B190 Enthusiasts

Anyone have any thoughts/opinions on rear lockers instead of a 4wd conversion? ANY feedback would be most helpful! Thanks!

These people had a storage thing on the back of their van during their long tour of North, Central, and South America.

I live in Utah and have had the van in snow and some pretty muddy areas and haven't had a problem but never gave a thought about using lockers, it might be interesting to hear how they work vs converting to a 4x4 because I'm sure the conversion would be a lot cheaper than trying to convert to a 4x4. I thought there was an earlier post but can't be sure about a conversion and it was way more than I want to spend.

Oops, haha, I totally misread what he wanted.

I would give second thoughts to running something like a "Detroit Locker" or a spool on the street. They can be sort of unsettling in the rain. On the other hand, an air locker would be my choice. That gives you the ability to truly locking the differential when you need the extra traction along with the benefits of running an open diff on the highway. Something like a positraction or limited slip setup would be a compromise.
Just my two cents...
Gary

I'd like to revisit this post about lockers or limited slip differential conversion. There has been some discussion on FB. Does anyone have any experience doing this or hearing about whether it is possible? I'm asking because I plan to talk to my mechanic about the possibility but if it is an obvious no-go I'd like to save myself the embarrassment. Mine is a 90 van. Thanks for any help. Barry

micabarry wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 02, 2020 9:31 pm

I'd like to revisit this post about lockers or limited slip differential conversion. There has been some discussion on FB. Does anyone have any experience doing this or hearing about whether it is possible? I'm asking because I plan to talk to my mechanic about the possibility but if it is an obvious no-go I'd like to save myself the embarrassment. Mine is a 90 van. Thanks for any help. Barry

I don't think anyone has. The 4x4 conversion seems pretty popular, but I'm sure it's expensive. If you can find one that works, it'd definitely be a cheaper option and wouldn't raise the height of the van. I found this: https://www.carid.com/1991-ford-f-350-p ... l+Drive%29 by searching on 1991 F-350 (I assume a '90 would be the same - but I'm not certain an E-350 and F-350 would have the same rear axle, definitely double check that). I think a locker would get you out of most situations.

(My new riding mower has a locking diff...and it's amazing on the hills. And it was much cheaper than a 4 wheel drive riding mower would have been.)

Thanks, Skater. I'll post if I learn anything from my mechanic.

I've had lockers installed before. The current B190 build I am doing involved a whole axle swap from an F350 that had Ford's original locking unit in it. The donor truck had a ton of miles on it, so I am replacing it with a Trutrac unit. Lots of reviews out there supporting the drivewability and functionality. If you are leery, you can do what I am doing in my front axle, which is a Eaton E-locker. That gives you the ability to electronically switch to a fully locked differential with only the flip off a switch when needed. No on-board air needed. Their new version is very durable, but takes some install $ to get it put in. I do not think anything will perform like a 4x4 conversion, but a locking rear will likely get you 70% of the way there.