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Blew up a trak lok

Printed From: The Ford Torino Page
Category: Model Specific Forum
Forum Name: General Automotive Technical Discussion
Forum Description: Technical Automotive discussion of anything not specific to mid-size Ford/Merc
URL: https://forum.grantorinosport.org/forum_posts.asp?TID=13709
Printed Date: 15-April-2024 at 4:56PM
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Topic: Blew up a trak lok

Posted By: SirDan89
Subject: Blew up a trak lok
Date Posted: 14-April-2015 at 9:02AM

So its my fathers car it worked great 10-15 years ago then sat a while. The shell was a rust bucket so we got another car and I swapped the entire drivetrain over. Got it on the road drove around a bit, got back infront of the house and did a little burnout. It was a peg leg! well anyway drove it around more tried doing some figure 8s in a parking lot and all sorts of other stuff but it was just peg legging. Anyway after putting about 50 miles on it we got a set of slicks from a friend for free and bolted those on to see if they fit. Drove around a little on those pulled up to a stopsign about a block away and attempted a burnout. It made a loud bang and both wheels spun this time. After turning the corner and then turning into the driveway it was pretty obvious the trak lok bit the dust. Clap

Now some interesting things. When I was taking the third member out I noticed the yoke had play in it Like the splines were wore out. It seems like the splines in the yolk wore out, I put a different yolk on and they were tight on the pinion. No damage to the gears from any debris so I think the gears are going to be re usable. I guess the crush sleeve may have crushed just a little bit more loosening it enough to be able to wear?

Another thing I thought was strange as hell, The clutch pack, 2 or 3 of the clutch plates worn to metal and a bit uneven. Then the other 2 looked fine. How does that even happen? lubrication issue would be my only guess.

Replies:

Posted By: Billy C
Date Posted: 14-April-2015 at 5:23PM

That is some nice carnage Evil Smile

I'm surprised the differential carrier case didn't split. It's the weak spot on the OEM ford trac-loks. The case is really thin to allow room for the clutch pack. As the spider gears separate and squeeze the clutches under load the case tends to crack. Those gears getting chewed may suggest overheating at some point in it's life. That might also explain all the other strange wear, like the uneven clutch packs.

It could have also happened the other way, as the clutches got worn down beyond spec there wasn't enough tooth engagement in the spider gears to handle the load.

The OEM trac-loks are known to be week anyways. I would never run a fat sticky tire on my trac-lok. I'm just waiting for something to go wrong with it on cycled-out 255s.

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-Billy Conturo

Posted By: kychevyguy
Date Posted: 14-April-2015 at 11:50PM

Ouch!

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JT, USAF Ret./Architect
1971 Ford F100 "Lizzy"
1971 Cougar XR7 "Kitty"
1984 Chevy Silverado "Sylvia"
2009 Smart Fortwo Cabrio "Lil Dude"
2015 Volvo XC60 R-Design "Sven"