take ya?
Title: Re: who's installed lockers?
Post by: vinnietbird on February 15, 2005, 04:00:08 PM
It's like installing any rear-end.I installed a Turbo-Coupe 7.5 locker in my Thunderbird and also the quad shocks by myself and it took about 2 hours,not including bleeding the brakes.I had to wait for my wife to get home.Disconnect the brake lines,shocks,and mounting bolts.Watch out for the springs,they can be dangerous,although mine just fekll out when I lowered the rear....carefully.I put doughnut spares on mine so it (the axle)  would sit low,and I just rolled it out from under the car.I just reversed the process for installation.The quad-shocks were a bolt on deal also.My '88 T-Bird already had the holes for the brackets.
Title: Re: who's installed lockers?
Post by: Nate on February 15, 2005, 08:33:20 PM
thanks, but maybe i wasnt specific enough. i was talking about the tac loc unit inside the rear diff. im go'n 5 lug and i was wondering just to run some numbers with go'n 28 or 31 spline. ill probley end up getting a 31 spline locker for a truck, then some 31 spline sn-95 axle shafts. and new bearings
Title: Re: who's installed lockers?
Post by: Cougar5.0 on February 15, 2005, 10:02:28 PM
I went with an Eaton E-Locker. It's really cool to lock it by flicking a switch in the dash :D. Install isn't so bad but you need to set shims on side of carrier so gear play is proper. A little tricky if you're not familiar with setting gear lash.
Title: Re: who's installed lockers?
Post by: Clayton on February 15, 2005, 11:47:27 PM
go with a spool ;) its the insta-instant traction
Title: Re: who's installed lockers?
Post by: blu84302 on February 16, 2005, 12:46:37 PM
I got my 8.8 rear end, from a Lincoln Mark VII and it wasn't really that hard.  I got the whole rearend for 30 dollars at a place in ohio called U-wrech- It.  It came with the calipers and the rotors too!  But anyway, The only thing i recommend is not to take the gears apart.  It really should be left to someone who has the tools and experiance in getting it just right.  It's alot easier to just slap a rear end in it than get the gears to be lined up right.
Title: Re: who's installed lockers?
Post by: capitlj on February 17, 2005, 03:32:39 PM
The New rearend this will work better but has anyone seen those little limited slip kits on like trucks and horsepower TV anyone put one of those in???
Title: Re: who's installed lockers?
Post by: shame302 on February 17, 2005, 10:17:08 PM
i was eyeballing the detroit true trac....

im not sure but i think as long as you are not messing around with the pinion gear you can rebuild your trac loc without special tools. i think with a different carrier the pinion depth might change...something i too need too look into.
Title: Re: who's installed lockers?
Post by: foxford on February 20, 2005, 11:16:58 PM
I know it's not a popular choice, but I've always liked the Auburn Pro diffs, unless you plan on making over 500 horses, you should be able to stay with the 28 spline axles. Deffinitely stay away from a spool if you plan on driving the car on the street. Plan to spend an entire afternoon on the install if you're not familiar with the 8.8s as they aren't quit as easy as the 9"s, but you can set it up right if you take your time and pay close attention to the lash.
Title: Re: who's installed lockers?
Post by: blu84302 on February 21, 2005, 12:24:32 AM
It's really easy to change out the gears and carrier, i did it in a parking lot like 3 times.  But to set the backlash is hell... i never did get it right, the 5 or 6 times i changed the gears.  ( junk yards and there 30 dollar rear ends!)
Title: Re: who's installed lockers?
Post by: xtbird302x on February 22, 2005, 11:42:28 PM
Setting up the gears looks like the hardest part.  I'm too scared to try it yet.  You have to get it just right or they may whine or wear out quickly.  Shouldn't be too difficult if you take your time.  I found THIS (http://www.angelfire.com/theforce/5ohcpa/cpa5ohtech001.htm) while looking for info on rebuilding a track loc.  Pretty descriptive walkthrough of whats involved.  If you have the money I think that with the Power Trax locker you don't have to even mess w/ the ring gear lash.  It looks like the axles go into it, then the pin holds it to the carrier.  I haven't really heard anything about how good or bad they work tho.