Chevy & GMC Vans

Unfortunately I'm stuck with RWD in my van and we all know they don't do too good during the winter months. I've already got some good tires for snow and now am looking to improve the van's snow/ice abilities without making it miserable to drive in normal highway conditions. I was looking at the Eaton electronic limited slip posi and kind of favored that one but heard that Auburn was good also. Who all has a posi in their van and is it that difficult to put in?

Either one of the posi's you want will need a very detailed setup done to insure a long lift to both the ring and pinion as well as the bearings. I have run an Auburn posi before and it worked awesome in the snow. The best bang-for-the-buck posi/locker to install would be the Powertrax no-slip locker. Zam and I installed one in his RWD van and he loves it. He is in Ontario, Canada and does get a fair amount of snow. The only downfall of this locker is that it does make a little noise when going around tight corners. Here is his how-to. an added benefit to installing this type of locker is that you can do it with just normal hand tools and it requires no specialized setup.

I installed the limited slip Eaton posi (non-electronic) and it is much better then no posi which is what I had originally. Install was not difficult but knowledge on how to set it up is most important.

I have the Auburn posi in the front axle (Dana44) of my Bronco and their ECTED in the rear axle (ford 8.8). I like them alot. I think both Auburn and Eaton make good stuff.

I'm not saying Auburn r/e's are good or bad but I have spent a lot of time at the 1/4 mile and I don't recall seeing any Auburn r/e's at the track. Most people use Strange or Eaton.
Strange would be my first choice as they tend to be a little cheaper, not much, but a little bit cheaper....
......errr less exspensive.
Peter

I know that you can change to different gear ratios for better performance but would it be bad to just leave the stock one's in if I put installed the posi? I don't think I'm ready for that big of a project yet

As long as you are swapping the carrier and will need to set up the carrier preload, backlash, pinion depth and possibly pinion preload, you might as well swap a set of 4.10 gears since it would only add around $150 - $200 to the total cost. Labor will already be there.

I've been very happy with my Eaton posi for off roading. No problems, no complaints.

Make sure you get the required posi differential lube added to diff fluid.

Auburn posi and 3.73`s here. I`ve never driven my van in snow, but had plenty of experience pulling boats and jetskiis up slippery launch ramps.

Wet slick empty parking lots make for some fun sideways games, with any posi......

T.Low wrote:I've been very happy with my Eaton posi for off roading. No problems, no complaints.

Make sure you get the required posi differential lube added to diff fluid.

Well, strike that. Big problem from a small inexpensive part.

The guide clip broke and the metal got into the gears and broke off gear teeth while burning up the clutches. Everything is trashed. The Eaton is warranteed for one year, my unit was installed by Randy's Ring & Pinion one year and 4 months ago. End of story. They said its very, very unusual for an Eaton unit. I told them its 100% in my case, and frankly thats all I was concerned about at the moment.

Randy's discounted the replacement parts for me enough so that it made sense to have them do it again, this time installing a Detroit Locker. Yes, it is indeed a loud clunky unit, alright.

Apparently the Auburn is not a clutch unit, rather a conical geared unit or something w/ out clutches.

Second to Petey, you have been a pretty big spender on your van. (And you are WAY second to Petey!)

Now is the time you should be looking at a custom rear end. I'm not impressed with the durability of the stock unit with my spider gears starting to whine at about 45K miles and being replaced around 90K. And that was with stock size tires and no off-roading. How about a custom build 9" or even a Dana 44? Bigger GM unit? Later model Ford? And then forget the Detroit and go with an air locker or electric.

Yeah, it is easy for me to spend YOUR money!

It was a big ...ok, how the hell do you spell qwandry?...for me. It would take me forever to do all the research to figure out custom axles for the van, then to actually buy, build, mod, and install, sheesh, and I need it now, this is the heart of the summer. I can't spend this time that I've waited for all year with the van laid up and then trying to find time to work on it. It was an agonizing decision, thats for sure.

8 months ago a perfect set of axles became available, but I thought I couldn't afford it then. Well, while it was a little more expensive than this, I didn't want to afford this either.

So yeah, it was an expensive week for me with the rear end and the Gas Gas. Oh, and I wasn't going to say anything until I got pics tomorrow, but i got a great deal on a set of Goodyear MTRs with less than 5k miles on them. I actually paid for them before I knew I was getting the dual sport, and well before the rear pooped out on me. Keep my Pathfinders on the majority of the time, then put the MTRs on when doing certain trips.

Tom, you are starting to see why I went with the changes on the SPB. Eventually, with the wheeling you are doing, you will need a beefier set of axles up front and out back. It is inevitable. I see you have a set of MT/R's...they will bite better and cause more added stress to an already weak set of axles. Just take pics of the carnage!

Ohhhh (sigh), its a slippery slope though, aint it.

Let us know when you start on the straight axle swap so we can come down and check it out.