What's a good company to go with for limited slips?

xj220

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Sep 15, 2000
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I'm looking at getting a limited slip differential for my Stang and I was wondering what are some good companies to go with? It'd be a street car but high performance, think pro-tourer. I've seen eatons and they look nice. Thanks for any help.
 
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I have the 8", but I'll probably bump up to the 9" since I want to be pushing a bit more power and the TCP rear coilovers come with one.
 
In my post above, I'm referring to an 8".

Regardless of the size of the RR, there are only four general types of differentials: 1. Open 2. Spool 3. Clutch Style 4. Ratchet or Mechanical

If you are looking for more street, open-track, or autocross performance, look for a clutch style such as an Auburn.

If you are looking for more stright-line strip performance, look at a Detroit Locker or even an air-locker.

Power-trax units kinda falls in between and are expensive $400+. I haven't hear much about these in vintage stangs.

$0.02
 
i hate to threadjack but i have some additional related questions

my rearend is making a whining noise so i assume its time for a rebuild
its open differential now with 2.8 gears so im wanting to upgrade

what would you guys recommend to fix my problems - its an 8" rearend i believe
power from the 289 is relatively low, although i might add a PA someday - its a street car but sometimes i got to the 1/4 mile track, and i highly doubt the car will see much time at an autocross or similar

*what exactly would i need to buy that i could just install it instead of rebuilding - i really know nothing about rearends (because ive never taken mine apart)*

i really have no idea what i should do, any suggestions?
 
xj220 said:
I was actually looking at the Detroit TrueTrac. It doesn't have a clutch but uses helical gears.
This sounds similar to the power-trax unit. Theoretically it sounds like a winner, but I don't know anybody who runs either of these setups.

Auburns are run almost exclusively by Griggs racing. Detroit Lockers have been run successfully for decades. Both of these styles are race proven and personally, if budget wasn't a concern I'd choose one of these.

I took a peek at the Eaton site and didn't see any application for Ford 8" or 9", only 8.8" and 9.75" - I didn't look for very long so 8" and 9" applications could be available.

8" Ford Traction-Loc units are hard to find but worth looking for if you are on a budget. If you go this route, look for a 4-pinion style vs. a 2-Pinion style.
 
Jonstantine said:
i hate to threadjack but i have some additional related questions

my rearend is making a whining noise so i assume its time for a rebuild
its open differential now with 2.8 gears so im wanting to upgrade

what would you guys recommend to fix my problems - its an 8" rearend i believe
power from the 289 is relatively low, although i might add a PA someday - its a street car but sometimes i got to the 1/4 mile track, and i highly doubt the car will see much time at an autocross or similar

*what exactly would i need to buy that i could just install it instead of rebuilding - i really know nothing about rearends (because ive never taken mine apart)*

i really have no idea what i should do, any suggestions?

If it is whining you can count on gears and bearings. Then you will have to set it up, and that isn't for the faint of heart.

What you should probably do is try to find a good used or rebuilt third menber (or "CHUNK") Places like Currie, Strange, Mosler, etc can build you one, then its only an hour or two job to stick it in. You could also have about any of those guys build you a complete 9" to replace the whole rear axle.

Here's one place that can do them.

http://www.metropartsmarket.com/rearend/products.html

I'm pretty sure the auburn pro or stock ford traction loc is about it for 8" limited slips, but could very well be wrong.
 
Jonstantine said:
thanks for the info

would a removable carrier be sufficient for me? (the pictures at the bottom of the link you left)

is that all i need?
i first want to look at the minumum monetary investment :)
All 8" and 9" have removable 3rd members. So yes, if you have an 8", an 8" 3rd member it is all you need. It will include the carrier, gears, and differential.

FYI... new 8" gears run about $180.
 
Yes, one of those third members would fix it as long as you didn't break a shaft, which would be quite obvious.

Minimum investemnt is to order a set or bearings and gears, and build it yourself. There are quite a few websites that cover it, but its a serious pain in the rear and you need some specialized tools, probably easiest to have someone do it if you don't ever plan to do another....................

BTW, I wasn't endorsing that particular place, its just one example....................

I've not looked much for 8" stuff, as my truck has a 9"
 
Jonstantine said:
3rd members arent so cheap... it will be a while before i can pull 800 bucks... all at once :)
You can have yours rebuilt for far less than that. Get all new shims and bearings as well as inspect and re-mesh the gears. If you remove it from your car and re-install it later (not hard at all) it should not run you much over $150 or so for the parts&labor.
 
I bought a swap meet rebuilt 9" trac lok with a 3:70 gear...the builder didn't tork the pinion nut right long story short I have 75#s of scrap. spend a couple extra $ and get it from a local guy that if you hve a problem you can get it solved


as for diffs the one that I like best is a TORSEN it senses the wheel that has the most grab and sends power to it. it's very seamless you don't hear clunking or feel any jolting...If I keep my fastback I'm sure that I'll own another torsen.