Rear end/trac lok issue

[Prospect62]

So I have my car up in the air to replace the rear air springs which were leaking. While it was up there, I did the old "spin the tire to see if you have trac lok" trick, fully expecting both tires to turn in the same direction because...ya know...every Marauder came with Trac Lok. Well...lo and behold, my tires spun in opposite directions. Now, either I got the only Marauder built without a Trac Lok or something is afoul in the rear end. The car makes NO rear end noise and is nice and smooth. I have not yet attempted a burnout.

Could worn Trac Lok clutches cause the car to fail the "spin the tire" test?

Also, I've read that the 28-spline Trac Lok carriers and spiders are Marauder-specific. If my clutches are toast, I'll probably just yank everything and put in a 31-spline carrier, 4.10's and 31-spline axle shafts. My question is, will any relatively recent (say 05+) cop car 31-spline carrier fit in this housing? I assume an 8.8 is an 8.8 and the 31-spline carrier will fit fine. It'd be nice to hear from someone here who has done it.

Thanks.

[mustangeddie]

Sounds like the clutches are wiped & don't be surprised if the spider gears are junk. Have done the 31 spline swap on both of my Marauders used 05-11 GM/Crown Vic axles & 31 spline Mustang trac locs it all bolts right in. If it has an open carrier someone swapped that in, all Marauders use trac locs.

[Prospect62]

Sounds like the clutches are wiped & don't be surprised if the spider gears are junk

That's what I figured. And yes, I'll more than likely use CVPI parts for my 31-spline swap.

"Plan A" will be to just open it up, replace the Trac Lok clutches and slap it back together. If the spider gears look bad I guess I'll start sourcing parts for a 31-spline swap, because I'm told the Marauder-specific 28 spline spider gears are not obtainable.

05-11 GM/Crown Vic axles & 31 spline Mustang trac locs it all bolts right in.

Thank you for the information mustangeddie.

[mustangeddie]

The Marauder specific spider gears are indeed unobtainable new. Any other 28 spline trac loc bolts right in & spiders are still available for them. If you must have Marauder specific ones I do have a few good used ones & a whole Marauder 28 spline trac loc but if it were mine I'd just do the 31 spline swap & be done with it. Also the early cars are known to trash the axles my 03 built in July 02 wrecked them @62k which is why I did the 31 spline swap.

[Prospect62]

Also the early cars are known to trash the axles my 03 built in July 02 wrecked them @62k which is why I did the 31 spline swap.

Not sure what to do, kind of at a cross roads. The car has 306,000 miles on it and it has ONE (YES ONE) replacement Yukon axle on the driver's side. While I'd like to just do the 31-spline upgrade, it's really not necessary for my needs for this car.

Let me take a look at what I have in there and I may take you up on some or all of those 28-spline parts. I'd rather not change the carrier and all if I do decide to stay 28 spline.

[justbob]

You can upgrade just the carrier guts and axles to 31 spline without removing the carrier. Easier and a plus if it has 4.10’s.


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[Prospect62]

The 28-spline carrier accepts the 31-spline side gears and spider gears?

[mustangeddie]

The 28-spline carrier accepts the 31-spline side gears and spider gears?

Not as far as I know.The pin in the 31 spline is .875 a 28 spline is .750 so the spiders are a definite no go.Maybe mixing 31 spline side gears with 28 spline spiders works idk never did that.I know 80's & 90's versions of the 31 spline carriers you could not do that the 31 spline spiders were bigger than 28 spline, maybe the later ones that is possible but in my mind kind of half defeats the purpose of changing to 31 spline when some of the parts are still the small stuff from the 28 spline unit.

[Prospect62]

Not as far as I know.The pin in the 31 spline is .875 a 28 spline is .750 so the spiders are a definite no go.Maybe mixing 31 spline side gears with 28 spline spiders works idk never did that.I know 80's & 90's versions of the 31 spline carriers you could not do that the 31 spline spiders were bigger than 28 spline, maybe the later ones that is possible but in my mind kind of half defeats the purpose of changing to 31 spline when some of the parts are still the small stuff from the 28 spline unit.

OK, thanks. That's what I figured.

[justbob]

I’ve personally done it and it was a very straight forward easy process. I know I had all the spiders, pin, cobra clutches, and spring on hand but I honestly can’t recall if I used it all or not as it’s been many years and I have problems remembering yesterday..


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[03Merc]

So I have my car up in the air to replace the rear air springs which were leaking. While it was up there, I did the old "spin the tire to see if you have trac lok" trick, fully expecting both tires to turn in the same direction because...ya know...every Marauder came with Trac Lok. Well...lo and behold, my tires spun in opposite directions. Now, either I got the only Marauder built without a Trac Lok or something is afoul in the rear end. The car makes NO rear end noise and is nice and smooth. I have not yet attempted a burnout.

Could worn Trac Lok clutches cause the car to fail the "spin the tire" test?

Also, I've read that the 28-spline Trac Lok carriers and spiders are Marauder-specific. If my clutches are toast, I'll probably just yank everything and put in a 31-spline carrier, 4.10's and 31-spline axle shafts. My question is, will any relatively recent (say 05+) cop car 31-spline carrier fit in this housing? I assume an 8.8 is an 8.8 and the 31-spline carrier will fit fine. It'd be nice to hear from someone here who has done it.

Thanks.

The Marauder has a LSD carrier, it's not a locker unit or else it would chirp tires when turning corners. The LSD allows one wheel to move more than other to avoid chirping as far as I know. And for the one wheel going forward and the other one backwards, I believe that's normal as well. If You spin the driveshaft while in neutral then I believe they both may spin in the same direction.


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[Turbov6Bryan]

Go do a burnout and see if it makes 11s

[blazen71]

"IF" you just rebuild the 28-spline, take the carrier out and do the work on the bench. You can put the carrier back in with out any shimming issues, as long as you put the correct shims from each side back in the way you took them out.

[massacre]

What does the axle tag say?

[Prospect62]

"IF" you just rebuild the 28-spline, take the carrier out and do the work on the bench. You can put the carrier back in with out any shimming issues, as long as you put the correct shims from each side back in the way you took them out.

Looks like I could do the clutch packs with the carrier in the car, but if it breaks my balls I sure will. Good advice, thank you.

What does the axle tag say?

I didn't take a good look at it. But I have to assume it says 3L55 as that's the only thing Marauder's came with. Unless the whole rear axle has been swapped...

I'll check and get back with the results!