What wheels get power in 4x4?
#1
03-04-2006, 10:31 PM
What wheels get power in 4x4?
I have a 97 F250 LD 4x4, 7 lug axles with the 5.4 When in 4 wheel drive is just one wheel in the front suppose to have power? It says 8.8 on the front diff.
The rear has 3:73 gears and says LS. That is the limited slip.
So, for a test, I was on a dirt road at a dead stop. I punched it out and left 4 stips. So does that mean that the front has LS also? And if not, what do you do for the front to get true 4 wheel drive? Do you add a locker, and what kind is the best? Elect, or air, or whatever else is out there?
I have shift on the fly, if that matters.
Thanks
The rear has 3:73 gears and says LS. That is the limited slip.
So, for a test, I was on a dirt road at a dead stop. I punched it out and left 4 stips. So does that mean that the front has LS also? And if not, what do you do for the front to get true 4 wheel drive? Do you add a locker, and what kind is the best? Elect, or air, or whatever else is out there?
I have shift on the fly, if that matters.
Thanks
#2
03-04-2006, 11:52 PM
Unless something was added by a previous owner, your truck does not have a LS or locker up front. But, under the conditions that you tested it, where both front tires have roughly equal traction, they will both pull roughly equally and leave the "stips" (stripes?)
It's when you get in a situation where the two wheels on an axle have relatively unequal traction that you can have trouble. In this case the wheel with less traction will often spin uselessly, while the wheel with better traction does not spin at all. You get no "pull" from either wheel. This is where LS or lockers come in handy.
Some people recommend against auto lockers in a front axle with a Center Axle Disconnect system such as your truck has. Others say it is OK. If you really need extra traction up front, your best bets would probably be either a Detroit Truetrac LS (which is supposed to work OK with a CAD axle) or a selectable locker such as ARB (air operated) or Eaton E-Locker (electrically operated).
It's when you get in a situation where the two wheels on an axle have relatively unequal traction that you can have trouble. In this case the wheel with less traction will often spin uselessly, while the wheel with better traction does not spin at all. You get no "pull" from either wheel. This is where LS or lockers come in handy.
Some people recommend against auto lockers in a front axle with a Center Axle Disconnect system such as your truck has. Others say it is OK. If you really need extra traction up front, your best bets would probably be either a Detroit Truetrac LS (which is supposed to work OK with a CAD axle) or a selectable locker such as ARB (air operated) or Eaton E-Locker (electrically operated).
#3
03-05-2006, 11:37 AM
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Originally Posted by SM
It's when you get in a situation where the two wheels on an axle have relatively unequal traction that you can have trouble. In this case the wheel with less traction will often spin uselessly, while the wheel with better traction does not spin at all. You get no "pull" from either wheel. This is where LS or lockers come in handy.
#4
03-06-2006, 10:35 AM
On a 4x4 with open diffs, no one or two wheels wheel gets any portion of the power directly. It is split 50/50 between the front and rear driveshafts. What happens from there is a function of the differentials. In an open differential, the power is sent to the wheel with the least amount of traction. When both wheels have an equal amount of traction, equal amounts of power are sent to both wheels. When one wheel has less traction, more power goes through that wheel, resulting in more and more spinning.
Any locker is better than none.
-Joe
Any locker is better than none.
-Joe