Macky

So my neighbor is selling a ford 8.8 rear end with 4:56 gears and a spool locker...what are the pro's and con's of the spool locker? and would I have to regear the front axle before i can safely use 4wd? is it worth the neighborhood of $200?

ZachsXJ

thats a steal as along as there's nothing majorly wrong with it see: improperly set-up gears, broken axle shafts, toasted pinion or carrier bearings.

To safely use 4wd, you'd need to somehow get 4.56 gears in the front, whether you re-gear or swap axles.

Spools are great, and nearly indestructible. The biggest downside is both rear tires are locked together, meaning you will chew through rear tires, and it won't want to do tight low speed turns.

trebor46

As long as its out of an explorer I would say its a great deal, the gears alone would cost that. With a spool its going to be hard to maneuver around town, doing uturns parking etc. And it will increase the chance of an axle shaft breaking but they are pretty strong I'd try it