front posi?

[Dav]

i have found a 4x4 with an F4 axle code on the door. the seller says the rear was welded at some point but he broke the welds and replaced the guts. as he seems to be low budget, i imagine he used whatever he could find.
i only need 1 posi for my 2wd but have been told that sometimes the front wasn't. is this so? knowing nothing about 4wd, it just seems to me if the rear is posi, the front should be too.
i think that welding the axle was a common low-bucks way to act like it was a locker. what was actually welded?

 

[Dirtman]

No, the front axle does not have any kind of posi, locker etc from the factory. It's too much stress on the front axle. Trucks that do use a limited slip device on the front always use a switchable locker via air or electric but no ranger ever came with anything like that.

Welded rears do not work on the street. (The spider gears are welded solid) the rear wheels need to spin at different speeds to be able to go around a corner or you will snap axles, gears, etc. Welded diffs or spools are only for drag racing and pure offroad use.

Im not sure what your trying to do here... if your looking at the truck so you can use the rear to put a limited slip in your 2wd then stay far away from that thing. Just buy a powertrax lockrite.

 

[adsm08]

Nothing on your truck is "posi" because that is GM stuff.

Ford has offered limited slip on almost everything over the years, but it is a VERY rare option to find. In fact Expeditions are the only vehicles I've seen it on in person, and I've never heard of a post TTB Ranger having limited slip in the front. A few LSD carriers for the D-28 have surfaced here on the forum over the years.

It is not like the gears where it needs to match front and rear, and so no, just because the rear has it that does not mean the front should or needs to have it as well.

Welded carriers are for vehicles that will never need to go around corners on pavement. You can drive them on the street, but it tends to break things after a while, and will wear the tires very severely.

 

[Dav]

thanks for the info. i made him an offer for the trannie & transfer case. i wont rush over to buy the whole truck though
i had been thinking that i could take the front diff and put it in the rear of my 2wd and have limited slip. guess that's not going to happen. was on enough clay roads in texas to want more than just an open diff.
the truck is becoming my sports car and will only be off pavement on well maintained dirt roads. no class 6 goat paths or hill climbs

 

[wildbill23c]

Lock-Right makes a "Locker" for the Ford 7.5" and I'm sure for others more of a drop in type, and if I recall doesn't require removing the ring and pinion. They make/made one for the dana 28 as well, but I don't think you would want that in the front axle unless you have manual locking hubs?

As far as I know the front differentials in Rangers and Bronco 2's never had a limited slip or locker from the factory, I could be wrong but given how very rare it is to find a front dana 28 limited slip of any sort I'd say they never had it as a factory option. The rear limited slip is somewhat more common but I've found most to be open differentials, I guess not many cared or needed or were offered the limited slip option and many trucks/Bronco 2's just were never ordered with it...although at times in the winter I wish my Bronco 2 had limited slip but then you get the trouble of the back end wanting to go sideways on you especially on roads that are crowned or otherwise not flat....my Jeep has limited slip and if you aren't careful you can easily spin that thing sideways or completely around LOL.

 

[sgtsandman]

Rangers never came with anything from the factory other than an open differential. Depending on the front axle you have you could get away with an aftermarket locker but unless you like the ratcheting sound of a lunchbox, I would go with a select able model. If it's a DANA 35 SLA, it would be limited slip or nothing. Unless you like changing CV axles and carry spares.

 

[Biggfoot44]

* Speaking of 4x4 generally * , most of them came from the factory with open front diff , and more than a few with open rear also . For " normal " fourwheeling , open front and " traction aided " rear works reasonably well , until deep mud bogs, or radical rock crawling .

Welded spider gears are a "thing" aka Lincoln Lockers ( after the arc welder ). They frequently break . Their " advantage " is if you do your own welding , you could go thru a whole pile of welded junk yard rears, before equalling the investment for a Tru Trac, ARB, etc.

FWIW , my CJ-7 has front and rear ( whatever Dana calls their clutch pak style traction device ). But that's a solid axle with locking hubs .

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I'm pretty sure there was a limited slip in an early ranger with the d28. It didn't stick around long.

I've made my own limited slip on a d28 by adding an extra side gear shim. It works and is drivable on the road. It might last 10,000 miles or so before it wears enough that it no longer works. I got the idea from an old 70's hot rod magazine.

 

[ericbphoto]

i had been thinking that i could take the front diff and put it in the rear of my 2wd and have limited slip.

I don't think that would work well anyway. Many front diffs have reverse cut gears. Plus, it's a different model of axle/differential. I'm pretty sure (sure enough to bet on it) you can't put a Dana 28 carrier in a Ford 7.5" or 8.8" axle.

 

[Bracket racer]

Welded rear ends break?? Yeah if you're a crappy welder! There are still rearends I welded 20-30 years ago running around the woods here! Gob weld in the hole and it breaks...yup, you should of cleaned/welded the spyder gears and the side gears to each other and to the carrier.

As far as front lockers, the 91 I just picked up, if you lock one manual hub while the front end is in the air(and in gear) you can't spin the tire. I've locked it into 4 low and if I leave the hubs locked, if I turn it binds up and the truck lurches. Sure feels like a locked front diff to me. Now I'll have to lock in one hub and see if I can spin in the mud...

 

[91stranger]

SO can I get a rear end from another truck and put it where my front tires are and have 4wd??? That's pretty much all ya gotta do lol...… Please don't take me seriously as I cracked up when reading this thread lol. Famous last words...…. "ALL YOU GOTTA DO IS....."

 

[AllanD]

the 1983-1985 Rangers were sometimes sold with what Ford Refered to as a "Snow Plow Prep" package, which included supplemental air springs(poly air bags in the front coils) and a Dana28 front axle with a limited-slip.

These are easily identified by a slightly different axle coding, in addition to the "F" substituted for the "7" in the axle code denoting a rear limited slip the axle code would also have a third character a "2", so a 3.73 geared truck so equipped would instead of being coded "76" would be coded F6 (for 3.73 limited slip) and thus F62 for 3.73 limited slip FRONT AND REAR.

As an additional note these were pretty rare 20 years ago and they are far more rare now

 

[RonD]

Never even read about that before, interesting option

 

[Biggfoot44]

We didn't say the * welds * broke .