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gov lock

S

schmuck

1/2 ton status
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nola(new orleans LA)
i would like some info i know they suck but why, what is so bad about them, are there any good things about them, is there anything imparticular you can do to make them better and dont say 14ff axle im still running 10s and i will not change them until i break them and even then ill probably go to 12s, please dont get into that i just want to know about the gov locs ive been running mine since i got the truck 2 years ago and have not had any problems i wheel about once a month and drive the truck everyday and when i wheel i whell as hard as my mostly stock truck alows[sp?]the only problem ive had is getting my fingers in there to take the clips out and put them back in other than that no complaints.
 
I blew mine up driving on the street. It wasn't too long after I bought the truck, and had been wheelin' it damn near every week. Had just changed the diff. gear oil, too. There is an additive, but I've heard yay and nay on whether or not to use it. The Gov Loc will fail. Do a search, there are some nice pics of some grenaded Gov Loc's out there.

John
 
I have the exact same ?'s about these 'notorious' gov locks. I have searched and I see that no one likes them, and I have seen the pics of destruction.
Gov locks are the same as G80, right? Eaton limited slip, right?
I have one in my pick up (2wd), and I had 50 series tires and got rubber all through 1st, 2nd and got scratches in all other gears. Gov lock is still doing fine. I know that is not the same as rock climbing with 38's, but within its limits, I say it is good.
Now the question becomes, what are the limits? I think it should be ok up to 33" tires. It is good for daily driving with some off road use. I dont think I would use it in a situation where only one wheel has contact.
Just my .02. (and it is probably only worth .01 /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif !)

I would like to hear others ideas and experiences also. Espically what size tires and what type of wheelin was involved.

thanks
 
I blew up my GM Gov Lock. Replaced it with an Eaton Limited Slip. Much better design. Less moving parts as far as I can see and does a good job of grabbing. (12bolt rear) I love it. Running 33s now but moving up to 35s soon. Also going to put an Eaton Limited Slip in the front D44.

I follow the big fuly locked trucks in my club around just fine and even they said that it seems to work much better than my old GM govlock did. Don't want to go full time lockers till I can trailer the rig.

I'm still in the learning stage of wheeling and truck building but so far I'm happy with my Eaton...
 
I was/still am running 31" MT's. I will quailify that when I bought the truck, the rear end had a "whine" to it, which the owner said was normal w/ posi. Also, the wheeling I had been doing had a lot of skinny pedal involved. I believe a lot of the other Gov Loc failure experiences here were with close to stock trucks, and smallish tires. Wait for others to chime in with their stories of hate and discontent of the Gov Loc.

John
 
My Sub came to me with a blown up 14b Gov-Loc. Time being what I didn't have b4 the trip to the 1000, I put an open in it. When gainfully employed again it'll get a Detroit.

I think the Gov Loc is an excellent idea.
I think the execution of the idea sucks. All of the lock-up load is on 1-2 tiny little gear teeth. It's no wonder they strip off. The wqorst thing you can do to a Gov Loc is let a tire spin. When it finally does engage while a tire is spinning, the inertia of the system is too much for those little teeth.
 
IF you've ever looked at how the gov loc functions.. you wouldn't be asking these questions.

Like previously said, great idea, typical crappy GM execution. There are very small parts that are required to withstand very large loads, They'll only handle them for so long.

Given the right circumstances, I personally think I could destroy a brand new one in less than a day. We're talking some serious abuse but very possible.
 
I drove my truck stock for 2 years. Wheeled it 3 times, in the mud, no rocks, and the mud really wasn't that deep anyway. 168,000 miles took off from a red light (normal takeoff) got to 25mph and heard a huge boom. The rear-end grenaded. If you call any transmission/differential shop, and tell them you have a gov-loc, they will ask if it has "grenaded" yet. It is that common. If you are planning on running anything bigger than stock tires, get rid of the gov-loc or change diffs. MOO=(my own opinion) /forums/images/graemlins/ears.gif
 
my gov loc went boom too, while drive on the street i made a tight turn and recoreced the turn and heard a wa-bam, didnt take much notice to it untill i drove it around and made turns, tires chirping when i turned, uh oh its locked, so i get the great idea to violently back up, that didnt unlock it, then i took it home and went to my dad for advice so we drove it around and it went WA BAM, and the rear of the truck souned like someone rear ended me bad, but no it was the diff, i limped it home, took off the cover, it cracked in half in one spot, i got lucky, found a 12 bolt open diff with 3.08 gears for free, installed it, problem solved /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif. the 10 bolt serves as my mail box post now /forums/images/graemlins/rotfl.gif im not lyeing i will get some pics one of these days.
 
I have a Gov Loc and LOVE it, however mine is in a 14B FF, it works really well and when it locks it's locked (it chirps the tires turning around on the street when it's locked). I run 36" TSL SX's and wheel my truck pretty dame hard, and it had held up fine. That is my experiance. Has anyone else had any big problems with the 14B ones? Later
-fLeXy K20
 
In my opinion The problem with Guv locks is as others stated above. Too much stress on small parts.
Usually what happens is a small pieces of metal break off and circulate around the diff with the fluid till it gets wedged between a moving part. Every thing somes to a stop and the rear end goes BOOM! They usually give no warning before they blow because they still work fine and dont make much noise even with broken parts inside.
 
I've had good luck with mine,but it is in a stock /forums/images/graemlins/burb.gif,that doesn't get wheeled that hard.Have had it lock up and not want to unlock though.If mine goes boom it will just be a good excuse to put a 14ff in and trash the sf.Jason.84k3500 /forums/images/graemlins/truck.gif85k2500 /forums/images/graemlins/burb.gif
 
my friend calls it the gay lock, because my friend calls it that. /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif

/forums/images/graemlins/usaflag.gif /forums/images/graemlins/truck.gif
 
I ragged mine hard and had no problems on 31" MT's in a 6,500 lb. truck. If you have a tire in the air, don't floor the gas, let off and let the thing lock up and then move on. It lasts for some, it pukes for others, hope you have it's good side.
 
well no problems yet i was just wondering what to look for like i said if it aint broke dont fix it i rarely wheel far from home and always use the buddie system so i should be ok fo now
 
HOW CAN I TELL IF I HAVE ONE?I HAVE A 86 K2500 GMC SUBURBAN WITH A 14 BOLT REAR.THE DETROIT GEARLESS LOCKER SUCKS TOO.MY BUDDY JUST BLEW HIS UP ON THE STREET AND IT WAS ONLY 6 MONTHS OLD.GUESS THATS WHY THEY STOPPED SELLING THEM.
 
Open the glowbox nd check to see if "G80" is on the codes. That is the code for a gov lock.
 
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