Lincoln LS Limited Slip Differential bolt-in...

On a side note, does anyone know if you have to swap the driveshaft in a gen2 if you do this swap? I know i'm looking at changing the center section and CV shafts but don't remember if the driveshaft was the same.

everything i've ever read says that the only parts on the shopping list are the !st gen diff housing, 1st gen axles, and the LSD of your choice(and of course any worn parts due for replacment)... the drive shaft should be the same and only needed for the full 8.8 swap...
 
everything i've ever read says that the only parts on the shopping list are the !st gen diff housing, 1st gen axles, and the LSD of your choice(and of course any worn parts due for replacment)... the drive shaft should be the same and only needed for the full 8.8 swap...

Correct.
 
everything i've ever read says that the only parts on the shopping list are the !st gen diff housing, 1st gen axles, and the LSD of your choice(and of course any worn parts due for replacment)... the drive shaft should be the same and only needed for the full 8.8 swap...

Well that makes this a weekend project then. Good to know :)
 
Are the axle shaft pilot bearings and side seals in the Gen I LS case the same as the 28-spline 8.8" aluminum IRS or are they unique? If they are the same, then we can use the FRPP kit #M-4413-A.

Are the carrier shims in the Gen I LS differential the same as the 8.8" or are they unique? If they are the same, then we can use the shims in the FRPP kit #M-4210-A.

If the gear ring bolts in the Gen I LS differential as the same as the 8.8" or are they unique? If they are the same, then we can again use the FRPP kit #M-4210-A which includes new ring gear bolts.
 
Are the axle shaft pilot bearings and side seals in the Gen I LS case the same as the 28-spline 8.8" aluminum IRS or are they unique? If they are the same, then we can use the FRPP kit #M-4413-A.

Don't know about the the axle shaft bearings or seals, but the shims and ring gear bolts are the same or at least similar enough to be interchangeable.
 
I purchased a set of Gen I remanufactured CV axles shafts. I then located a 3.58 ratio Gen I differential verified with less than 51K miles. I see no reason to even touch the pinion in this low mileage unit. So it would then be a waste of money to buy the full or partial differential rebuild kits (Timken #DRK311B or #DRK311BMK or the Ford #M-4210-B).

What I need are just the new carrier bearings and races (Timken or National #M88048 and #M88010), a carrier shim set (Gear Motive #1101 or Richmond Gear #38-0007-1 or Yukon #SK SS12) along with the case side CV axle pilot bearing (Timken or National #FC66998) and the seals for those pilot bearings (Timken or National #714569).

I was able to locate an Eaton True LSD for the 28-spline Ford 8.8 (#912A562) with less than 8K miles. Since this is a helical gear type LSD vs. a clutch type unit like the Ford factory type Trac Lok, I will need to use either a conventional GL-5 gear lube or a synthetic GL-5 which does not have any limited slip friction modifier additive, such as Motul Gear 300V 75w-90 or Redline 75w-90 NS or 75w-140 NS.

Once I have those rebuild parts, then all I need to do is track down a Ford 8.8 aluminum IRS case spreader to do the job right. There are a couple designs on eBay. I already have a shop press and all the other tools needed.

I can't wait to be able to put the power down with both rear tires and not have as much "electronic nanny" intervention.
 
Ok, here's the parts list I put into my LS.

F5AZ-4204-B - Limited Slip Differential Case

2L1Z-4215-EA - Spacer/gear kit, this kit includes: 2x 2L1W-4215-AA Pinion gears, 2x 2L1W-4236-FA Limited Slip Side gears, 2x D0AW-4230-A Pinion washers, 387426-S100 pinion shaft retaining bolt, 2x E9SW-4B422-DA Circlips. This is the CORRECT 28-Spline kit. You DO NOT WANT the 31 Spline kit.

2x 6L1Z-4947-B - Spacer Kit, this kit includes: Friction discs, spacers, and various thickness shims.

E9AZ-4211-A - Diff. shaft pin.

You'll also need an S-Spring, some people like to use the F150 spring, F3TZ-4214-A.
 
Oh boy, here's the nubbie with a stupid question.

I've read every post, and just want to be sure I
understand. From my understanding, I just need to take
casing out, and replace stock internals of casing with this;

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/28-SPLINE-FO...Parts_Accessories&hash=item27ed41383c&vxp=mtr

I will also need odds and ends mentionned numerous times in this thread(shims, bearings &
races, seals,etc) LSinyourLS has a pretty clear grocery list, however, the one that adds confusion
is the casing. Have I misread ? I thought I use the OEM casing for the swap ?

Doing the swap is not the problem for me. It's wrapping my head around what I need parts wise
in order to get this thing done. Winters are pretty harsh up here, and will try and squeeze all of the
traction I can get.

This is a great thread, but lacks pics from the members who did the swap. Not complaining...just say'in.

Thanks for all your help.:)
 
Just want to try asking here:

SPSully once took me for a ride in his 2001 LS. It had a locker welded in, and both tires always spun. He widened his tires to 265 (he also ran 22" rims).
His LS was lowered and stiffened up the shocks /springs.
His LS out cornered my stock 2002 without even trying.

Unfortunately I lost contact with SPSully so I cant ask him, but I was wondering if anyone in the community had enough knowledge on what he could have done? His explanation was "I welded a locker, its always spinning both".

I have a 2004, and was wondering if its possible to weld in a locker to make it always spin both tires? And what are the danger(s) to the powertrain/differential itself? Any info would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks so much.
 
I have a 2004, and was wondering if its possible to weld in a locker to make it always spin both tires? And what are the danger(s) to the powertrain/differential itself? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

when you pull out the open diff, you just weld the sh!t out of the spider gears so you no longer have an open diff (nor do you have a limited slip diff)

this is great for a straight line acceleration non daily driven car. it sucks for just about everything else. it will wear the crap out of the rear tires faster than normal and making turning a pain in the ass (the sharper the worse)




I would only do it on a drag car or a dedicated drift missile. the problem with this is that both rear tires are 100% locked to each other.

when you are turning in a normal car, the inside tires are spinning slower than the outside tires will, this is why virtually every production performance car always has a LIMITED SLIP rear end. because if this small difference in speed between the inside and outside tires while turning, you need a small amount of slip to be allowed before locking up the rear. with a welded rear end not allowing any slipping at all, your rear tires will be fighting each other anytime you are turning. it also makes the car harder to turn (negatively effecting performance when not driving in a straight line) and it really gets annoying when making sharper turns especially at slower speeds (just as 90* into places or parking spots) the rear will just tend to just around a little bit as either the outside wheel gets dragged or (more likely) the inside wheels hops as it gets spun faster that it is traveling on the pavement. also if you drive the car year round and drive in slick situations such as snow and ice, it gets wild fast, keep in mind when making any turn, one of your rear tires will automatically lost traction and the rear end tends to kick hard and fast.

Source of knowledge: I owned a blown beater fox body back in the day. it was nice for drag racing but sucked all the rest of the time. guy I sold it to pulled the welded diff frist thing and just dropped a clutch based Trac-lok in it and it was 1000 times better, great traction with none of the downsides. just how much better and easier the car turned alone was well worth a $100 or so he paid for a GT pony diff to rep the Trac-lok out of, he didn't even bother with rebuilding it. its funny how much stupid shit you will put up with when you are young. however nowdays I'
m only doing it right and actually using LSDs. its actually high on the list of thing I want to do to my focus so I can stop the smoke show! only down side is due to the limited options availible, a LSD for it runs about a G...


here is how to do it


here are some of the many many reasons not to do it
 
when you pull out the open diff, you just weld the sh!t out of the spider gears so you no longer have an open diff (nor do you have a limited slip diff)

this is great for a straight line acceleration non daily driven car. it sucks for just about everything else. it will wear the crap out of the rear tires faster than normal and making turning a pain in the ass (the sharper the worse)

I would only do it on a drag car or a dedicated drift missile. the problem with this is that both rear tires are 100% locked to each other.

when you are turning in a normal car, the inside tires are spinning slower than the outside tires will, this is why virtually every production performance car always has a LIMITED SLIP rear end. because if this small difference in speed between the inside and outside tires while turning, you need a small amount of slip to be allowed before locking up the rear. with a welded rear end not allowing any slipping at all, your rear tires will be fighting each other anytime you are turning. it also makes the car harder to turn (negatively effecting performance when not driving in a straight line) and it really gets annoying when making sharper turns especially at slower speeds (just as 90* into places or parking spots) the rear will just tend to just around a little bit as either the outside wheel gets dragged or (more likely) the inside wheels hops as it gets spun faster that it is traveling on the pavement. also if you drive the car year round and drive in slick situations such as snow and ice, it gets wild fast, keep in mind when making any turn, one of your rear tires will automatically lost traction and the rear end tends to kick hard and fast.

Source of knowledge: I owned a blown beater fox body back in the day. it was nice for drag racing but sucked all the rest of the time. guy I sold it to pulled the welded diff frist thing and just dropped a clutch based Trac-lok in it and it was 1000 times better, great traction with none of the downsides. just how much better and easier the car turned alone was well worth a $100 or so he paid for a GT pony diff to rep the Trac-lok out of, he didn't even bother with rebuilding it. its funny how much stupid shit you will put up with when you are young. however nowdays I'
m only doing it right and actually using LSDs. its actually high on the list of thing I want to do to my focus so I can stop the smoke show! only down side is due to the limited options availible, a LSD for it runs about a G...


Wow Nice reply. Ok I do thank your for the reply. So please don't take this the wrong way, you didn't answer the SPSully setup question with that explanation.

I completely understand how turning affects the outside tire, and I'm aware of the different setups. You seem adamant about it being a bad idea because of your experience with a Fox body. So I ask you, have you personally ridden in an LS with a locked rear end and widened tires?

I ask respectfully because, the LS is not a fox body. It is massively different, superior as a performance vehicle in every way (stock for Stock). And Being in one myself with a locked rear end with stiffened shocks as well widened tires, I can attest that cornering will not be an issue.

The uneven wear I am fully aware of, and I am fine with that. I'll rotate my tires and replace accordingly.
But thank you for the video about welding the spiders, good to know it can grenade. Also in the video he welds, that part could be it.

SPSully said he welded in a part. The part in question, he called it a locker. So either he went through the entire process of converting his vehicle to LSD (Doubt) or he bought a bracket of some kind and welded it in. I can't say I know enough about the internal workings of the Diff to make that guess myself. But his explanation at the time, though simple, leads me to believe he bought a part and welded it in.

I'm more or less asking, what could that part be, and if it does exist, what is the risk of welding that "Part" in place?

EDIT:
1LoudLS I will do more research on a welded diff to see what people feedbacks are. Thanks for the heads up.
 
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while My main experience is from my own personal car, I have also ridden or driven a hand full of other cars that also were "no f$cks given" builds including a bad ass 3 series. everything I hated about my own setup were still there in every one of the other builds. the BMW did have wider tires too (I think 300 or 315) and that made the car even more noticeable as the extra width give it extra traction, this extra traction just caused the the car to fight itself even harder and move violent(one or the other rear tire constantly popping loose of traction and then grabbing back again) add to that it made the steering a lot worse as now the car would push and induce a lot of understeer. then when you factor in the weight of this car you are adding a major increase of stress into just about every drive line and suspension component. except for straight line drag racing and drifting, this mod will take a naturally superior handling car and really mess with its balance.

When Rob help Jason do his rear end swap, they switched to a 8.8 carrier as apposed to the more common stuffing an 8.8 locker/LSD/Trac-Loc (there are many kinds of different LSDs, clutch based is often smoother but allows more slipping, and what most people are referring to when they say "locker" is a gear based mechanical LSD that can fully lock up under enough torque) parts into our(1st gen) 8.0 carriers. this did require a lot of welding and modifications to make it fit. you would also need to do this if you wanted to re-gear. I guess you could say that you "welded in a locker" if he did that, but him starting with a 1st gen, all he would have to do would be to get a quality locker of choice for an 8.8 and just drop it in. as far as the risk associated with welding it in may be nothing (short of doing a bad job and it failing)if it was something like that. I honestly don't remember what exactly he said he did to his LS.
 
Ok thank you very very very much. This explains everything I needed.

So to do it to a Gen II, the only option is to retro fit it with a Gen I diff or Cobra and swap the carrier? Personally the gearing on Gen II seems much better than Gen I. I'd much rather stay with the Gen II.

Is it possible to swap LSD under $1000?
 
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@1LoudLS

Did these guys figure it out?


it will work for a GEN2, I put a 8.8 Trak-Loc in my diff this week. Will have it up and running in the car this Saturday.

Just called my buddy who works on mustangs and he has a used torsen that he is going to sell me for $200.00. YEAH! Sure hope it works for gen 2 :)

I am trying to figure out what I'm going to need in parts.



EDIT:
I found this so I am assuming there is no cheap easy way to do this on a Gen II without swapping the carrier. Anyone done it to a Gen II yet? Also why isn't this thread a sticky!!!

Yes, the gen2 diff is way different, the diff casing is offset a lot and the axle shaft would not slide all the way in if you swapped a standard 8.8" diff into it.
 
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when I originally posted last week, I could have sworn that 02V8Sport was the one that said that he tried it and it wouldn't work but I couldn't find that last post you quoted...

Cam wasn't able to get it to work either, the Gen2 carrier is just too different. that and he blew his motor right after he finished his turbo setup and got rid of the car before he got that far.


a couple of guys talked big that they were going to have custom gears cut for them but like most people with big ideas just disappeared with out ever doing the work.
 
that and he blew his motor right after he finished his turbo setup and got rid of the car before he got that far.

Ouch... I was under the impression the LS is well equipped to handle a few pounds of boost, considering QuickLS ran it for a while (till he blew out his GenI 28 spline and crashed)
Do you known the full story or have a link to his (if it exists) post? I was considering a small turbo build of about 5 - 9 lbs boost. Do you know what was the cause of his failure or the boost he was running? Thanks man.
 
He was not pushing a lot, and I'm pretty sure it happened off boost, never did figure out what was the actual cause but I believe it threw a rod.

5-6 is a fairly safe amount of boost to run on this engine. personally I think 8-9 is a lot and I dont think it would handle it well if ran all the time at that kind of power. If I'm going to run a boosted car, I want the engine to be able to handle the power I'm going to throw at it full time.
 
but have no reason to believe that it will not work with a Gen2 LS differential also.

Didn't read all the posts... But supposedly this won't work in a Gen 2 case. There is something different. There was a thread on this about 7 years ago but I don't remember the title.
 

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