Rear diff. mystery bits

[BOB MARLIN]

These 2 bits were laying in the bottom of my rear diff. when I serviced it. Looking through the diagrams they kind of look like the ear tabs from the friction disc for the clutch pack. But they are a little different in size and are rounded in all 4 corners so they don't look as if they were broken off from something. Everything looks good inside and seems to work like it should.
Any other ideas on what they might be ?.

 

[Tiha]

Interesting,

Yeah I think you are on the right track. Is it a factory limited slip?

 

[BOB MARLIN]

Yes. Its the LS. At first I thought it was the ends of the "s" spring that had broken off but they look fine. It wasn't until later that I saw a pic of the clutches that I realized that it could be the clutch tabs. Would that be a common thing to have them break ?. Do the clutches have different size tabs ?. I really could tell from the pictures I saw.

 

[Tiha]

I can't remember for sure, I thought they are the same. In the picture though, the tab on the right looks like it is pretty beat on the sides, like it has been made narrower by slamming back and forth for a while.

 

[BOB MARLIN]

I'll be eventually re-doing the clutch pack anyway. As long as its working now I'm just leaving it.

 

[Tiha]

Yes it shouldn't fail bad enough to leave you stranded. But the chunks floating around in there will be your biggest risk.

 

[BOB MARLIN]

All the chunks have been cleaned out ( that I could find). The first sign of anything wrong I'll dig into it.

 

[Jasgeer]

I have had several of the Ford LS units over the years (most recently in my 93 Bronco 8.8 differential and my 85 Mustang 5.0) and am unimpressed. Neither one would provide limited slip by the time I took them apart. The star gears were exceedingly worn in the Bronco and I replaced it myself with an Eaton Detroit Truetrac differential which produced superior results in mud, sand and loose dirt. I replaced the clutch pack in the Mustang but it only lasted maybe 15000 miles before there was no longer any limit on the slip and acted as an open diff. Just a couple of years ago I had the same type Eaton diff installed in my 2003 Ford F250 with the Stirling axle which I use for towing.

 

[larry105]

These 2 bits were laying in the bottom of my rear diff. when I serviced it. Looking through the diagrams they kind of look like the ear tabs from the friction disc for the clutch pack. But they are a little different in size and are rounded in all 4 corners so they don't look as if they were broken off from something. Everything looks good inside and seems to work like it should.
Any other ideas on what they might be ?.View attachment 28318

Could be vehicle speed sensor