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1982 C/K 6.0L Caitlyn Mall Crawler (Interior time)

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Babaganoosh said:
I have been doing a lot of research on lockers, I though I would eventually get one but I can't find one that suits my needs. Sense I sometimes like to hot rod this thing around I like the street characteristics of a posi. I started looking at those E lockers you could flip a switch and turn a posi into a real locker, but they don't have one.

I narrowed it down to a Detroit or a ARB, the Detroit is half the cost but I don't want this thing to bang around and driving on the street or having the rear steer doesn't sound like what I want. A ARB is going to cost me about 1000 and that doesn't sound very eye appealing to me.

I think my best bet is to just put the G80 back in it's spot and be done with it. I don't need a locker, just wanted one. For the crawling I will do about once a year in Moab I will be ok. I'm not willing to beat this truck up off a side of a rock and when I was attending BB14 I was blown away by what the truck could do.
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For what you do with the truck that's the way i would go too. The ARB is just too dang expensive and it only gives you open or full lock.
I have the Detroit, and though the rear steer is not very noticeable on the longer wheelbase like my Tahoe, the quick lock up of the tires is really aggressive for street. Return to the G80 and when it's time invest in a selectable locker for the front.
 
Babaganoosh said:
I have been doing a lot of research on lockers, I though I would eventually get one but I can't find one that suits my needs. Sense I sometimes like to hot rod this thing around I like the street characteristics of a posi. I started looking at those E lockers you could flip a switch and turn a posi into a real locker, but they don't have one.

I narrowed it down to a Detroit or a ARB, the Detroit is half the cost but I don't want this thing to bang around and driving on the street or having the rear steer doesn't sound like what I want. A ARB is going to cost me about 1000 and that doesn't sound very eye appealing to me.

I think my best bet is to just put the G80 back in it's spot and be done with it. I don't need a locker, just wanted one. For the crawling I will do about once a year in Moab I will be ok. I'm not willing to beat this truck up off a side of a rock and when I was attending BB14 I was blown away by what the truck could do.
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My vote, from one street rig to another, is that you'll be fine with the G80. The ARB is pretty pricey for a rig that won't be needing it much. I switched from open carriers to a rear Detroit and a front posi. I have found the combo very handy in deep snow. The traction is just great. I pulled the open-diff K10 out for a comparison run last week and it struggled & slipped quite a bit in stuff that the K5 walked through in 2WD. So the traction gain is real. On the street, the Detroit doesn't bother me. Locker steer does happen, and it does annoy me. But mostly I'm annoyed because on my rig it combines with a bunch of slop in my steering column. Aside from that I think it'd be fine. Mine does not bang, and I've only gotten it to click a couple times, when giving good throttle in a tight U-turn. So it's neither wonderful nor terrible when it comes to street manners. You'll be fine with a Detroit.


That said, I'm interested in swapping mine out for a G80 and using the Detroit in the summer camping rig. If I can manage to find a G80. The Detroit is awesome in deep snow but it's not a help on sheet ice. These points probably don't apply to you, but those are my observations since my swap.

Flip a coin, you'll be fine either way.
 
4door99 said:
though the rear steer is not very noticeable on the longer wheelbase like my Tahoe, the quick lock up of the tires is really aggressive for street.
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Care to elaborate? I do have a quick lockup in the rear, but I hadn't thought about blaming the Detroit for it. I just figured my hydraulics were out of balance (I changed a bunch of things at once, so I can't point any one direction with certainty).
 
G80 now. You have it, use it.

When it bombs, ARB. I stand by my original comment earlier in this thread that's it's worth the money. Zero regret using it in the 77. Would do it again over a Detroit
 
I think you'll be fine with posi.
I ran all over moab with open diffs for years. Sure there was stuff I couldn't do, but I did enough to have fun. Right now I have a detroit in the back and posi in the front. That combo is plenty to get you into all the trouble you're going to want.

As far as road manners go, I never get any noticable noise out of the detroit and the road manners are fine. I can get it to lock by spinning the tires, but if I'm doing that, I'm expecting it and/or wanting it to happen.
 
Aside from tire wear a welded rear end really isn't that bad. It seems to help with wandering front ends too. I have a Detroit and it's nice, but if I was broke I would have welded it way back when and it never would have crossed my mind again. My 60 is being welded now. I drive occasionally on the street. Sometimes snow. Will it be a PITA? Probably. Will i get over it for the traction I personally need with my weight and wheelbase, most def.
 
Smokinthehippies said:
I think keep the g80 out back and just add a trutrac up front. Anything the g80 doesn't allow you to do, the extra pull from the front will make up for
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Most traction for least cost as well.
No I don't count the orb of broken chit free either
 
I vote for a tru-trac up front. G80 or open out back. For your intended plans the combination would work good. I love the tru-trac in mine. I've found the tru-trac allows me to drive with a lot more finesse than before. I don't want the rear steer action. I've felt it at speed in Larry's K10 on the highway. It's annoying.
 
I drive on the street with my Detroit's all the time. I don't hear anything unusual even in tight turns.
Before I bought them I heard they were going to be noisy, but mine certainly are not.
 
If you have a Detroit with SL in the part number it is the late design soft locker. Older ones like my oem cucv will bang so hard you think the rear shaft fell out.
 
obijuank5 said:
If you have a Detroit with SL in the part number it is the late design soft locker. Older ones like my oem cucv will bang so hard you think the rear shaft fell out.
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Thats the one I had, the MT version. For Mack Truck
 
I think you should weld it, that way the only noise you hear is the tires yelling at you and everyone else when you pull into the gas station.. classic responses as anyone who's welded or spooled knows too well heheh
 
sreidmx said:
I think you should weld it, that way the only noise you hear is the tires yelling at you and everyone else when you pull into the gas station.. classic responses as anyone who's welded or spooled knows too well heheh
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Like the one you pulled out of Ethyl?
 
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