Successful Transplant !

I was going to write up some of my comments on limited slip and locking differentials, because I have had both, but the experience and which performed exactly how kind of runs together in my memory.

The 03 Silverado 2500 (2wd) had auto locking rear. The '17 Jeep JK had limited slip. I can't recall if it was rear only or front and rear.

The 07 Silverado had rear autolocking The 24 F250 has rear electric locking.

I have felt the affects and it definitely helps in the soft stuff. Can't speak to the slippery stuff. I try to avoid that at all cost.

Not sure exactly how posi differs from limited slip or auto locking, but its the real deal for street racing.

FYI: I am thinking about building a stroked 351 and pushing it out to around 401. Not today though. Looking for gobs of mid range for towing torque with a long duration cam rather than a high reving high HP engine with a high lift cam. I sold my 07 Silverado and my Jeep. Now I only have the new 24 Ford for a tow vehicle. I feel naked without a backup... er tow vehicle that is.

I got the brakes on yesterday , adjusted them this morning and bolted the bed back on . Took it for a short ride after I finished , it seems to drive the same as before . Except when I punch it on gravel it leaves

--------------------------- On my Honda lock lack was a symptom of a thermostat that wasn't fully closing and let the engine run cooler in the morning than a temperature switch trip point. The torque converter locked around noon after climbing a hill.

Since I once built production test stations for engine controls I had read the section of my factory shop manual that explained that and immediately realized what was happening.

The separate engine and emissions control manual for my 1991 Ford Ranger is

jsw

The only control on this one is a vacuum switch . It can be tested with a vacuum pump and a volt/ohm meter - if I knew which wire went where . I haven't done much tuning , I was waiting until I had the drive train in it's final configuration .

The only control on this one is a vacuum switch . It can be tested with a vacuum pump and a volt/ohm meter - if I knew which wire went where . I haven't done much tuning , I was waiting until I had the drive train in it's final configuration . Snag

---------------------------------- In case you or some other reader doesn't know it, intake manifold vacuum is an easily accessible indication of the combined accelerator/throttle position and the load on the engine. It's high when cruising at a light load that allows more distributor spark advance without knocking and torque converter lockup.

I've been in the GM lab with the "flow bench" for testing carburetors but didn't have a chance to learn about it, the machine I had built and was setting up simulated faults in the 12V power supply to a fuel injection computer.

I've got an Edelbrock 1405 on it , can't justify the cost of an aftermarket injection setup . Ignition timing is one area that I intend to work on . I have an Accel HiPo distributor on it . My performance guy thinks that I need to dial in more than 8° initial advance , and there are adjustments on the dist for how fast the vacuum advance comes in . This will never be a "fire breathing monster" , but I do hope to get a little smoke from the rear tires ...

On 10/25/2024 7:38 AM, Jim Wilkins wrote: ... I've got an Edelbrock 1405 on it , can't justify the cost of an aftermarket injection setup . Ignition timing is one area that I intend to work on . I have an Accel HiPo distributor on it . My performance guy thinks that I need to dial in more than 8° initial advance , and there are adjustments on the dist for how fast the vacuum advance comes in . This will never be a "fire breathing monster" , but I do hope to get a little smoke from the rear tires ... Snag

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That company folded in the late 70's and I moved on to higher tech, so I don't know much about later engine control developments beyond what's in the shop manuals for my own 1991 and 2000 vehicles.

Holley is still selling Accel products ...

My '96Ranger 4 liter 5 speed was my first "limited slip" vehicle. SZtill have it at 392000km and still love it - but the first thing that caught my attention was that when you got the rear wheels spinning is you lost your "rudder". The non-spinner with an open rear end keeps the vehicle going more or less in a straight line. When both are spinning the rear end pretty much goes wherever it wants!!! Mine has 3.55 gears and replacing the piddly 14 inch OEM tires and wheels with 235/70 16s on 7 inch rims has reduced the tendancy to spin SIGNIFICANTLY

Bad temp sensor or loww thermostat temp will do that - has to be warmed up to "operating temperature" before it locks. VSS is the other input - has to be over a certain speed. Brake light switch will also prevent lockup (cannot lock if the switch says the brakes are on). Before digging into ANY of that make sure the lockup function actually works by installing a manual switch. You can automate the whole thing with simple relay logic - the speed control is the most complicated. An Arduino simplifies the whole thing significantly and actually costsless than the 3 relays required for relay logic but you need to wrap your head around the boolean logic required for the arduino - and the basic programming involved.

My '96Ranger 4 liter 5 speed was my first "limited slip" vehicle. SZtill have it at 392000km and still love it - but the first thing that caught my attention was that when you got the rear wheels spinning is you lost your "rudder". The non-spinner with an open rear end keeps the vehicle going more or less in a straight line. When both are spinning the rear end pretty much goes wherever it wants!!!...

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The same happens to my 91 Ranger's light rear end on ice even without limited slip. Dirt (and ice) biking gave me the instinctive reflexes to stay in control with the rear wheels flopping around. Ice on the road isn't limited to storms, melt water from snow banks freezes when the sun goes down.

Pickup trucks in general (and some cars) are notoriously bad in dirt, sand, or maybe slippery stuff due to the lack of weight on the rear axle. The addition of as little as a couple hundred pounds over the axle makes a huge difference. I know this first hand. My station wagon was better in the sand (with similar size tires) than most empty pickup trucks. My first car was a very light 67 Ford Cortina (English Ford), It was intended as a "dune buggy" by a previous owner who installed 60s on the front and 50s on the rear. It was terrible until I dropped a couple bags of concrete in the trunk. It didn't magically turn it into a dune buggy, but it was pretty good after that.

Crew cabs tend to have better weight distribution, but that is offset by increased overall weight. Add some decent width tires and they aren't to bad in the sand.

Pickup trucks in general (and some cars) are notoriously bad in dirt, sand, or maybe slippery stuff due to the lack of weight on the rear axle. The addition of as little as a couple hundred pounds over the axle makes a huge difference. I know this first hand. My station wagon was better in the sand (with similar size tires) than most empty pickup trucks. My first car was a very light 67 Ford Cortina (English Ford), It was intended as a "dune buggy" by a previous owner who installed 60s on the front and 50s on the rear. It was terrible until I dropped a couple bags of concrete in the trunk. It didn't magically turn it into a dune buggy, but it was pretty good after that.

Crew cabs tend to have better weight distribution, but that is offset by increased overall weight. Add some decent width tires and they aren't to bad in the sand. Bob La Londe

------------------------------------ When I wanted to play in the sand I rode my Suzuki 185 with trials tire that behaved well on the road getting there. While it and I weren't competitive I could at least finish the long Enduro runs the motorcycle club I belonged to hosted, and struggle through the Trials (stunt) events. I practiced for their ice racing and could do at 10 MPH what good riders could at 60.

The Ranger fit narrow forest trails better than a full sized pickup but not nearly as well as the bike which could handle everything from deer paths to the Interstate. The tires didn't tear up the ground and cause erosion like knobbies, which was fine with me as I prefer to 'tread lightly' when exploring and camping, which was Club policy to keep areas open to us. The Ranger was fine for collecting firewood until I had cut everything within reach of the trails, then I inherited a garden tractor that pulled a single-width snowmobile trailer between the trees.

Weighting the back is common practice here though the weight can be a safety hazard in a collision. I was commuting in stop-and-go-fast bumper-to-bumper Boston area traffic so the risk was high. Every morning the news shows several roads blocked by crashes.

The Ranger's 4WD locks the front and rear axles together so the tires skid during turns on dry pavement, and the dealership told me from a customer's experience that leaving it in 4WD will wear out the drivetrain in 20,000 miles. In mostly 2WD the OEM lubed-for-(their)-life driveshaft U joints wore or corroded loose just after the warranty expired. In sunny winter weather the road can alternate between sunny dry and shaded ice which the system can't really handle, especially at icy corners. The motorized 4WD engagement responds too slowly.

My bad weather solution was a Honda CRV with full time AWD and much more passenger and enclosed cargo space for elderly parents, luggage and a wheelchair. The first generation CRV was a Land Rover body design with decent off road (snowmobile trail) capability. Land Rover sold it as the identical-looking Freelander, with a BMW drive train. I claim that the large windows are to better view the hungry lions circling outside. There is a 12V outlet in the back for the powered cooler you need in the Kalahari, a folding picnic table as the hatch area floor and a tub for the kitchen sink under it. Owners who drive a lot get 300,000 miles from them before they rust through, I welded patches in the holes and kept going. It gave me 20 trouble-free years before the rubber and plastic parts all began to fail.

Michelin Arctic Alpins let the car drive on ice nearly as surely as dry pavement. Their downsides are more rapid wear of the soft rubber compound and hydroplaning on deep slush or water. The car is stable sliding and stays pointing ahead, which makes it safer but less fun to play in, no more bootlegger turns. jsw

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Deer paths are fairly easy to follow, they may be able to jump 8 feet but they walk around larger fallen logs which concentrates their tracks at the ends. Their hooves chip the rotted wood from smaller fallen logs which also marks where they cross.

I spent the morning hoisting an 8' x 12' wooden shed high enough for the owner to back his construction equipment trailer under it with his New Holland tractor. This is an area where urban shades into rural. We slid long oak 6x6 timbers from my sawmill under it and hoisted it with my tripods and chain hoists, one end at a time with 6x6 cribbing underneath just in case, keeping the siding level to avoid twisting it.

Nice work!

Used tripod style camper jacks many years ago to lift a small granary high enough to get a trailer under. Didn't have to disassemble then for the move. Worked a treat! Similar to these Pickup Camper Jacks:

Clare , I will probably hook up a switch to test function , but it will be temporary - and since the solenoid in the trans is brand new when rebuilt less than a thousand miles back I fully expect it to function properly . My understanding from the manual is that the lockup is solely controlled by a vacuum/electric switch which is controlled by engine vacuum . There is no temp dependent switch in the circuit . I do know for a fact that the circuit was working before the trans was rebuilt (and a bunch of vacuum lines and emission control devices got lost) , the radio is on the same fuse and because the solenoid in the trans was shorted it would blow that fuse every time it energized .

My little Ranger has a fiberglass cap, plastic bed liner and heavy rubber mat totalling almost 300 lbs permanently installed. On ice, you are right (on a slight slope it can go sideways with no power applied

- posi or no makes no difference. Howver in snow or sand, or wet pavement - a "one wheel peel" goes pretty straight, while a "2 wheel peel" can go in circles. My old Fargo had an open dif and less weight than the Ranger, and althogh there were times it would not get up the slippery driveway (even just wet pavement could be a challenge) it NEVER went sideways under accelleration. I can pretty easily put the ranger sideways on wet pavement - not to mention loose gravel or sand (or wet grass). Never had that problem with my open-diff rear wheel drive Darts, Valiants, Ramblers, or Coronet (sedans or wagons) or the MGB, TR7, Sunbeam Alpine or other rear wheel drive oddities I've driven. The "non-friven" wheel makes a pretty effective rudder on surfaces with any reasonable amount of friction - and you loose that "rudder" with a good posi or a "locker"

Nice work!

Used tripod style camper jacks many years ago to lift a small granary high enough to get a trailer under. Didn't have to disassemble then for the move. Worked a treat! Similar to these Pickup Camper Jacks:

-- Leon Fisk Grand Rapids MI

-------------------------------------------- For that price it must be excellent! I use this type under the tongue of my log splitter:

We moved the shed to its new location without any injury or property damage, so this was a good day.

It would be nice to own a tractor loader, perhaps nicer to have a neighbor who bought and maintains one. He's also restoring an older Chevy so I pay attention to the discussions here. He says a swap for a 5 or 6 liter LS engine has become the hot street setup.

If it only has the vac switch it will be ugly when the engine is cold and under braking. If it has a low gear lockout that all gets better - (Some early TH350s with locking converter used the simple setup but even THEY worked better cold with a thermo lockout - and I believe they still had a speed lockout (built into the trans) operated by governor pressure. The newer stuff does it all with the TCM reading VSS and CTS as well as brake - allowing better compression braking as well as transparent engagement and cold operation.