I was able to find these 2 and I hope to be putting one in soon.
Any one have any of these?

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Dr.(wife says i'm spoiled) Jones.
2000 F-150 5.4L(whatpowerawaitsthee)
AUTO,SC-sb 4x4-XLT, 3.55LS, 8.8 front- 9.75 rear, sidesteps, sprayed in liner, 17"wheels ORP, trailer-tow pkg, CD, Cpt chairs, 4whl ABS, Keyless Entry, Airbox silencer removed/K&N, Amsoil(transfercase, motor, rearend), 3" custom dynomax ultra flow catback, as an anniversary gift. PSD coming for christmas!
djones01@elp.rr.com

 

I was told to not waste my money buying LS for the front of a mostly "street-driven" vehicle. With all the turning, the clutches will wear out quickly leaving you with "no" LS or a lot of clutch pack replacements.

If you do the front, an ARB air-locker is the best. That way it can free-wheel normally and only "lock" when you need it.

I believe the TracLok is what Ford uses in the rear.

 

You wouldn't like LS in your front axle unless your primary road was sand -- and/but in sand, you wouldn't likely ever lose traction with one front wheel -- so why bother?

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Y2K™ Jim

Toreador Red, Keyless XLT SC SB 5.4L E4x4 4wDisc/ABS, 3.73LS, Skid, HD 7700# Towing, LT-245's on Chrome, Tube-Steps, Captain's, 6CD, Tonneau, named: "Nick"

 

If the hubs aren't locked it doesn't matter.
For that matter you could run a spool. Unless the hubs are engaged the internals are lifeless. EVen if the transfer case was engaged it still doesn't matter, you haven't anything that has "connected" the outer hub w/ the internal axle shaft.

Powertrax, currently doesn't "make" one just for the front end. With machining of the right side of the locking unit, you can install a spring set up similar to a GM.

Auburn and eaton are producing units for the 9.75.
ARB doesn't make anything that will work w/ them, and they don't have anything in the works for the near future either.

Powertrax does have the No-slip coming out w/in the next few months. They couldn't give me an exact date but did say they are real close to putting one out.

 

The 97+ F150 4x4s do not have hubs. That is the problem.

the newer trucks use what is called a Central axle disconect. This is basically a coupler that disconects one axle shaft of the front axle. the two front drive shafts from the 4X4 transfer case to the front wheel CV joints are *always* "engaged", and therefore always turn

[This message has been edited by Matt90GT (edited 08-24-2000).]

 

The October 2000 issue of Sport Truck has an article for a Powertrax install on a 200 F-150 with the 8.8 rear end.

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97 F-150, 2WD, Reg Cab,Flareside,Dk Toreador Red, Windsor 4.6, Magnecor 8.5mm wires, Bosch Plat +4s, 3.55 LS, EGR Bug Deflector, ******* Bed Cover, Bed Liner, XL Full Length Running Boards, Air Aid Kit, Gibson Single Out Cat Back, Superchips, TransGo Shift Kit, Hellwig Rear Sway Bar, Hellwig 2500# Overload Springs,Energy Suspension Polyurethane Front Sway Bar Bushings, 265 70 16 tires, Rancho RS9000 shocks

 

The front end 8.8 is different, just slightly than the rear 8.8.
One of the reasons I was told was that the 8.8 isn't really that strong to begin w/.
I've read about too many 8.8s in rangers and broncoII that were pulled out after axle breakage.

The difference between the two is how the front axles are c-cliped in. Actually they are considered E-clips. Randys R&P was trying to explain the differences to me.
I spoke to Powertrax personally.
They said DO NOT PUT ANY OF THEIR PRODUCTS INTO THE FRONT 8.8. As they will not work right. Randys also pointed out that the reason that the chevy IFS don't have locking units is the same reason. Weak by design. Companys aren't wanting to fiddle w/ the front end on this truck. Why this isn't the 44 I have no clue. STupid on Fords part.

What all this boils down to is, unless you are VERY mechanically inclined, know the engineering behind the axle set up in a IFS, and have a well equiped machine shop. Wait.

 

If you want a locker get one in the rear.

For the rangers and explorers with the 8.8, they have to have the 4.0L engine. The bronco IIs and 4cyl, 3L rangers come with the 7.5 which is a weak axle. That is what you have most likely heard about. Mustangs hold up really well with the 8.8 and only 28 splines. Even up to 600+ hp. If you get 31 or 35 spline axles they are as strong as a beefed up 9".

The front IFS 8.8 is reverse rotation. If you have read anything on the 99 cobras, you will know the half shafts are the weak point, not the differential. On the 2000 Cobra R, they went with 35 spline half shafts and solved the issue.

 

So, are they saying that you can't install a front LS in the Ford IFS?



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1997 4x4 Expedition- 4.6L, true dual exhaust w/glass-packs, K&N air filter, SuperChip, airbox mods, Edelbrock shocks, 285/75R16 BFG ATs, 2000 "XLT" wheels, 4.10 gears, Auburn LS, Clarion In-dash CD player, Smitty Bilt push bars and nerf bars.

2000 4x2 F150 XLT Reg. Cab LWB- 5.4L, Tow Pkg, 3.55LS, CD player,Remote Keyless Entry, Sliding back glass, Special Appearance Pkg., tinted windows, Line-X bedliner, K&N air filter, SuperChip, airbox mods, 285/60R16 Goodyear Eagle GT IIs and Prime #155 wheels.

http://members.visualcities.com/NoMo

 

I know for a fact that the 4x4 v-6 rangers and BroncoII had 8.8's. I've seen them break and read about breakage also. These axles reach their limits w/ the larger tires coupled w/ any intensity of 4xing, they break. I've also had both

The axles in the stangs are considered the weak points and maybe tie w/ the auto trans for weak link.
The bigger the vehicle and more power, the larger the axle. Hence the Superduty w/ the 10.5 and Dana 80's. I was talked to a ford diesel tech and one of his fellow techs was doing doughnuts in the parking lot after work, in his 97-98 f-150. He hit a dry patch and shattered the R&P gears. He told me this because I asked him how strong he thought the new 9.75's were. He said to be careful. This was a tech who doesn't live in my state, and won't work on my truck. So I doubt he was concerned w/ his work load being pushed over the edge due to my truck.

The Dana 44 w/ I saw in a 97 is a bunch stronger than the 8.8 I have now. I would rather have that.

Nomo; All the places that claimed to have the lockers all made some comment about how the 8.8 rear is identical to the front, therefore they believed that they would work.
BUT the manufacture Powertrax told me no, AND they had nothing in the works yet. Because of the way the 8.8 works as a IFS the unit cannot work properly.

AS FOLLOWED:
Drivetrain Direct

Quote:

Front 8.8=31 spline 299 traclock LS, Powertrax $260.93.
Rear 34-spline C-clip Auburn $484.73.

Drivetrain Warehouse

Quote:

front 8.8 $349 Auburn 28-Spline. Detroit Truetrak $369. REar 9.75 $429 Auburn.

.

Drivetrain Specialist

Quote:

front 8.8 28-spline Traclock $240, Auburn $345,
Detroit Locker $562.39, Powertrax $357.
REar 9.75 claim nothing yet.

.

Randys R&P

Quote:

Show status of Eaton and auburn for 9.75. Guesstimate on Eaton was around 4-450 and the price shown for the upcoming Auburn was 513. NOTHING FOR FRONT 8.8. The IFS 8.8 is different than the rear 8.8. The way the axles are in the housing make putting a drop in locker next to impossible. Unless you can machine the locking-unit and axle shaft, which will allow the axle to be held in place by a tension spring, like the GM IFS, it can't be done. From what I understand they won't sell you anything if they know it is going into a 8.8 IFS front end.

.

Powertrax

Quote:

we currently do not have anything for the 8.8 IFS front end. The tech explained that the 8.8 applications on the app chart refers to 8.8 REARS.
He said they are working on a no-slip for the 9.75 and it would be a few more months before it gets close to finishing.
phone: 714-545-7400
fax: 714-545-5425
toll free: 800-578-1020

http://www.powertrax.com/home_frame.html

What all this boils down to is, if I can get the POS motor running right and if i plan to keep it, i'll wait for the Powertrax 9.75 unit. Until then we're SOL, if you plan to do it right.



[This message has been edited by powerlifter405 (edited 08-28-2000).]

 

Bronco IIs never came from Ford with 8.8s. They were 7.5s in the rear and dana 30s up front. This is the same setup as the Rangers that use the 4cyl and 3.0L V6.

Now the 4.0L rangers and Explorers use the 8.8 rear and Dana 35 up front.

The 96 and older F150s use the same TTB front end. 8.8 in the rear and dana 44s up front.

 

I can recall my 90 Ranger as having the 8.8's. I was doing some upgrading before I got rid of it and I recall looking for 8.8 R&P gears. The 35 up front sounds right.

I'll take your word on the BII. Never crawled underneth it, but i'm bettin' you have one or the other vehicle.

I'm gonna guess that it was some freak of nature thing w/ the 8.8?!, but it did.

BTW I got this today on my email from Powertrax


[This message has been edited by powerlifter405 (edited 08-29-2000).]

 

I think somebody on this thread said that ARB doesn't make anything for the IFS front. I have ARBs in back and up front and they are the exact same part. From what I've been told, all the makers use the same thing, but I went with the ARB and it worked fine.

------------------
hytek1dr@yahoo.com
http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Freeway/7515/

 

I,ve broke more dana 44's than the 8.8 IFS. The 8.8 IFS is a strong unit. It has been maligned by many. Yes they can break, but any axle can be broken.
They all break, 44's, 60's 70's, all of them. I was running with a
44 in the front and both wheels were spinning in loose dirt under
full throttle. the left wheel hooked up on a rock suddenly and
you should have heard that dana 44 pop. What a mess!
Many times I've come down hard with an 8.8 IFS and not had a
problem.

mho

Joe

 

Of course you're gonna break a D44 if something like that happens. I'd like to see a 8.8 IFS stand up to something like that. That kind of abuse will almost certainly destroy any axle. The center of the 8.8 is strong enough, the CVs is what will break. The CV is the weak link in the 8.8 like Ujoints are typically the weak spot on a D44. I'd still MUCH rather run a D44 than an 8.8. This way you at least have the option to upgrade to alloy shafts and CTM or 297x ujoints so you at least have something stronger than stock. If you run Warn chromolly shafts and CTM joints you will have a comparable axle to a D60.