TRAK LOC REBUILD?

There is the Ford Motorsport Traction-loc rebuild kit. It comes with new clutches and plates, along with new shims and a bottle of friction modifier. How you set it up can have a big effect in traction. P - Plate C - Clutch

Stock: CPPCPPC Which works great but there is a better way which will make it tighter but your going to have to reuse one clutch disc from your old clutchpack. I have noticed that the middle one is usually the least worn, so re-install it in the middle of the new setup. Modified: CPCPCPC and use the thinnest shim, you might get the slightly thicker one in there. I didn't but I have heard that you can replace the big S spring with one out of a F-150 because it is firmer, which should tighten it even more.

Yes you should do a gear while you are in there, and rear end setup is best done be a pro because if you don't have the tool to set it properly, it will either whine or break, and that would suck.

There alot of decent street units out there depending on what you want to spend. I don't like the Auburns because you can't rebuild them (at least that's how they used to be). The Eatons are probably one of the best you can get but they're a little pricey. A Detroit Locker would be cool also but again Pricey. Personally, I'd just get a rebuild kit for your Traction-lok and rebuild it with the Heavy duty S-spring. Last time I checked you could get the kit for less than $50.00 and they're simple to do.In my experience with Traction-loks, I didn't see a whole lot of difference with the friction-steel-friction arrangement than the stock friction-steel-steel-friction arrangement. My car was eating them up no matter how I stacked the plates. If you start wearing them out in short order then start looking for a beefier diff.

I just finished rebuilding my posi and it's not that bad. It's much better done before or during a gear instal than after because the aftermarket gears bigger than 3.73's will make the ring gear thick enough that things like getting the s-spring out and getting the side gears out. Also with 4.56's I had a heck of a time getting the crosspin out too.

Otherwise the operation itself is real simple. Just pop the rear cover, rotate the pumpkin until you see the retaining bolt (it'll be in a little groove on the side of the drum). Pull this out and punch out the crosspin (you'll see a little circle under the crosspin). Be careful to not get it wedged into the back of the case. Yank, break or get the s-spring out however you can. Now rotate the wheel and the spiders will walk out (top and bottom gear). Now push in on each wheel and you'll see clips inside the end of each axle. Pull these and push the axels back out. Now you can grab the 2 side gears and pull them and there's your stack of clutches!

I used 4 clutches instead of 3 per side and left out a steel. I think the stock is csscssc and I did cscscsc using one of the old clutches on the inside. As long as you can get the spiders back in ,it'll make the rear end tighter.

I found a webpage for rebuilding the tracloc on ford rangers and they said the s-spring is not _entirely_ necessary and it just preloads the clutch pack. I was happy and left it out. I had to break mine in half to get it out.

This operation stinks!! Really! Friction modifer stinks like all hell. If you think you've smelled nasty crap before....forget it. This stuff is exponentially nastier than any other vehicle fluid.

Have fun!

90mustangGT and I both rebuilt our Trac-locs at the same time and shared information here. We both added an extra clutch disc to ours. I bought an F150 S spring to put in mine, but by packing it so tight with the extra clutch, there was no way in hell to fit the F150 spring in there. It's still in the box. It was all I could do to put the old stocker back in there! I'd say it's an either/or scenario. Either add the extra clutch pack or do the F150 spring. If anybody has been able to do both, they are more of a man than me, and I tip my hat to them. I tend to just go with what I know works well. The rebuild using the extra clutch pack works great. I can't imagine that upgrading the spring could work any better. Mine peels two every time now, and you can hear the inside tire "digging" into the pavement when making sharp turns into parking spaces and such.

OL' WHITEY said:

Either add the extra clutch pack or do the F150 spring.

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I did both. I held the S-spring with a pair of needle-nose pliars and hit the spring with a 2 lb ball peen hammer. It took about 3 tries for it to go (you gotta hit it just right.). Never try this while holding the spring with your fingers. Guaranteed to hurt.

You 'da man! As I said, my hat's off to you. I couldn't have done it with three pairs of pliars and a 3000 lb. ball peen hammer!

OL' WHITEY said:

You 'da man! As I said, my hat's off to you. I couldn't have done it with three pairs of pliars and a 3000 lb. ball peen hammer!

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Aahh, you could have done it but you're right, they can be a pain. A big part of it is getting lucky and hitting the spring just right. You're driving into a bevel so it will compress the spring as it's going in but it has to be a perfect shot so it doesn't jump to the side. I've also heard of guys compressing the S in a Vise and hoseclamping it in the compressed postion. After sliding in, cut the hose clamps and yank it out. I've never tried that method.

OL'WHITEY pointed me in the right direction, and he's right, the stock spring is a mofo alone. The first time I tried to get it in I thought I had it so I let go of the pliers and nailed it with a hammer, damn thing came back at me, grazed my forehead and hit the pillar between bay doors with quite some force, if my head were an inch or two over, it would have messed me up. So be carefull when messing with steel and tension. I don't see the need for the F-150 spring since mine leaves two identical black marks, they fade togeather exactly. Kind of squirley around corners when wet. If I want more, I get a spool.

Here is the link to the thread OL'WHITEY and I are talking about, some good info there.

http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=497980