I have a 97 f150 4x4 with a 4.6, 3.55 gears and an open diff. I have a 3inch body and two inch suspension. Fixing to drop the suspension lift to make the fender gap look better. I just dropped from worn out 35 maxxis mudders to 33 dunlop mudrovers. I am definitely feeling a differance but have crappy milage and want better off the line and off road performance. My idea was to swap to 3.90 gears but i couldnt find any for the reverse 8.8 so the next best thing is 4.10 but i dont know how much that would help/ hurt my milage. I do half 55 half 70mph driving. Also i want to upgrade my differential. Nothing fancy. I was thinking find a good used trac tok, rebuild it with the 8 clutch set up and run it. Im just tired of having one wheel in the air spinning while the other sits there. Im not sure about the front yet. I may leave it open diff for now. Any one with any info is much appreciated.

 

A locker is the only thing that's gonna stop the one wheel spinning in the air a ttrac lok is a limited slip or posi differential that uses clutches they do well with both wheels on the ground most of the time but they wear out fast and with any articulation in the rear only one wheel will spin.

 

What differential would you suggest? i need to stay under 500$ but still function well. I will be doing the install so no worries about install fee. Thank you for the reply

 

if you are going to do any offroading with tires off the ground, then the detroit locker cant be beat.

 

What about a detroit true trac? It looks to be pretty good and has no clutches. I couldnt find a detroit locker for an 8.8 in my price range. or a grizzly duragrip? right now anything is better than open, but i want something that will last and wont have to be replaced after 5 years

 

youre not going to find a detroit that cheap, they cost around 700. you gotta pay for quality!

the trutrac is a good locker, but i wouldnt count on it for big off camber situations. but ive heard you can apply the parking brake with it and it works better.

 

Im usually not in extreme off camber situation. My truck needs to be able to handle any situstion i throw at it. I mostly deal with sloppy muddy terrain but i have been having issues with moderate off camber situations like trying to cross a ditch or narrow creeks. ill hve the back wheels constantly change which is spinning and have little to no traction. so any ls or posi is better than what i have now and does 33s and 4.10s sound like a good combo? I did the math and it would put me about 9% lower geared after accounting for tires. Im wondering if that will help or hurt mpg.

 

4.10 with 33s will work good off road and still give you decent mpg on the road. I saw about 16mpg this summer with that combo and the 5.4.

The Detroit locker is going to be your best buy unless you get an E-locker or ARB, but those are even more spendy. I'd suggest the tru-trac except you said you get one wheel off the ground on occassion... Maybe a tru-trac front and rear will work, unless you teetertotter much

 

Haha i try to keep atleaste 3 wheels on the gound. I was thinking about having it up front too. Did you feel a good bit more performance with the 4.10s vs stock? I dont like how it feels so high geared and like its straining to get going. it makes me sad haha

 

The only thing you can run up front is a selectable locker cause the spider gears turn in the carrier all the time since the cv shafts turn so it won't work.

 

Yeah, I like my 4.10s. Mileage is down about 1mpg highway vs my dads truck with 3.73s (both trucks weigh at 6200lbs) But I have a better 0-60 time and he doesn't start pulling on me till over 80mph.

4.10s with 35s is about the same as stock 31s with 3.73s anyways, so you'll notice a nice bump running the 33s.

You have to do front and rear when you swap gears, and I'd say put a trutrac front and back at the same time, you'll be ready for anything

 

I thought the cv shafts were disconnected from the front carrier when 4x4 isnt engaged

 

Thats what Im looking for. A F150 to rule them all!!! haha. But that does sound like a good set up and thats probably what Im going to do. Im just going to do the back for now. My 4x4 doesnt work quite right. Im having solenoid/ vacuum line issues so I dont have to worry about accidentally engaging it. Another thing to add to the list haha

 

No sir they spinn all the time, 97 to 03s have center axle disconnect that disengauges the front axle. This will explain why you can't run a limited slip or anything but a electronic locker up front. https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=220158

 

ok i understand but what exactly gets disengaged?? How does it swap from two wheel to four? i understand how the t- case works but now the diff has me baffled