m1008 or m1028?

[Dabba]

Ive been killing myself looking for a 28 but i realize theres probably more 08s out there. I really just wanted the 28 because i figure if i spent the money, i may as well get the limited slip. My questions are, does the limited slip really make a difference? Id be driving it in snow, sand and some mild offroading with dirt and mud, nothing crazy yet, but im sure ill get into it. My other question is i thought i saw talk of one of these trucks having an np205? That true. I thought they had 208s and i also thought 205s were more reliable? I know the 28 also has the heavy duty spring pack, i probably wont be towing or hauling anything close to the limit of the vehicle, though i may do some recovery, does that matter? Does it ride any different with the spring pack or no? So the only advantage i see is the limited slip, is it worth it to have? I know the rear is a detroit and i know the reliability of those are good, but what is in the front diff? Is the limited slip reliable or is it prone to grenading? I think id like to get one with the limited slip but if its not worth it at all or if its just a ticking time bomb i may just go with a 08 if i cant find a 28.

 

[tsmall07]

Limited slips are reliable, but once you get to the point that you'll be using it a lot, you'll want to go to a real locker. You would probably burn out the clutches pretty fast using it for anything other than mild wheeling. I think the 1028 does have the 205. I'm not sure about the reliability, but I know the 205 has PTO capability, which is why I want one. I want it to drive the pump for my dump bed (future plan). I wouldn't spend the extra money just for the limited slip. You can get a lunchbox locker that will work better and last longer for probably less than the premium you'd pay for a 1028.

 

[Elwenil]

The NP305 is much more reliable than the NP208. The NP205 is a cast iron case that is all gear driven and capable of twin sticking, the NP208 is an aluminum case that is chain driven. The only thing the 208 has over the 205 is the lower range ratio.

Also, I was thinking that M1028s had a Detroit locker in the rear, not a limited slip.

 

[tacoma]

All CUCV's with 14 bolts have a Detroit in the back. M1028's have a limited slip in the front.

Also, the NP208 is a fine case, though I would swap it for a 241 if it craps out. The NP 205 is pretty tough, but the design of a chain case is totally different from a gear drive case, the loads are all different. Plus, the 205 only has a 2:1 low, not even that actually-- 1.96:1. The 208/241's etc are either 2.62 or 2.72:1. MUCH better on the trail.


A limited slip up front is nice, and certainly workable if you've got one. Full lockers are nice but pricey, and really not necessary if you're wheeling hard. I've been wrecking the trails locally w/open front and a Detroit in the back.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

I prefer the locked rear open front combo. Makes for predictable driving in the winter. A limited slip in the front will act just like a locker under slick conditions if trying to make the morning commute in snow and ice. Makes having 4x4 sorta hard.

A true locker in the rear will amaze you how much stuff you can power right over compared to the Gov-Bomb "locker" most folks are used to.


Three things kill 208's. Neglect, abuse, and folks not running a skid plate and whacking the thing with something hard. Take care of your truck, don't beat on it, and all CUCV's have skid plates so a 208 should live a long happy life under your truck if you do those things.

 

[84cucv1ton]

just welded the spiders on my friends 60, cheap locker.

 

[CUCVFAN]

Like AJMBLAZER said, winter driving can be a little dicey with a front posi on the street, but man will it make a difference when you are going straight or offroad. I drove my old M1028A3 up a fairly steep slope on my property in about 12" of snow and backed it back down, then back up, then back down, several times to pack the snow down for my kids to sled, and it clawed right up the hill each time with no problems. I was impressed!

 

[319]

The M1028 has the NP208, the M1028A1 has the NP205

 

[Dabba]

hmmm, what can i expect on the snow and ice with the limited slip in front? And its clutch driven? I heard those do wear fast... Maybe i would be better off going open and then throwing something in if i wanted it.

 

[1stDeuce]

Re: RE: m1008 or m1028?

hmmm, what can i expect on the snow and ice with the limited slip in front? And its clutch driven? I heard those do wear fast... Maybe i would be better off going open and then throwing something in if i wanted it.

Hehehe You can expect to pretty much go straight if you're running 4wd on slick surfaces. Meaning turns don't really work so well in 4wd anymore. Bad enough with the Detroit in back, but add a locker or LSD up front and when you throttle on, it just wants to plow ahead no matter what you do with the steering wheel. Particularly true of vehicles weighted close to 50/50.

the 1028 front LSD is a power-lock, which is clutch based. In rough offroad use, they do wear fast.

I think you'd be fine with a 1008. The springs in these trucks are sooo stiff that you'll be changing them out to do any kind of serious wheeling anyway. The 208 has a much more crawlable low range ratio. If you ended up wanting a serious wheeling rig, the front LSD quickly hits it's limitations, and you'll be wanting a locker.

One other thing to consider is that lockers and even limited slips don't really add stability on snowy roads, but quite the opposite, as you are now spinning both tires at all times, which mean zero lateral (side to side) stability. Great for fishtailing and donuts, but not so ideal when you're trying to throttle around turns. Open diffs tend to spin only one tire, letting the other tire keep the vehicle stable underway.


There are a few 1008's for sale on in the classified section, I might add!
C

 

[Dabba]

RE: Re: RE: m1008 or m1028?

hmm interesting, i still dont see how having a lsd in snow would be bad. I mean i messed around with my k5 with open diffs in snow and such, in 2wd when you turn its very slow to repond, with 4wd with open diffs it responds a little quicker buts still slow, i would think with both tires spinning toward the same direction that response would be even quicker.

 

[hobie237]

RE: Re: RE: m1008 or m1028?

Think of it this way- in a turn with lockers at both ends, you've got two tires trying to push you straight on, two trying to pull you to the side, and the mass of the vehicle doing whatever it's doing. Something's gotta give. On slippery surfaces with lockers or LSDs- that something is the ground- so you toss a lot of mud/snow/whatever around, but that doesn't necessarily translate to usable traction taking you where you want to go.

Throw opens (at least one) into the mix, and all of a sudden the wheels can actually turn at different rates to make the turn- so the "something" that is giving is the different wheelspeeds rather than the ground under the tires- so you maintain traction.

Really, an ideal situation would be front and rear differentials that are open until manually locked in some way, ideally from the cab- electronically, air pressure, whatever. Since those are relatively expensive, and add complexity (read- places for things to get boogered up) I'll take the open/locker combo, thank you very much.

For whatever it's worth, I think the biggest disadvantage of the front open is that if one hub fails to engage for whatever reason, you're in RWD only. With the limited slip you'd at least be able to have 3-wheel drive. Then again, that could mask the issue, and the LSD unit would see it as constant slip, and would wear out quite quickly.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

RE: Re: RE: m1008 or m1028?

What he said. I've driven through about 4 Northern Michigan winters with a truck of some sort with siped mud tires and a locker in the rear. Only reason I'm not doing it now is my DD's rear end makes the lockers EXPENSIVE. If you drive smart and have good tires for the winter it's fine on road to have a locked rear.

However having the front constantly trying to go straight would definitely be a bummer. It's not necessarily the snow that would be the problem, but slick surfaces such as ice on the road, slush, and thin, wet snow.

Buy a M1008, save some cash, and eventually have an ARB, Electrac, OxLocker, or what have you put in the front so you can engage and disengage the front at will.

 

[Dabba]

RE: Re: RE: m1008 or m1028?

thanks for the advice, i will go for an 08!