I am new to this forum (in fact this is my first post). The reason I joined is to get some info about my 2000 Ram 1500. I am in the process of swapping the rearend and have come up with an issue that I am not familiar with. I am hoping that someone here might be able to give me some incite on my rearend problem. Originally my truck came with an open 3:55, 9 1/4 rear. I was only able to find one used rearend in my local area, it's a 9 1/4, 3:55 Trac Lok out of a 1999 Ram 4 X 4. I changed the seals and had to swap out the pinion yoke. That was not a problem but when I opened the rear cover I found it had 2 broken retainer clips (correct ID?) for the clutch packs. They have the W shaped ends and the U shaped center section. My question is are these clips essential to the function of the rearend, I mean is it going to grenade if I use it without these parts and if so where can I find replacements? I've tried my local parts stores but no one can answer my questions and no one has these parts. The rest of the rearend appears to be in really good condition. If I need to replace these retainers, I want to do it before I go any further with the swap so any help anyone can give me is greatly appreciated...

 

Yep, thats what they are. It is a fairly common problem with this limited slip differential. I got myself a complete clutch rebuild pack from a local truck store (Valley Truck Parts) for like 65 buck or something.

 

I hate mine I want 4.10's. The other day I noticed that only one of my rear tires was spinning. I was trying to turn and stuck on a snow bank. Than I went and did a burn out and they where both spinning. ????? I have no clue what happend or why but thats how mine is acting now.

 

Can I run this rearend without those two retainers without doing any damage?

 

lucky,
i wish i had trac loc

 

71sc360, I'm not an expert on LSDs, but I'm pretty sure you're going to need all your clips. Other words, I wouldn't use it without replacing them.

I'd also wait for more knowledgeable LSD people to reply. There are several on this forum I know can answer that question for sure.

 

Well the next question would be, can you buy just the clips or do I have to buy a complete clutch pack for the rear?

 

Why not just rebuilt the entire thing with new clutches? If I remember correctly, I think I purchased the whole kit for only like 60 or 70 bucks. These trac-locks are known for not holding up very long, and if you bought this 10 year old axle used from the junkyard, who knows the history/mileage on it. I would just rebuild if I were you.

 

Eventually the clutch pack will disenegrate and then you will need to tear into it. More will eventually fall off. Probably time to fix it is now before it does any other damage..

 

Thanx for the help. I got new retainers from my local Dodge dealer and should have everything up and running today. The clutch pack looks good so I opted not to replace them.