Not really even an arguement to make, open is useless on anything, I can get tire spin from the automatic tranny 4cyl ranger pickup we have at work with anything other than dry pavement.
Factory clutch type traction locks need rebuilding every now and then depending on use, if you want to avoid that go with something like the powertrax no slip, you hardly know its there but it doesnt have any parts to wear out so it always will work for you.
Car craft loved theirs, until they blew it up with drag slicks and racing. I think that was more due to flex in the rear end though, if you axles start hula dancing itll rip a locker apart real fast.
looks like u have a 91, probably with an 8.8, you could get a traction lock carrier from the junkyard and have it rebuilt and put in you rear end if its an open one for some odd reason. a f150 preload spring will make the tires lock up a little faster too.
looks like u have a 91, probably with an 8.8, you could get a traction lock carrier from the junkyard and have it rebuilt and put in you rear end if its an open one for some odd reason. a f150 preload spring will make the tires lock up a little faster too.
This is actually a more tricky question than it seems... Sure there are lots of benefits for a Tracloc or any kind of LSD for cars with limited traction issues. However, if you're not suffering any traction issues then I don't really can't see justifying the extra cost. LSDs have their drawbacks also, like extra heat, stress on gears during turns, etc. These are not an issue with an open diff.
So, if you don't have traction issues, then I would think an open diff should be perfectly fine.
In the rain, I got very little traction with an open dif. Trac-Loc means I can do super fast u-turns. Also, it helps to push the car around the turn when driving in the mountains.
Its really a pretty simple formula for the car you have. If you plan on doing normal driving, some city-some highway, and not racing, just use a conventional (open) rearend with around 3.0 gear set (factory type). If you plan on hot rodding on the streets, get yourself a 8.8" or 9" rearend with around 3:55 gear ratio. Anything higher will have your revs too high for comfortable highway driving. I doubt you have plans on taking this car to the strip any time soon.
Clutch type diffs offer much more acceleration than opens w/o any real draw backs. My S10 has 195k on it and no problems from the stock lsd. Lockers have some handling quirks about them, but full engage both axles when one is overpowered. The only andvantage I see for open diffs is you can let your wife/gf drive them.