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Locker choice.

hammermachine

hammermachine

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I'm building a new (to me) off roader/DD. I trying to decide which knid of locker to install. I had a powertrack in the last Blazer and it did the usual grind during street driving. On this truck I would like to install something different. I was thinking about either a Auburn ected locker or a Detroit true trac. What does everybody think?
 
I have had a Lock-rite and a Detroit in the rear of my blazer. I enjoyed the lockrite, chirped gears if it shifted in a corner. The detroit has never failed me though.
 
The true track is not a locker, its a limited slip.

The Auburn Ected is also not truly a locker, its basically Auburn's cone style limited slip that applies more pressure to the clutches via an electromagnet; there is no true mechanical connection between the two side gears.



Do you want a mechanical locker or a selectable one? Which axle is this going into (10 bolt, 14 bolt?)? Budget?
 
hammermachine said:
Not for rear?
Click to expand...

I had one in the rear of one of my trucks that had absolutely beautiful street manners but i dont think its the best choice for severe trail use, however it has no clutches meaning nothing to replace. The tru trac is also significantly cheaper than most other units. Mine never gave me problems offroad but i used it for high speed desert runnin :D
 
Lockers

Ok so the ones I was looking at are not true lockers.....So beyond the advertising, what would you guys recommend or use?
 
I would use a detroit locker. They are strong, dependable and a good price depending if u have a 14bff. The detroits are the only ones i have seen that hold up to abuse and dont require major shimming. Some of these differential part manufacturer dont have good quality control and take forever and a day to setup :doah:. That is why i spent money for the Yukon R&P when i regeared last month, definatly worth the extra $20 bucks cause they were so percisely machined that i didnt even have to change one shim they were perfect out of the box. :laugh::laugh::laugh: Also its worth noting that Eaton is the maker of Detroit so if you find a Eaton you like there QC should be about the same, in theory :rolleyes:
 
Locker

Isn't a detroit a bitch to handle on road, for daily use? This is going to be a DD that will spend more time on road than off.
 
Here is my setup 10bolt (w/strange chromoly axles) , 4:10 gears, 700r, 305cid. Ive got a Loc Rite in the back only of my Blazer. I havent had a single issue with it. There is something that you have to get use to driving a locked truck though. During slow speed turns (20-30mph) if you gun it in the middle of the turn the truck will try and straighten up on you. Its no big deal and you get use to it after a short while. I just trail ride so I didnt need the extras the Detroit offers. I like that the loc rite just replaces the spider gears and you dont have to get into the whole swamping out carriers etc. The detroit will need to be setup like you would a normal gear swap.
 
badmix said:
Here is my setup 10bolt (w/strange chromoly axles) , 4:10 gears, 700r, 305cid. Ive got a Loc Rite in the back only of my Blazer. I havent had a single issue with it. There is something that you have to get use to driving a locked truck though. During slow speed turns (20-30mph) if you gun it in the middle of the turn the truck will try and straighten up on you. Its no big deal and you get use to it after a short while. I just trail ride so I didnt need the extras the Detroit offers. I like that the loc rite just replaces the spider gears and you dont have to get into the whole swamping out carriers etc. The detroit will need to be setup like you would a normal gear swap.
Click to expand...


Good points here, except if you have a 14b, then its just replacing the spiders.

A lockrite will make the truck chirp when it shifts in a corner too.:D
 
I installed a detroit in the rear of my truck and the only time you can tell its there is when you get on the gas while turning a corner it will bark the tires. I was worried about funny driving issues cause its my dd but there are none. I drive it every day on the street and the only problem I have ever had was the first time I drove it on ice.:D
 
hammermachine said:
Isn't a detroit a bitch to handle on road, for daily use? This is going to be a DD that will spend more time on road than off.
Click to expand...

I asked this same question about a year ago, I went detroit in the rear 14ff, left the front 10b open, auto truck, 35's, I love it! On the street the only thing I can tell is when you leave a stop sign on the gas it won't like to turn as much, just get it rolling->turn->more gas, I have never heard a peep out it. Sometimes on the highway if you lift off and coast it will unlock and you feel it in the steering wheel(since it is not being pushed straight anymore. I run lucas heavy duty 75-90w in it. Offroad it flat kicks butt!

search for "detroit or no" - i think that is the title of the thread I started on it, lots of opinions
 
I run a detroit in the rear and a Power Trax in the D60. They both work great with no problems! The first time the Detroit unlocked on me, it scared the s*&^ out of me because it felt like someone hit the side of my truck. After that, I rarely know it is there, unless I am going around a turn. On the flip side, I installed a Lock Right in the rear of my Jeep (Dana 35) with 35" tires and ended up blowing up the Lock Right, and I was not abusing it, it blew while I was driving down the road. I replaced it with an ARB. Since then, I am a little leery of using a drop in locker in the rear.
 
Locker

One other thought.... it snows up here, at least part of the year snow and or rain is a factor. That is also a reason I am leaning towards a selectable.
 
I run a gov-lok in the rear (14bff only) and a lockrite in the front d60. I am very happy with it. The govlok works great in the rear on snow and ice, we get a TON of it. I went with the G-L for this very reason, it does not lock up above 30MPH. That is a big deal when you see someone going up a hill with a detroit and the rear end swings out from under them and they end up in the ditch.
 
just remember that a locker is gonna want you to drive straight - equal traction to both tires on the axle, so in slippery conditions, turning becomes a problem while locked, since there will be little or no "traction" gripping the tires to make the locker ratchet to accommodate the difference in wheel speed needed to make that turn. in the rear axle it's not so bad, but if you need to use 4wd constantly on pavement in bad weather situations, then you will have issues running an auto locker
 
I just dont like selectables cause of the price :doah:. If you drive this thing in that bad of conditions it might be smart to go with the true trac. The true trac doesnt fully lock so you should be fine with slippery situations and it will make a difference on trail rides just dont expect to ride it out on one rear wheel :rolleyes:.
 
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