4x4 front axle

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cszalai

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I heard something the other day and want to confirm it....i have a94 bronco with the original front axle in it, it is an IFS axle the only thing thats been changed is the hub locks they are manual and then i have the electronic shift transfer case......is this front axle a one wheel spinner.....if it is ..to be technical then i have a 3 wheel drive not a 4 wheel drive, i know i have a limited slip in the back

i'd love to get a 8.8 locker from an explorer i heard they are well built

 

Vernon

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I heard something the other day and want to confirm it....i have a94 bronco with the original front axle in it, it is an IFS axle the only thing thats been changed is the hub locks they are manual and then i have the electronic shift transfer case......is this front axle a one wheel spinner.....if it is ..to be technical then i have a 3 wheel drive not a 4 wheel drive, i know i have a limited slip in the back

i'd love to get a 8.8 locker from an explorer i heard they are well built
Yes, only one front tire will pull at a time.

 

Krafty

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its called an "open differential". only the wheel with the least traction will spin. its designed for cornering on hard surfces without damaging drive line components. a "limited slip" differential Limits how much faster a wheel can spin than the other. it will only let the one side "slip" as much as necessary to prevent damage during cornering. and at all other times provides drive to both wheels.

it is possible to rebuild the front axle (which usually is a dana 44) to have a limited slip or locker in the carrier. as opposed to the standard open diff.

 
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cszalai

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It's a 4WD, and it's possible that yours has open diffs F&R. But it's still not a "3WD"; if you only count one front wheel because of the open diff, then you can only count one rear wheel. So that only leaves 2WD, which isn't correct, either. Almost every vehicle on the road is a 2WD; Broncos are 4WD. Land Rovers are AWD (they have a differential in the t-case, and most of those are open diffs). Just glance at the back of your passenger axle beam and look in the corner of the sticker (it's upside-down) to see if yours is STD (open) or limited slip.

d44ifs96tag.jpg

The effect of an open diff is that the tires get the proportion of torque related to the OPPOSITE tire's traction. So if the L tire has 0% traction for that axle, then the R tire gets 0% of the torque coming to that axle. If the tires have equal traction (50% each), then they each get 50% of the torque coming into the axle.

The effect of a LSD is that it maintains a slight bias (which varies with how it was built) so that there's always SOME torque going to each wheel, even if one has no traction. A worn-out LSD has 0 bias, and behaves like an open. An LSD that has been built with an extra-strong spring or an extra clutch in each pack will have more bias than a new stock LSD, so it'll behave more like a locker.

The effect of a locker is that it always splits torque evenly UNTIL it reaches a certain strain condition (depending on its design) at which point it momentarily unlocks & instantly relocks. So on dry pavement, some lockers make an audible popping as they operate.

The last type is a torque-biasing, which varies the bias effect mechanically to work smoother than a locker, but tighter than an LSD when needed, and almost like an open most of the time. They're expensive & sometimes delicate.

Then there are selectables which combine some functions, like the ARB Air-Locker & the Eaton E-Locker which can be manually switched from open to locked. Auburn makes one that switches from LSD to locker, but they don't seem to last. This thread contains links to most of the mfr's sites with more info about each model.

The Ex 8.8" uses the same Eaton Traction-Lok LSD as the Bronco & F-series, but some only have 28-spline side gears, so they won't work in a fullsize. Eaton also produces the TrueTrac torque biasing diff, the PosiTraction LSD (once owned by GM), and the entire TracTech line which includes the famous Detroit Locker.

Thanks for the info when he told me about this i knew it didn't sound right and i even said "you mean i kinda have 3-wheel drive" and he said yes so i turned here, it might act or feel like 3-wheel drive right now because of wear. This truck sat for 5 yrs (for the most part) it sat more than it was driven, the axles are stiff it pulls real hard to the right when i put it in 4 wheel and while the ball joint and tie rods / drag links are all good i can still feel a looseness in the front that i cant find....(when i get into the worn parts of the road (like a 2 track) with bumps in it the truck gets hard to control and wants to (i guess id call it this) drift, when i find this problem then i can start rebuilding the other things like the front axle, the transfer case, changing fenders and other rusted body parts

 
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Yardape

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The looseness you are referring to might be a worn out steering box. I have had 2 Broncos, an 89 and a 90. I have an 84 f150 reg cab and and a 94 f350 crew cab currently and had an 84 f150 supercab, 89 f250 supercab, 95 f150 reg cab. Thats 7 F-series trucks in the past few years and they ALL had loose steering, and this was caused by the same worn out steering box. I have had this happen to every truck I have owned so I am convinced that it is a crappy design flaw.

 

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