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Limited Slip Recommendations?

Discussion in 'Early CJ5 and CJ6 Tech' started by Henri Watson, Jan 23, 2020.

  1. Jan 29, 2020
    70cj5134f

    70cj5134f Member

    East Tn
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    My 70 was open on both ends also. I found a Dana Powerlock from the factory, used for the rear. 200$ , and I put it in as was. Drove 3 years before it started slipping in the rough stuff.
    What a difference it made on farm, now goes most places in low range, with the front hubs unlocked. Before the locker, would get tire spin on wet grass. I have a set of clutches to rebuild it, just ant had the time.
     
  2. Jan 29, 2020
    oldtime

    oldtime oldtime

    St. Charles,...
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    You will have to take it apart if the Pow Lok slips like an open.
    If the clutch disks are gouged then they are bad. Simple as that !
     
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  3. Jan 29, 2020
    Fireball

    Fireball Well-Known Member 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

    Pullman, WA
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    This thread has so much good info. It might be worth adding to the technical index.
     
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  4. Jan 29, 2020
    jzeber

    jzeber Well-Known Member 2022 Sponsor

    Morgan Hill, Ca
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    I have said this before. My personal experience with a Trac Lock was not good. My 71' came with an original. After it broke and was fixed twice I junked it and put a Detroit in it. Never had a problem since.
     
  5. Jan 29, 2020
    timgr

    timgr We stand on the shoulders of giants. 2022 Sponsor

    Medford Mass USA
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    Also a member of the broken TracLock club. A piece of the spider punched a hole in the cover. According to Randy's the later ones are stronger. They are nice on the street. They are widely available for a 44 - the Wagoneer guys sometimes put them in their front axles.
     
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  6. Jan 29, 2020
    givemethewillys

    givemethewillys Been here since sparky ran it. 2022 Sponsor

    New Kent, VA
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    Ok so basically, if I turn one side and they rotate in the same direction, then all is good in the world of Powr Lok? Or do I have that backwards?
     
  7. Jan 29, 2020
    Keys5a

    Keys5a Sponsor

    Florida Keys
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    If both shafts turn the same direction when rotating from one side, that implies you have some type of limited slip or locker, but does not specifically imply a PowrLok.
    Not all limited slips will always exhibit both axles turning the same direction, such as a Quaife torque biasing diff.
    -Donny
     
    Last edited: Jan 29, 2020
  8. Jan 29, 2020
    Bigdaddy13

    Bigdaddy13 Member

    So.Cal
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    Nov 19, 2019
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    Yup, i did the spinning tire test and results point to an open diff, but i’m still going to pull my cover or at least the fill cap to be 100% sure. My plan is a spartan or a lock-rite in the rear, so an open diff is actually what i’m hoping to confirm.
     
  9. Jan 29, 2020
    sgogpn

    sgogpn From the top of Lions Back... 2022 Sponsor

    Glendale, AZ.
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    There is a way of sorts, but it requires some axleshafts, a pipe vise, and a couple of pipe wrenches.
    Put the Powrloc in the vise and clamp it down. Put an axleshaft in each side, making sure the splines fully seat into the unit. With a pipe wrench on each axleshaft try to turn them in the opposite direction of each other. If you don't feel a good amount of resistance it might be a good idea to throw some new clutches in.
    Speaking of axleshafts, years ago I cut the splined ends off of some broken shafts and use them to align the clutch discs when I put new clutches in before reinstalling in the axle housing. If you put the shafts in before you tighten the 2 case halves you can be sure your axleshafts will go right in when you've reinstalled your unit into the axle.

    FWIW,
    Mike
     
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  10. Jan 29, 2020
    Henri Watson

    Henri Watson Member

    Mississippi
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    What is the main complaint against Trac locs? Do they not last or do they just not perform as well as power locs?
     
  11. Jan 29, 2020
    Bigdaddy13

    Bigdaddy13 Member

    So.Cal
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    yes.
     
  12. Jan 29, 2020
    ITLKSEZ

    ITLKSEZ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

    Liberty Lake, WA
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    The old ones were worse than the newer ones. The old ones (pre-90?) were prone to catastrophic breakage. The clutches are small and are difficult to install without practice and experience.

    Good write-up-

    “Although Powr-Loks may be the limited slip of choice for many applications, they are not available for every application, and they are priced much higher than their Trac-Lok counterparts. Over the years Trac-Loks have gotten a bad rap for several reasons. The original Trac-Loks had very weak spider gears and a weak case that would break in half under a heavy load. I would not be surprised if many readers have seen at least one broken Trac-Lok or have broken one of the older designs themselves. Dana Spicer has become one of the world's leading manufacturer of differentials and differential parts by constantly making improvements. Being aware of the shortcomings of the Trac-Lok, and the high cost and low OEM demand of the Powr-Lok, Dana has made several improvements to the Trac-Lok design over the past ten years. The cases have been beefed up and are now much meatier, and made of stronger metal. The spider gears are now produced from a much stronger steel than was used for earlier models. And the cross pin shaft retention has been improved on models where improvement was needed. The results of these changes have made a much better unit. A limited slip that holds up well when abused by horsepower and tall tires, and lasts fairly well in many applications. Even if it is not the best for a rear differential, it does work well in many front differentials. I admit that the Trac-Lok clutches were never very aggressive and they never lasted as long as the Powr-Lok's, but then again they are a lot cheaper and it is still less expensive to replace the clutches once or twice in a Trac-Lok than it is to spring for the Powr-Lok. And, if the Powr-Lok is not available for a particular application for which the Trac-Lok is, any point about clutches doesn't matter. If you need more traction then step up and spend the extra money for a locker.”
    -Trac-Lok Assembly Made Easy, January, 1999
     
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  13. Jan 30, 2020
    nickmil

    nickmil In mothballs.

    Happy Valley, OR
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    BS. The clutches are still a pain in the arse to change compared to a Powerlock, the retention of the clutches still stinks, one pinion shaft of the trac-loc compared to two of the Powerlock still means worn cases and pinion shafts. The new Trac-loc may be “better” than the old version but the fact the article touts it as a front application only reinforces the fact it has issues.
    I’ve had to scrap more trac-locs than most will see in their lifetimes due to excessively worn cases. Last purge was over 30 out of probably 45 cases between AMC Corporate 20 units and Dana 44 units.
     
  14. Jan 30, 2020
    Henri Watson

    Henri Watson Member

    Mississippi
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    Well I guess I'm going to return this Trac loc, the guy swears that it'll be a better fit for mud riding than a power loc, says the power loc is too aggressive for mud and it won't ride well. But I'm going to take the advice from the forum!
     
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  15. Jan 30, 2020
    nickmil

    nickmil In mothballs.

    Happy Valley, OR
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    ITLKSEZ,
    I want to clarify I was calling BS on the article, not on what you had to say. Nickmil
     
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  16. Jan 30, 2020
    Bigdaddy13

    Bigdaddy13 Member

    So.Cal
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    We've got your back, Henri! I think you're making the right choice.
     
  17. Jan 30, 2020
    Bigdaddy13

    Bigdaddy13 Member

    So.Cal
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    Big meanie! I kid, I kid.

    That's what I understood you to be saying, just fyi.
     
  18. Jan 30, 2020
    Mcruff

    Mcruff Earlycj5 Machinist

    Albertville, AL
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    I don’t know how a trac loc lives long term in a Jeep but the one in my 97 Dakota still works great after 330k miles of towing and such. It will still do a nice burnout with nice stripes from the 318 and 3:55 gears in the truck. Now with bigger tires and different gears and throw a bunch of rocks at it and may grenade in short order but for a standard street truck my experience is that they last alright and perform well. With that said my Jeep has a power loc in the rear and an Aussie locker in the front.
     
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  19. Jan 30, 2020
    Norcal69

    Norcal69 Out of the box thinker 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

    Northern California
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    Nick,
    Do you have any experience with the trac-locs in ford 8.8’s? We are collecting pieces to install a 8.8 in my uncles YJ. 4.10 geared 8.8’s with trac locs seem cheap and the clutches don’t look too bad to install.
     
  20. Jan 30, 2020
    BadGoat

    BadGoat How High Can You Climb?

    Northern Virginia
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    I did have the factory Trac Loc in the rear of my JKU. After 35k miles it was shot. The spider gears were coming apart. About 10k of those miles were on 36 in Iroks. And it did see a lot of off road use. It hadn’t failed yet, and we only found it as we opened the rear end to regear to 5.13s. Stuck a TruTrack in its place.

    Mike.
     
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