Laughed at and mistreated!!! My turn now!!!

[AlaskanJack]

The title is a little misleading.

Well I had to come home early from the Annual 4x4 meet & Greet this weekend. I got a nasty migrane and the mosquitos were HUGE and flocking around me. As I decided to call it quits it started raining like nothing else.

I learned a few things about wheelin in Alaska, it gets muddy quick and is nasty. I got stuck just leaving the camping area. I thought oh crap not with all these Jeeps all over the place. I get out lock in my hubs and nothing my t-case won't engage. "DAMMMM"

Soon a crowd gathers as I have to be pulled free. My worry is that we are 5 miles in the woods on a jeep trail that was not bad coming in. But without 4 wheel I was worried. Then an F350 got stuck in 4 wheel drive right next to me and the crowd grew to almost 30 people. So the Last Resort Recovery vehicle was put into action.

A jeep got stuck for maybe 3 minuted but managed out and I was like Dang! So the recovery vehicle is a monster. Running dual t-cases and just motors through everything. Chad was there and he had some sympathy for me as he knew what a pain the electric t-case can be.

So I aired down my tires and plunged ahead in two wheel with the recovery vehicle lading the way pulling the F350. I eventually got stuck and he pulled me to the hard road.

I need suggestions for mods to my Ex to get through nasty heavy thick mud. I don't want these guys laughing at my Ex again. Low gearing, locker what else?

Oh and I also discovered that my rear isn't open the LS is just worn out. When I got stuck I was told that one of my rear wheels was just spinning. This means my rear is LS correct? If it was open both would spin.

I will upload some pics once my head stops hurting.

 

[-=DaemoN=-]

Supercharger or a 302 and bigger tires! That'll show 'em.

 

[AlaskanJack]

Well I had decided yesterday that this winter I would build an engine for it. But I can't decide if I should just build a beefy 4.0 so I don't have to deal with re-wiring. Or go with a 302 or maybe a V8 5.0 from a newer Explorer.

 

[Texplorer]

Jack, you got it backwards. If you had a LS both your tires WOULD spin. Since only one spun that means you have an open diff. Oh, and did you take any pics? If you went to a 4x4 meet you better have taken lots of pics.

 

[Robb]

I need suggestions for mods to my Ex to get through nasty heavy thick mud. I don't want these guys laughing at my Ex again. Low gearing, locker what else?

You answered your own question.

When I got stuck I was told that one of my rear wheels was just spinning. This means my rear is LS correct? If it was open both would spin.

Nope, one wheel spinning is Open.

 

[AlaskanJack]

Well like I said I have a migrain and maybe I'm not thinking straight.

I thought the open diff acts like a solid axle and both wheels spin together?

So if I build a beefed up 4.0 engine, get low gears and add front and rear lockers I should be able to get through just about anything? I will be swapping my electronic t-case for a manual one that I have currently.

 

[Texplorer]

A LS axle means that when one wheel spins the diff will try to Limit the Slip of that wheel by locking up and engaging the other wheel to spin to get more traction, therefore limiting slippage by the rear tires.
An open diff doesnt have the mechanism inside of it that locks up the axle and engages the other tire. If that makes any sense

 

[Robb]

Open means that if one wheel loses traction, that wheel will get all the power. The other wheel is taken out of the "circuit".

I think of a LS as a "mild locker". When one wheel loses traction, the LS will send some power to the other wheel via clutches. It isn't a true "lock" tho. You can completely stop one wheel and all the power will be transferred to the other wheel. The LS is trying to be a locker, but it can act like an Open Diff if one wheel is intenially stopped.

edit: I am just gonna stop posting, Tex beats me everytime

 

[Nate1]

5.13 gears is pretty low.
How about some aggressive mt tires and some ARBs?
Other than that, a good atlas 2 oughtta get you thru anything

 

[Texplorer]

LOL...Ok, ok, Robb. The next one is all yours

 

[Robb]

Nate brings up a good point. 5.13s with the 35s are plenty low. Is that the X you are talking about? Hard to tell with a tri-X owner. If it is the one, 35s with 5.13s and no locker is a . Not sure why there would be that much tire and that much gear without a locker in it. That is priority #1! It will be a night and day difference.

 

[Rhett]

Yeah, my truck can't go anywhere in 2WD with its open differential, irregardless of the tire size you got..have to be in 4WD to do any good. If I had a LS or locker it would be different.
sorry to hear about your t-case throwing snake eyes at such a bad time...

 

[Ray Lobato]

If you don't have a locker in your truck, you shouldn't be going into places like that. You will also need some good mud terrains. All the power in the world won't help you if your tires fill up with mud, again some good mud terrians will help.
Lockers and tires first.

 

[AlaskanJack]

Well first off, we weren't informed before hand that the road in was less than a driveway. I guess no one had any idea it would get as wet and muddy as it did.

Yes this was my rig with 35's and the apparent 5.13's. The 5.13's came from some calculations Alec confirmed for me. I have never cracked the diff to count teeth but I will be doing it today. Based on wheel rotation and driveshaft count its geared around 4.10. I am really confused as to how our calculations could be so off. My Ex runs at 3100-3200 rpms in drive(no O/D) going 60 mph.

For an aggressive tire I was thinking of the Super Swamper TSL. With an open diff what will work sufficiently a locker or a spool. Or should I get a LS carrier and then add spool or locker? An Atlas II would be sweet but my god the cost is prohibitive for me. That's just too much dough!! Any other t-case options?

 

[V8BoatBuilder]

You don't want a spool.

A spool is only good for drag racers and off-road only trailer queens. It is a solid peice of metal that locks both left and right axle shafts together - so you have AMAZING traction, but can't make turns on anything but mud or sand.

A selectible locker, like an ARB, is an open normally, but when engaged, acts like a spool.

 

[AlaskanJack]

Well it is off-road only, but not a trailer queen. So the spool is no problem. Heck I may just lincoln lock it! Well maybe not.

 

[Robb]

For a spool, the rig has to really be trailered. A spooled rig would be basically impossible to drive on the road. If it can be trailered from your house to the trail, spools are a great, inexpensive option.

 

[Hotweels]

A spooled rig would be basically impossible to drive on the road. If it can be trailered from your house to the trail, spools are a great, inexpensive option.

ummm i tend to disagree on that, a rear spool will make driving more interesting but not impossible.
tire wear is a concern but if you want the ultimate traction then its the price you pay.
but...... if you can get the coin go for a detroit electrack its a full locker like a ARB but when you turn it off it becomes a standard detroit locker.
just my .02

 

[Robb]

Originally posted by Hotweels
ummm i tend to disagree on that, a rear spool will make driving more interesting

ummm.....I must have missed the part where we only started talking about the rear.

 

[SteveVB]

Manual 1354/Lock-Rite/TSLs

If you are just looking for a more reliable transfer case, convert yours to the 1354 M. The manual shift- they are abvailable for 200-400 bucks-FIND ONE WITH THE LINKAGE. The linkage and accessories from the dealer is around 400. Junk Yard cases are 250-300.

A lock rite, or Detroit EZ locker, the new Aussie Locker?? would be the easiest, cheapest, quickest route to a locked up rear / front. You can put them in the existing carrier in a couple of hours and they are around 300 I think. A spool requires resetting the gears and if you dont have the tools will take some dollars (200-300 per axle ).

A lincoln lockers great unless the welds break - then you need a new axle, or at least R&P plus bearings. If you are/or know a real good welder you wont beat the cost.

TSL Swampers are awsome tires off road - they suck on road- cant be beat off road but they just suck on the road. Oh yea they suck on the road They will wear quickly and are loud, dont have great wet traction on the road, but turn off the road and fill them with mud and rocks and what ever - except sand - they will get you as far as you want to get- maybe a little further.... but, you guessed it, they SUCK on the road.

Swamper TSL/SX and the Swamper TSL are tough- unlike BFGs you probably wont need a spare.

Good Luck