$100 - 8.8 Detroit Locker-Good buy?

[TNT89Bronco]

Ok, I am king of the impulse buy. Came across this on CL. Came out of a '94 F150 that had been totaled. Bought the entire rear end for a "C" note. I have confirmed with Eaton Corp, that the numbers do indeed go o an 8.8 rear end.

I am looking to do more Offroad stuff in my '89 351W C6, which has a 3.55 LSD, so I thought I would snag it. I have made worse $100 mistakes! My thought was t just swap the rear ends...I assume there won't be a major issue with this.

Can anyone tell me if there are any obvious issues or things to be careful of. Anyone see an issue doing a complete rear end swap vs. pulling it out and putting it in the existing rear end? I have never messed with any of this, and am kind of going into this blind.

Good buy or am I a sucker?

Here are some pictures of the set-up.

[robbiem]

I would swap rearends first in a heartbeat. No setting up gears just a few bolts. I did the exact same thing when I had my bronco and found some axles with 4.56s and Detroit/arb.

Excellent deal on the Detroit, they are my favorite locker.

[tstimson]

There is a way to test if the locker is toast or not. here is the owners manual for the locker. They changed the name to "No-Spin"...catchy name...

http://www.eaton.com/ecm/groups/publ.../ct_128312.pdf

[TNT89Bronco]

Thanks! Nobody has called me a sucker....yet!

Now.....here is the noob question.... Without the tag, how do I tell what gears are in the rear? Turn the driveshaft and see how many times it takes to rotate the drums a full turn? Doesn't seem very exact?

[f150inline]

count the number of teeth on the ring gear and the pinion and divide the number on the ring by the number on the pinion. also that looks like a detroit truetrac not a detroit locker.

[TNT89Bronco]

Appreciate the help. I checked images of both the truetrac and a locker, and it looks like it s a locker. The guy at Eaton said the numbers on it went to a locker and confirmed it didn't goe to a truetrac. Now....I am not saying your wrong. I have absolutely no way of knowing. I was hoping folks could tell me how to tell or what parts indicate which one it is.

Anybody else have a degree in Detroit Lockers?

[351w500]

aint no true-trac.

[TNT89Bronco]

[TNT89Bronco]

Actually, wanted to also ask if there is any concern with the dark spots (looks like minor surface rust). Should I leave it, or try and sand it and treat it somehow? If I should sand, how should I treat it?

[tstimson]

I would use a lite wire wheel on it. Also you can take it apart pretty easy. It is not under to much spring tension. In the manual link it tells you how to take it apart so yo can check the condition of the center locking pucks I call them. I have a one sitting in my garage that locked up. The center pucks ate each other. If it still locks and un-locks you have a score!!!!!

[cajunrebel]

$100 isn't bad for that. If I was staying with an 8.8 I would have bought that, replaced all the bearings, seals and brakes, stripped and painted it and swapped it in.

[uncle.stosh]

Originally Posted by TNT89Bronco

Without the tag, how do I tell what gears are in the rear?

There will be numbers stamped on the ring hear such as XXXX 41 - 11 (not necessarily in that order but you get the idea).

Just divide the two numbers to get your ratio. It corresponds to the number of teeth on the ring gear and matching pinion gear.

In the example I gave: 41 divided by 11 = 3.73 gears

[TNT89Bronco]

For those of you losing sleep at night, wondering what my gear ratio is.....here is a picture I took tonight. I had my son hold the brake drum one side while I turned the other side. I could feel it disengage and then click back into place when I turned it the other direction.

The good news, is that if I take 41/9 , it comes out to 4.55, which is the gear ratio of my existing 8.8.

Wanna guess what I will be doing over Christmas????.

[Alvin in AZ]

What about the spring perches?
Are they mounted at the same angle as your other axle?
Are the spring widths the same, does that effect the width of the perches?
I suppose they are the same distance apart, but are they for sure? :)

Butthead in AZ
ps- I'd change the oil and run it then change the oil again.
pps- x2 on the find. :)

[Worthog]

Originally Posted by TNT89Bronco

...

The good news, is that if I take 41/9 , it comes out to 3.55, which is the gear ratio of my existing 8.8.
...

I am a complete newb at all of this, I just read and learn, read and learn.

Buuut...I used a calculator and divided 41/9 and got 4.55. What did I do wrong?

[thin blue line]

great buy wish i could find stuff that cheap around here

[TNT89Bronco]

Originally Posted by Worthog

I am a complete newb at all of this, I just read and learn, read and learn.

Buuut...I used a calculator and divided 41/9 and got 4.55. What did I do wrong?

.
Good catch....I have no idea why I typed 3.55.... It should indeed be 4.55. I wish I could blame it on spell check, but my best guess is that I had fat fingers and didn't check back to make sure it was correct. Go ahead and give me one of these...

[Worthog]

Originally Posted by TNT89Bronco

Go ahead and give me one of these...

No way man, if it wasn't for f@$% ups, i wouldn't have a middle name.

[TNT89Bronco]

This is a follow up question concerning the $100 8.8 rear 4.56 w/Detroit Locker that I purchased and discussed in this thread:

http://www.fullsizebronco.com/forum/...d.php?t=214739

The issue is that my current front and rear are 3.55. The current rear (LS) is a yolk style, and the rear with the Locker is a flange. I am running 33"s and am trying to build a "mild" off road rig. Since the rear with the Locker is complete and ready to swap in, I was hoping to get (find) a D44 with a 4.55 ratio somewhere, maybe a P&P. OR, I can spend $1,000 and have 4 Wheel Parts install new stuff.

I can't just have them install the Locker in the current rear, because it is a LS.

Question is.....is it better to try and find a D44 8.8 w/a 4.55 ratio and pull it from a junked rig? What rigs have them in there? F150?

Or....get new parts and have them installed.

Should I have 4 Wheel pull the pinion pulled from my current and have it installed in the flange mounted rear?

What would you do and why?

[JBfab]

Your not going to find that gear ratio in the junkyard. Its gotta be aftermarket. And you can have them install the locker in your curent rear. The whole ls carrier comes out and is replaced with the detroit. The only time a ls maters with lockers is when its a lunchbox style locker. A lunchbox replaces the spider gears on an open diff.