2018 xlt aftermarket locker

[Lars]

i have a 2018 xlt with 4x4 single speed tc and the 8.8 rear end without locker. auburn and eaton offer e-locker for the 8.8 with 31 spline shafts that should mechanically fit.

does anyone know if that works with the 4x4 drivemodes? as far as i figured out the locker shouldn't make that much differences in the drivemode selection since they can be selected with or without locker.
unfortunetely i don't have the oem but think about adding the auburn or eaton version.

any experience out there?

cheers, Lars

 

[Deadman]

Its going to cost twice as much as just buying the factory equipped unit......

 

[Lars]

thanks for the input but that was not my question.

the expedition is there and i don‘t have a locker. the original stuff is a 9.75“ carrier with different gears so i would need to change front and rear. not really cheaper and an option.

the question is if you (or anyone) knowy if that messes up the drivemodes since they don‘t expect a locker. i would say no since the system just doesn‘t see the loss of traction and would act „normal“.

 

[duneslider]

I can't think of a reason it would matter. You would only be using the locker offroad anyway. I would go for it if you think you need it.

 

[Deadman]

The traction control acts as a locker if you Leave it on. Its free as you already have it.....

 

[JExpedition07]

The traction control acts as a locker if you Leave it on. Its free as you already have it.....

This ^, in any of the various 4WD modes on the late 2nd gens and 3rd gens there is traction control at all 4 wheels and they use braking bias to force the wheel with traction to spin. In 2006 Ford removed the limited slip option altogether and replaced it with the AdvanceTrac with off road mode. They brought the LSD back at some point but that likely negates the TC in rear while operating.

 

[shane_th_ee]

But the braking software based virtual limited slip differential is just that, a limited slip. Which means the traction control system will let a wheel slip. My driveway is sloped and has a transition from gravel to concrete. At the transition, traction is better on one side than the other. I use the locker to park the trailer otherwise the LSD will continue to slip on the one side and dig a bigger and bigger hole in my driveway. And I use it when I park on wet grass in the side yard. Again, I don't want any wheel slip because I don't want to dig holes in the lawn.

 

[Deadman]

But the braking software based virtual limited slip differential is just that, a limited slip. Which means the traction control system will let a wheel slip. My driveway is sloped and has a transition from gravel to concrete. At the transition, traction is better on one side than the other. I use the locker to park the trailer otherwise the LSD will continue to slip on the one side and dig a bigger and bigger hole in my driveway. And I use it when I park on wet grass in the side yard. Again, I don't want any wheel slip because I don't want to dig holes in the lawn.

Did you buy a 2wheel drive model?

 

[shane_th_ee]

Did you buy a 2wheel drive model?

No. I have an FX4. All FX4s are 4 wheel drive.

 

[Deadman]

No. I have an FX4. All FX4s are 4 wheel drive.

Then why don't you use the 4x4 instead of digging up the driveway?

 

[JExpedition07]

Sounds like he uses the rear locker and it works and no need to shift into 4x4. Personally when I go out to the family cabin we drive and park in the lawn. I just put my Expedition in 4H and it never leaves ruts even when it’s wet out there. I’ve also taken the Expedition down trails/ closed roads and have never gotten stuck with it, the ControlTrac 4WD system works great with AdvanceTrac.

 

[shane_th_ee]

Then why don't you use the 4x4 instead of digging up the driveway?

What Jexpedition said. It’s easier and faster just to press the locker button than to invoke 4H by rotating the drive mode knob...

 

[Deadman]

What Jexpedition said. It’s easier and faster just to press the locker button than to invoke 4H by rotating the drive mode knob...

Leave it in 4A and u don't have to do anything.

 

[shane_th_ee]

Leave it in 4A and u don't have to do anything.

If you leave it in 4A, the system doesn't do anything until AFTER wheel spin has started. The system responds to a loss of traction by using a clutch pack in the center differential to transfer power to the front axle and (in the 3.73*) by using another clutch pack in the rear differential to transfer power to the other rear wheel.

There is no way for the system to predict "it's going to be slippery here". The best you can do is for the driver to tell the system "it's going to be slippery here", which is exactly what the drive modes do.** But it's far faster and easier for me to just press the rear locker button and be done with it.

Back to the OP, from a functional perspective, he's really swapping an LSD for a lockable LSD. I don't think he'd have any issue unless he tried to put in an actual limited slip rear differential.

Note that the reactive nature of AWD systems is one of the things that has hampered their adoption by the serious off-road folks. Early systems in particular were known for very rapid transfers of power from the slipping wheel to the one(s) with just barely enough traction. The result of the sudden application of power to a wheel with very little traction is a loss of traction in that wheel as well**. It's not usually a big deal at 25+MPH on the street in rain, ice and snow because your momentum will carry you through to where you have more traction. But when you're doing 3mph up a muddy/sandy incline...

*The 3.23 in the OPs rig does not have a clutch pack in the rear differential and so transfers power to the opposite rear wheel by activating the brake on the wheel that is slipping. The system doesn't know which wheel to brake (nor how much to apply) until one of them starts to slip. And all the literature I've seen calls it an "electronic limited slip rear differential". Which very strongly implies the braking-based-transfer never attempts to match the rotational speed of the half axles but instead merely limits the difference in their rotational speeds.

**In the 4A only systems, this simply changes the bias/loading of the clutch pack in the center differential, but it doesn't lock the rotational speed of the output shafts.

 

[Lars]

hey guys
thanks for the response. i kind of found what i was looking for and eventually give the electronic eaton or auburn a try.