I have a 92 Toyota P/U and was wondering if I should Spool the rear? I want to eventually do an s.a.s. and re-gear. So I don't want to put a selectable locker in yet. I was wondering if I should weld my current gears, put in spooled gears or install a spooled 3rd member. It's my everyday driver though. How much will it wear my tires? I know if I turn to fast my tires may hop. But if I take corners slow will it hurt my tread life? I want to go the cheapest route due to lack of funds. How much will it set me back also? Any other side effects of having a spooled daily driver? Thanks for the input!

 

Just out of curiosity, what exactly is a "spooled" rear end?

 

ummm... It's a completely locked diff. It's means that no matter what both tires will get power and neither can spin separately, resulting in the other tire losing all power. I hope that explains it.

 

It is basically a posi

Unfortunately dude, I really do not know what you should do...hhmmm I personally would hate driving around with the rear end locked all the time, however, that is just me.

 

So spool it or not? I didn't understand your post, sorry! Thanks xor!

 

LOL sorry that did not make sense...I would not like riding around with a locked differential all the time...could not be great on tires...fast or slow....

 

technicalities: Posi-traction is a trade name for a limited slip differential. So a posi is not a spool.

A spool locks the axle together 100% of the time.

The only experience I've had with a spool was last saturday when a guy on a run had a spool in his 4runner. All the way up to the trail he was squealing his tires around the corners. Any time he'd make a 90 deg turn like at a stop sign I could hear him. He wasn't going around the corners fast either. I can't imagine tires would last long like that.

I'd say go with what roger brown said at ODW.

Steve

 

A full posi is locked...kinda like a Detroit, where you get that click-click-click when turning...if that is incorrect, then what am I thinking of???

 

Personally, I think it would be dangerous to lock your diff permanently if you plan on driving your truck on the street. Negotiating turns is why differentials were invented in the first place. By locking your diff, you have taken a step backwards in safety and usability.

Posi's or LSD's are not lockers. They are simply better than open diffs and provide better power xfer most of the time. They still allow the outside wheel in a turn to rotate faster to avoid dragging the tire. There is no "trick" to learn or adjustment time needed if you equip your truck with an LSD. A Detroit Trutrac (LSD)would be what I would put in the rear if it was my truck.

My .02
Dr. Z

 

Ah, now you had me doubting myself!

I did a quick google search and found this website.

A spooled rear isn't necessarily dangerous, as long as you know its limitations. It certainly would be dangerous in snow and ice and questionable in the rain.

Steve

 

Spool, no spider gears, both sides same power all the time.

Auto locker, ala Detroit, mechanism differentiates when turning with no load allowing one tire to turn faster. If a tire looses traction, then the sides lock together.

Manual locker, ala ARB. Push the button and you have a spool, push it again and you are open and the tires act like an unloaded locker or an open diff.

Listen to what Roger said, he makes a good point about being cheap and effective.

Ask Hinckley about the spool. He was squeaking and squaking all over.

With a spool, there is no guessing about when it is going to lock or unlock.

I drove with my rear ARB locker on my driveway, it really bit and bucked even in though it was gravel. I would not spool a street driven truck.

After writing all of this, I hope someone responds as this did answer all the previous questions.

 

I think he means me, its Hinkley... No 'C'

My electric locker quit unlocking so I have been driving in fully locked "spool" mode for a while on the street. It's not bad at all. The tires squeal in turns and wear faster than they should. If you use sticky tires the forces on your axle get a lot greater and the likelyhood of breaking an axleshaft increases.

In snow and ice in 4wd it wants to push or understeer through turns, the front wheels want to slide straight ahed when the wheel is turned quickly. Making gradual turns instead of yanking the wheel fixes that. In 2wd on ice the rear wants to kick out and 'oversteer' but in a very predictable way. Just don't stomp on the gas in the middle of a turn and its not a problem. Or if you do want to stomp mid turn, be ready for the rear to go into a slight power slide. It's kinda fun.

If you don't mind buying tires more often a spool is fine for daily driving. Just keep in mind that it behaves slightly differently than an open diff.

 

Apologies Matt, I just thought that someone who had ridden the horse ought to tell that story.

No C, I will remember now. Wasn't there a mix up about this before, you are not the one who tried to assasinate the president, right?

 

Thanks for all of the great info! Keep it coming!!!!

 

That sucks Matt, didn't you just put it in? Did you extend the actuator breather? I've heard that water can get into the breather rust out the actuator/motor. I think the actuator/motor costs like $350 to replace... which makes the Downey cable conversion an attractive solution. Of course, I'm sure the junkyard king will figure something out

 

so by the looks of it a lsd should be just about the best of all the options for street and mild off-roading while a locker would be better for the more serious off-road conditions?

anyone know the difference in price and where they can be had?

 

Detroit True-Trac, one of the best gear driven LSD's on the market, around $335 for Toy diffs. I have one for 19k miles and it was better than being open, but it was no locker.

Check any place that vends truck differential parts. I went with Drivetrain Direct for my rear ARB'd third and bought just the True-Trac from 4 Wheel Parts.

 

If you want cheap WELD IT!!!! This is my second truck that I have welded the rear end. My first was a f250 diesel on 38" swampers, never had a problem with that one and my runner hasnt either yet. I say yet because there is always the possibility of it letting go and tearing everything apart. I know of 5 different people with welded rear ends and they are going strong. Some have been for over 3 years. If your going to dump your clutch and crank donuts on pavement well it deffinately wont last. When its first done it will worry you because of all the stories you hear then after a while you just drive it. You do get funny looks when your turning in the parking lot at the slowest speed and your truck is squealling away. The only downfall is the tire wear. I rotate my tires once a month to get the best milage out of them. Its also a weird feeling when you turn full radius pointing downhill and push the clutch in and the truck rolls back up hill. If you have ever seen the size of the toyota axleshafts though they are about the same size as a full size truck. If you go this route make sure the person welding it is a good welder and cleaning it up real good to get all the oil contamination off the 3rd. After its done cover it up so the heat stays with it and let it cool very slowly. Then clean up all the welds and splatter as best as possible, reinstall and a couple of weeks later drain the oil and remove excess slag stuck to drainplug, repeat again untill your happy there are no more chunks floating around. Just remember once its welded up there is no changing it back. Hope this helps your decision and if driving in the snow isnt your favorite now it will be hell with a fully locked rearend, but for some of us its a blast.

 

If you don't mind explaining, what exactly is a welded rear end?

 

You weld the spider gears and side gears inside the rear differential to the carrier. This locks both axleshafts together so no matter what both tires turn at the same speed so you always have at least one tire driving you over terrain instead of the one on the ground doing nothing and the one in the air spinning.