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Open Rear End in 69 with HD Package

Nothing Special

Sr. Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2016
Messages
804
OK Guys one more question. When I get to my local salvage yard are there any tricks that will help me locate LS, TL or Truetrac rear ends. All of the trucks and cars at this yard are elevated off the ground so it will be easy to turn the rear axels to see if both wheels turn. Is this only the case for a locker or should the TL's react the same way? Also which ones typically had the 28 splines.

I don't like talking in initials because you can't always be sure that everyone knows what you mean. I'm thinking "LS" is limited slip and "TL" is TracLoc. If I'm right on that, "limited slip" means a differential that provides some ability to send torque to both tires but isn't a locker (for what it's worth, "limited slip" differentials do not limit slip, they will slip an unlimited amount once their limits are exceeded).

The most common type of limited slip is the clutch-type. TracLoc is the Ford version of this. Less common is the gear-type limited slip. Truetrac is the most popular of those.

With both tires up in the air, with an open diff when you turn one tire one way the other tire will usually turn the opposite direction (it's possible that it will stay stationary and the pinion will turn relatively slowly).

Doing the same thing with a clutch-type limited slip that isn't completely toasted and the opposite wheel will turn the same direction (assuming the pinion is free to turn, otherwise it will be hard, possibly VERY hard, to turn the wheel and the other side WILL turn the opposite direction).

You are relatively unlikely to find a Truetrac in a junkyard as they weren't available except aftermarket. But if you do, it will act exactly like an open diff in this test. I don't know a good test to identify a Truetrac.

A locker is also pretty unlikely in a junkyard (again, aftermarket only). But if you do, an automatic locker will usually turn the opposite tire the same direction you turn the first tire, but if you have someone hold the other tire you will be able to turn one without the other turning and there will usually be a clicking or ratcheting feeling.

A selectable locker is even less likely to run across, but it will typically act like an open diff in this test (unless it's locked, which usually requires an air- or electrical input, so it wouldn't be), and it will have some means to actuate it (typically an air line, electrical wires or cable going into the diff). (Of course newer axles can have vehicle speed or anti-lock brake sensors too, so not all wires mean a selectable locker.)
 

okie4570

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Jul 16, 2012
Messages
9,229
Loc.
NW OK
My axle code is 08 so it shows it being a 3300# open. My tag reads:

WB=092, Color = 6, Model U152, Body 9498, Then a C, Axle = 08, Then under the C theres

a 90.

Any Ideas on the 9498 under body and the C with the 90 under it.

9498 is orange buckets and rear seat, and wagon top. That said, I've seen a couple different Marti Reports that listed the 94 as two or three different colors. The 90 is the DSO number, and 90 indicates an Export, so your bronco left the country at some point when it was newer.
 

toddz69

Sponsor/Vendor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Nov 28, 2001
Messages
10,080
The 90 is the DSO number, and 90 indicates an Export, so your bronco left the country at some point when it was newer.

Mine is also a '69 with a 90 Export DSO. That threw me for a loop years ago when I was first decoding my data plate. When Kevin Marti first started offering his reports, I bought one and drove across town to pick it up. He would still come out of his office and talk to people back then so I was able to chat with him about the DSO (mine was sold new in Medford, OR). He explained there was a pretty good chance that a soldier serving in Vietnam or elsewhere in the military around the world had ordered it while out of the country and that it probably never actually left the U.S. I can't recall exactly how the conversation went but I remember getting the sense that he had a lot more data on our rigs than what he could release.

Todd Z.
 
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redfishtony

redfishtony

Full Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2008
Messages
209
Loc.
Thomasville GA
As always thanks for the wealth of information. I just love learning more and more about these old trucks. I'm very interested in the 90 code also. From what I have been told about my bronco, it spent its whole life at Spence Field in Moultrie GA. and later was used by the Dept. of Agriculture in the area. I believe Spence Field started as a training base for Army pilots so my Bronco may have been a Govt. vehicle. Sorry I kinda got off my original topic but I'm intrigued about the history of my truck. I guess I'll have to ask the wife for a Marti report from Santa.
 
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