I have a 1975 maverick which originally a 250 now its a 5.0 i was looking for a posi rearend but the prices arent in my favor. i heard of something called a spool. how do i install one of these things.
If it is stock the 75 would have come with an 8 inch. Look at the data tag on the driver side B pillar under axle 3=2.79 ratio 6=3.00 ration Also look for a small metal tag held on by one of the center section bolts.
No one seems to want to give you the 'disclaimer', so I guess I will. Spools are NOT meant for, or even safe for street use. If you saved money by getting a spool, put the difference you saved into better auto insurance! They don't allow the rear wheels to spin at different speeds like a differential was designed to do. This causes all sorts of safety issues when the road is wet, when the road curves, and when making manuvers in a panic. Not to mention the uneven parts wear and parts breakage. Just a heads up. It may end up costing you more in the long run than just saving up for a limited slip differential. Now you will hear from all sorts of folks that "have been using a spool all their lives without issue"... Listen to them at your own risk. Then read what the spool manufacturer puts all over the box! Who you gonna trust with your safety? And the safety of the family in the mini-van in oncoming traffic when you lose control? Edit: I should also mention that now you know they are dangerous... Therefore if you have a wreck, and the people you injure find out you knew, there is a possible criminal aspect to your negligence of running a spool on the street.
I agree with Ratio 100%. But I run a spool and have for several years. It is a little different, and much easier to lose control if you are horsing around. I suggest that (just like any car) if you put one in, take it someplace safe and secluded, and mess around with it. PRACTICE is what I mean. You can learn to drive one safely if you practice. Of course, same goes for driving motorcycles, big HP cars, and larger cars (I went from a 4 cyl Nissan Sentra to a Dodge 1500 with the hemi, and it took a while to get comfortable with it and recognize that it will break loose if I don't pay attention at all times!). You know how people always say "You couldn't handle it!" when you start talking about driving a 500+HP car, or a 1200 cc motorcycle? Same thing when putting in a spool. You CAN handle it once you use it, practice it, and learn it's limitations.
Ratio411, thanks for the voice of reason. I tried mentioning the same items in another thread but didn't do as good of a job. Thank you once again. Additionally, I don't think that anyone has addressed the axle fatigue issue. These mini spools are made for 28 and 31 spline axles. The 28 spline axle (a stock Maverick axle that is now 30 years old with an unknown history in most cases) is an admittedly weak axle to begin with. What is the first thing a guy building a performance car does with the 28 splines? He trashes them and moves up to the larger 31, 35 or even 40 spline aftermarket axles. These spools for 28 spline axles were designed primarially for dirt track cars where the traction is limited by the dirt that they are running on. Use a spool on a street car and listen to the tires chirp when you take a turn. What kind of stresses is that imposing on these weak axles? It's a twisting force that will fatigue and eventually cause an axle to fail. One axle will fail and the other doesn't but it is still directly locked into the spool and is still driven. This causes and unintended and immediate turn. The NHRA does not allow welded spider gears for the same reason spools should not be used on the street. A failure of a single axle (or side gear) is a dangerous event to both the spectators and the racers when they are directly linked to the ring gear. Don't get me wrong, there was a day and time in my youth where I had a full spool on the street. I was experienced and had drag raced and driven since I had been 15 years old. It still did not prepare me when I 'unexpectedly' hit a puddle with one tire and got on the throttle. Please understand that by doing this you are taking what I consider an unacceptable risk for myself. Please learn from my mistakes, and don't make them yourself. Thank you...the soapbox is now closed...
No, that is not the same. 4 barrel carbs don't come with warnings/disclaimers from the manufacturer about the safety of running them on the street! They put that on the box because it is a consumer safety issue that they want to insulate themselves from. If the corporate lawyers didn't think it was an issue, they wouldn't put disclaimers on the box. I have always seen you as a smarter one here...
Years ago, I drove a friend's Mustang for a couple of months with a mini-spooled rear, and I've done alot of "perfomance" driving, racing, and even some "crazy" stuff...... Driving that Mustang back then is the reason I'm NOT going to use the spooled rear in the Maverick project I'm working on now. Yup, that's right....I have a completely set up and ready to use 4:11 mini spool rear in my Maverick, and though it's going to be a performance car, it's not going to be a drag-strip only car, so I'm NEVER going to drive it with that spooled rear in it....even if my only other choice is a one-legged 3:00 stock rear......that spool will never see the road. Yup, you can drive a spooled car on the street.....I did it for two months, and that time convinced me that it's not worth the cost, and especially the risk involved. the money I spend on a limited slip posi will more than pay for itself in the $$ I'll save on tires, axels, and possible hospital bills and insurance settlements from running a spool on the street. Ration411 put it best... There's a difference between "practicing" learning to handle a high HP car, motorcycle, etc, than using something on the street that was NOT made to work on or use on the street, and clearly, emphatically states it's "Not for street use"....sure, you see "not for street use" on alot of performance parts....most referring to smog law & factory warranty complinaces......not safety. If a product is "Not for street use" for a safety reason, it truely is NOT for street use. .
Blown, tell me the difference between losing a side gear vs. losing an axle? Torque is transferred to one wheel correct??? Yes the NHRA is worried about embrittlement but this was only meant to point out what happens when you break an axle. Tell me, how many miles does a drag car see??? Would you say as many as a street car? Of course not. Because of that, because of aftermarket axles, and because of controlled conditions (track prep) spools are a small risk on a drag strip. Not the case on the street. So tell me, the wrong advice is to say you shouldn't use a spool on the street? Because I don't want some squirrel next to my 17 year old son with a spool in their car on the street with 30 year old 28 spline axles and a sprinkler spraying onto the road? I don't want anyone in my family or any of my friends near that car! It's an accident waiting for an opportunity. Am I wrong on that point??? Sure...everyone go out and buy a spool, let's even it up for the masses. Heck, let's write the car manufacturers and tell them to start installing them on all street cars! It's personal responsibility people! Use your head, it is not safe and the advice to use one on the street is irresponsible. Now let's all go drink some booze and go street racing! <---sarcasm unless you want to start advocating that stuff too
Can you drive on the street with a locked rear axle? ... Sure, I have done it, and that was only by treating it with the respect that it deserves ... knowing that it can mess you up big time... never driven in the rain (so that rules out the car being a daily driver in FL, lol). It was never at too much speed anyway being a 4.62 gear, and usually I was putting the car to the drag strip. Also, these cars are light enough and have a short enough wheelbase that under the wrong conditions, a sprinkler spraying a patch on the road can wipe you out with a stock open rear axle. I proved that one night in my white Comet ... road that gently bends to the left, full throttle, 90 mph and gaining ... hit a one-foot-wide patch of water and went off the road backwards. Fortunately, just got the car incredibly muddy ... another 200 feet or so and I could have hit about a kajillion volts of electricity, gas tank first ... ... some kind of power company roadside box that was about a 1/3 the size of the car ... ...oh yeah, ... good times .... some days it pays to be lucky rather than good ... ... and both of them trump stoopid any day ... much older and wiser now ...
Safety, Regulations, and legal implimentations aside....I wouldnt run it for the axle fatigue. But, I have 400+ HP, and lets face it, the people installing the spool is doing so to save money. I.E. - the detroit locker is about $545, trac loc can be upwards of 300 and a spool can be pennies on the dollar. Why save money now to break later? Thats assuming it could break, but also, the tire wear is gonna cost. Now, it may not break, but still gonna cost later. "MOST" people who install spools on the street are doing so on cars without much HP. I've read a few people on here putting spools in there street car for better traction, and rarely do they even need it. and responsible or not, I do not care what another guy is running in his rear end, I saved my money and bought a posi because I like cruising the curvy BACK ROADS, since I have upgraded my suspension to handle them, a spool would be counter intuitive for my project but to each his own. The fact is, Tony, Ratio, and Blown: we need all the pros and cons of running a spool on the street, since these new guys haven't seen or probably heard of a spool except in a magazine. So, all posts should be productive and let them (the new guys) pick for themselves and learn.
ok i feel the info discussed here was very valuable. how can i convert my current rear end into a posi instead of going the spool route. are there gears or even a rear end that are inter changable that i can pic up from the wrecking yard???
a new posi for a 8" costs around $400, you can get a auburn, a brut force by Randys ring and pinion, or a trac loc from U.S. gear. all of them are good and all of them are around $400. you could go junk yard diveing and try to find one in a mustang II. the v6 ones are susposed to have a posi and around a 3.50 gear ratio. that should cost you under $200.
