LSD for Jean Clyde Damn Van

According to the build codes it's GQ1 GU5. Standard rear axle with 3.23 ratio. Not ideal.

If there's some Torsen out there, even one that needs to be rebuilt with good hardware before install, for under $200... why would you muck around with a Gov-Lock?

I also don't understand the infatuation with spools but that's been hashed to death lately.

pres589 wrote: If there's some Torsen out there, even one that needs to be rebuilt with good hardware before install, for under $200... why would you muck around with a Gov-Lock?

Because gov-locks rock under 500hp, which is more than his 7.625" rear can handle anyway.

The factory Torsens kinda suck. Like a lot. In an LS1 camaro, if you stab the throttle and get one tire broken loose first, it just spins like an open diff. Torsens need some torque on both wheels to load the worm screw and actually lock up.

If you do that too many times, you just strip the grooves off the worm and TA DAAA... open diff.

I never understood the hatred for gov-locks. In high-hp/tq drag racing, they're no good, but for modest drag they're great. Plus the top-notch, seamless transition from open to locked makes fantastic street manners.

The Gov Lock I put in my 66 Bonneville came out of a P30 step van with 450k on it and it functions like new and probably will for another 200k.

For a cheap, junkyard solution that has a very high probability of being bulletproof, its hard to beat a gov-lock.

Torsens without pre-load work fine in some vehicles, but not great in others. If it's a vehicle that unweights one rear tire badly, it'll be easy to one wheel peel it. If it keeps decent weight on both tires most of the time where you can get some load on the lower traction side of the torsen, it'll work nicely.

Lot of stories of Gov-Lock's blowing up, basically, has me turned off on the idea. I don't think there's a perfect LSD for all uses / all vehicles. The Torsens with a clutch pack for pre-loading seem pretty close though when available for the application, disregarding cost.

I assume an 8.5 10 bolt won't fit in the housing of a 7.625 10 bolt???

Looks like I just answered my own question with a little research. A shame the astro axle is offset so much. And it's wide at 64 inches or I'd look at a straight swap with an 8.5 mounted on top of the springs to lower the van.

I've admittedly never looked into it that deeply, but I feel like the whole "Grenade 80"/"gov bomb" thing is overblown, just like the "all 10 bolts suck" thing is overblown. I know people that have them, and knowing those people the govlock must be at least somewhat abuse tolerant. I'm sure if you drive the thing like a dumbass with zero mechanical empathy and shock load the hell out of it things will break, but the stock open carrier will probably also explode under the same conditions in the rare event both tires hook up.

BrokenYugo wrote: I've admittedly never looked into it that deeply, but I feel like the whole "Grenade 80"/"gov bomb" thing is overblown, just like the "all 10 bolts suck" thing is overblown. I know people that have them, and knowing those people the govlock must be at least somewhat abuse tolerant. I'm sure if you drive the thing like a dumbass with zero mechanical empathy and shock load the hell out of it things will break, but the stock open carrier will probably also explode under the same conditions in the rare event both tires hook up.

My 05 AWD has the G80 rear and it takes the limited abuse from me in the winter/mud season.

I'm not looking for a performance car, just some power transfer.

pres589 wrote: Lot of stories of Gov-Lock's blowing up, basically, has me turned off on the idea.

I think you'll find that they are just that... stories, because Gov-locks don't "blow up." They might silently give up the small clockspring or the locking pawl, but you'll never know it until you figure out in the snow that it isn't locking anymore.

Gov-locks hit the streets in GM pickups in the early 70s, and everyone with a dragster shoved them in their 700hp drag car with cheater slicks. They stab the throttle, one wheel spins for a split second, then the centrifugal weight catches the locker pawl, and after 15 runs doing that they notice two things: 1) they have trouble with their reaction time, and 2) their differential is suddenly an open diff with munched metal in the oil.

Therefore, forever etched in eternity, carved in the stone of racing history, and tattooed on the right hand of every shadetree mechanic are the words "gov-locks suck." They don't even know that "gov-lock" isn't a real word. No one knows where it came from. Its an Eaton ALD, and its one of the most brilliant things ever created for street, off-road, and modest racing. (although racing isn't its best application)

Put one in a Moab-prepped jeep and it will outlast anything else in the driveline. Put on in a 1-ton pickup towing 15k and it won't need anything but fresh oil for 500k.

They're tunable. They can be open/LSD, LSD/lock, or even open/lock. They really kinda rock. But, I'll gladly get behind your theory that they suck. That lets me buy them for $50, pull them apart to find they are flawless at 350k miles, and run them for another 200k without issue. I actually have one in a 10.5" FF rear ready to take nearly 1000 ftlb from a Duramax. Its bone stock from a P30 Step Van with almost 400k on it. Its probably going to outlast the Duramax.

vwcorvette wrote: I assume an 8.5 10 bolt won't fit in the housing of a 7.625 10 bolt???

No, but even if it did, it wouldn't help you. The weak part of the 7.5/7.625" isn't the carrier, its the housing itself. When you accelerate, the helical cut on the gears is trying to push the pinion forward and the ring gear backward. With enough torque (and traction) the housing will just rip the bolts and/or bosses right out of the housing and push the carrier straight back.