spool the front

[IDK]

assuming your front axle is built enought to handle the tires is a spool a good ideah up front,

all the people are sayin i am nuts, i dont understand why, the front axle isnt in motion on the street, so whats the big deal, will it slide more than a detroit offroad or no, people make it seem like i wont be able to turn at all,

truck is a 79 f-150, wit 36 tsls dana 44, mostly mud no rocks 4.56 gears

[jopes]

just take spares hubs and shafts with you. in the mud locked front and rear your not going to be able to turn as sharp as with open diffs.

[SolidAxleRanger]

I have a spool in the rear my FORD RANGER! The damn thing has no problem turning 38's with a spool. the only bad part about having a spool in the front is you will most likely destroy axle shaft after axle shaft.

My Ranger is a d44 in the front and it is locked up, when i get alot of torque on those front tires while having the tires fully turned I bust axle shaft after axle shaft.

I reccomend that you get some OX u joints or some CTM u joints and some heavy duty axle shafts from www.completeoffroad.com they can hook it all up and will cut you a good price at that.

To all you doubter's

[45acp]

Dont listen to the haters...... there aint nuthin wrong with running a front spooled or welded. Some say (no proof) that its easier on shafts than a full Detroit because it wont lock/unlock and shock load like a Detroit will. Turning will be no worse than turning with a front Detroit.

[lil-bronc]

I agree with 45acp. I had to add hydro-assist to my D44 whtn I put a Detriot in. The damn thing was almost impossible to turn with a saginaw box and pump. Keep that in mind. Also, set your knuckles so that they cannot turn to far or you can break axles and u-joints.

[BrokeCuzWheelin]

If you're on the gas (like you usually are when an axle breaks) a Detroit will be locked up, basically becoming a spool. So how can the spool break more axles than a Detroit? It won't. You will break the same amount of axles with a Detroit as with a spool.

However, the Detroit will unlock when coasting around turns or sometimes under low power. A spool won't ever unlock. Also, with a Detroit, if you shift to 2wd the front "should" unlock since there would be no power going to it, so it should not bind around turns with the hubs locked in and in 2wd. A spool will not unlock and therefore it will still bind around turns with the hubs locked in and in 2wd.

If you're not rich and need the front locked, get a spool.

And I don't mean to steal the thread, but say you spend all this money on CTM u-joints so they don't break...What happens when the axle still breaks and the u-joint caps go flying into a bottomless mud pit?

[Jrod-13]

I ran a lincoln locker in the front of my broncoII, it had no effect on steering, it still turned better than anything out there. steering was effortless too, though it did "feel" like it had a bunch of caster.

This summer I put a minispool in the front of my 89' F-150, with 35's. Nothing broke, it still turned, but not as well. The junk ford power steering pump hated it though.
This fall I put a straight axle with a lockright in it, Steering is now effortless, and it turns a bit sharper. lockright to open difff, you cannot tell a difference on the trail.

I then sold the pig with teh minispool to a budy with a FSB, he loves it up front, and out turns my F-150.

[SolidAxleRanger]

The spool wont break more axles then a detriot unless you are on the gas and turning putting alot of torque on the shafts.
I would say the spool is less likely to break then a detriot would. im fact i have never heard of a spool breaking. but im sure it is possible.
I say spool it!

[6.2Blazer]

Originally Posted by BrokeCuzWheelin

If you're on the gas (like you usually are when an axle breaks) a Detroit will be locked up, basically becoming a spool. So how can the spool break more axles than a Detroit? It won't. You will break the same amount of axles with a Detroit as with a spool.

Exactly.

However, I still like some sort of locker (Detroit, Lock-right) in the front for turning purposes. Once you get the hang of it you can get the front to unlock when turning on the trail......takes light throttle or coasting. Plus you can shift in to 2wd and it will be unlocked, unlike a spool.

[st ranger]

weld em up!!

both of them!

as much as i like a tight turning radius,i like running circles around all my stuck buddies and laughing at them even better.if you're in deep mud,then you get to give them a little spray,too!

[SolidAxleRanger]

I have a lock rite and even when I disengage my four wheel drive, i still turn the axle shafts and driveline in the front, still puts a drag on my momentum.
I have a lock-rite in the front and works really well, would not trade it for anything. I can say a spool would be fun, didn't you say that this truck was going to be just for wheeling? or is it going to be a pavement pounder also.
The 9 inch in my ranger has a spool and the truck is my daily, peopl say im crazy for driving it daily but i dont care. i like the spool, it perform on and off the road equally.

[FuzzyNuts]

ive welded all my diffs , even in my hundai pony. what you save on a locker you can put into better u joints and axles, and go farther and longer than the guy who spends 800 bannanas on a locker and still has gay axles, and a locker that wears after time. Besides that lockers hate when axles break and sometimes the axle breakage sends a shockload back to the lockers and shatters them (not common but does happen)

[CHOPPEDBII]

if you have manual hubs I would spool it. if you get into a place you need to turn unlock one hub. then the axle can rotate in the hub and not bind.....yes you will be in 3wd but you will get complete traction from the one wheel that is locked and you will not be sitting on the trail fixing a snapped axle. I have been back and fourth about what I am going to do with mine.

[FuzzyNuts]

yah I broke somewhere around 30 dana 44 shafts , for real too. And getting out and unlocking a hub for a turn might happen 2-3 times then it`ll get real old, besides, now you have ALL the power that would be divided to 2 wheels on 1...BANG...CRUNCH. I agree that turning is lost but I felt it was a MINIMAL loss compared to the gains in traction. For example imagine trying to climb a vertical rock 3 feet tall with an open diff... You will maby get a few inches up then when the other front tire is getting lighter and loses traction and spins, you bounce down, because of this bounce you get more traction than you had before, what hapens now? CRUNCH. I know I have experienced braking more axles than anyone I know wether it be open , posi, and welded. While when you are running balls out, often only one tire will be in the air, all load is on the other, causing breakage, The thing is, with the added traction you can do everything you did before.. far easier... less abuse for the rest of the truck..... In My opinion, weld it, buy some good axles and U Joints, and forget about the steering loss, you`l hardly notice, if you do you`ll soon forget...Just un lock your hubs on high traction surfaces like pavement or groomed gravel roads

[78Buford]

In late 2002, I welded the front D44 on a '78 Bronco......D44, 9" & 36" TSL's. I drove it on two trail rides.

1. Whoever said (earlier in this thread) that getting in & out locking & unlocking hubs gets old quick: You are correct.

2. In my short experience with this setup the "lack of steering on the trail" is over-rated. Again, I did not have my junk in a rock garden, but I had zero steering complaints with my old turd Bronco.....and it had the weaker (compared to a Saginaw) factory Ford power steering pump

If you have a beefy front axle compared to your tire size, I would not hesitate to weld/spool a front axle on a trail rig. If you are pushing the limits on tire/axle size, I would recommend buying a LockRight......the guts of your front axle will live longer.

Buford