Spools: Good or Bad Idea?

Spools seem like a great inexpensive way to fully lock both wheels. Obviously it would always be locked. A selectable locker would be ideal but expensive and more complicated. Auto lockers cost less but sometimes have engaging/disengaging issues.

What is your guys' opinion on spools? Offroad? On-road?

Thanks!

 

i dont think driving around locked full time is good

 

your gonna chew up rear tires pretty quick. buddy of mine has a spool in his ranger he says steering is less responsive but amazing off road. if your gonna lock your rear end do it right the first time so you dont have to do it twice

 

I didn't vote in the pool becaus I have 2 uses for it. Offroad and drag strips. Both in my opinion should be trailered to their desired locations. However I know plenty of people that drive with them for short periods, not daily though.

 

I just learned about these. Just trying to see what others know.

 

Their best if kept to trails, cheap and easiy to do is an understatement.

 

cheap and easy to do is an understatement? r u talking about the install?

 

Nothing to install. You open the rear end and weld it together. It being spider gears.

 

You're talking about a 'lincoln locker'. A spool is an actual simple device manufactured to lock the axle.

 

Its the same concept. A cheap spool is the welded. I wouldn't purchase something to install when I could accomplish the same thing with a rod.

 

A spool is essentially a pinion meshed with a ring gear that is permanently attached to a shaft connecting both wheels. Welding the spiders accomplishes the same thing.
They should ONLY be used offroad, not safe at all on road.

 

It would be fine if you just drove it short distances to get to the trail but I wouldn't be going on a road trip or anything

 

I did a 'lincoln locker' for a buddy of mine. Had a "old school" 2wd 4 cyl.
He's was nutso anyway and drove it all time on the street. Used it as a drift truck. He would change a axle like every 4 or 5 months. Snap them off at the splines. Got real fast at changing them. He didn't care. Not something you want on the street but if you could care less then you can run anything.
I would advise against it.

 

I ran a spool in the back of my last truck. There is a compromise. Turning wears the tires more, there is chirping and the back end can jump when you turn.

That being said, the only time I noticed the spool was the chirping when turning. One time I was driving through town aired down, on the way to the next trail, and I had to make a u-turn. The tires had so much traction that the back end hunkered down as I was turning and then jumped 6-8" off the ground. It was funny because nothing bad happened, but could have caused a problem.

My truck was an 85 4runner on 33" tires. It sucked to drive on the streets anyways so the spool didn't make it any worse...

Take that all with a grain of salt.

 

your tires and drivetrain will wear out much faster. if they are used, they should only be used on the back in our trucks. You will wear out an IFS setup in months if not sooner with a spool in the front.

 

is that why they only put a arb in the front.

 

Don't spool anything

 

I can't tell if your response to his statement is trying to make him sound like he's wrong, so I will respond like you are. (If you aren't, disregaurd my statement)

ARB is the perfect combo. Full power when you are going in a straight line and damage is least likely, and open diff when you are turned. Spools don't cause problems in a straight line because your wheels are spinning at the same rate of speed. It's turning that causes the problem because your wheels are trying to go different speeds. On an IFS rig, a spool will break the cv joints on the first turn, most likely. So, yes, that's why an ARB is used in the front.