1999 Exploder

[Exploder_M]

I ran the spartan lunchbox locker for almost 2 years with it only "slipping" twice. Once while going about 45 on razor burn and once when going in reverse under a hard load. Besides that the locker helped take me many places that the open rear end wouldn't have.

In September 2022 i switched over to a detroit locker which has worked flawlessly. It has the same street manners as the spartan and has a loud pop every now and then when loading or unloading from a turn which is normal. It is basically silent when turning compared the the spartans loud ratcheting.

I also switched to 4.88 gears at that same time and it made the truck come alive.

 

[TheOkieEngineer]

I ran the spartan lunchbox locker for almost 2 years with it only "slipping" twice. Once while going about 45 on razor burn and once when going in reverse under a hard load. Besides that the locker helped take me many places that the open rear end wouldn't have.

In September 2022 i switched over to a detroit locker which has worked flawlessly. It has the same street manners as the spartan and has a loud pop every now and then when loading or unloading from a turn which is normal. It is basically silent when turning compared the the spartans loud ratcheting.

I also switched to 4.88 gears at that same time and it made the truck come alive.

View attachment 28267

Sweet! Sounds like the spartans aren’t that bad for the buck. I feel that there is a detroit locker in my future

 

[TheOkieEngineer]

Does anyone know a knowledgeable ford 5r55E transmission builder in Socal area? I'm looking to get my stock exploder tranny freshly rebuilt, (maybe larger cooler too)along with eliminating the slip yoke in the tail shaft housing. I want to make the tail shaft housing fixed and have them build a new driveshaft with the slip in it?

I don’t know of any trans builders, so can’t help you there. I had a hard time finding any kits or info on a fixed yoke for my 4r70w, so I am making one using 4x4 tail housing, 2WD output shaft and custom housing w/ large bearing. I don’t know much about the 5r55e but I wonder if it could be done like how I’m doing it?