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Locker questions (and preference poll)

What locker would you recommend for this build?

  • Total voters
    45
Richcz28 said:
You want a spartan up front. They are cheap, easy to install, reliable, and they make both front tires spin :burnout:

I’m here, haha. I’m just often in read only mode.

I just went from spartan 10b front lockright 14bsf rear to spartan 60 front and open 14bff rear. I have no regrets. I’m awaiting the OX locker for my rear. I think that’s the axle that needs to be selectable.

Call Swetty, buy a cheap winch. Lockers have never done much for me when it comes to getting out of mud and slop.
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Why bother selecting in the rear? After happily driving the Detroit, I think the only time I'd unlock the rear is when some normal person is driving (like Wifey). :dunno:

And how is a lockright functionally different from a Detroit? It's still locked all the time, and I still like being able to steer with 4WD engaged.
 
campfire said:
Not really. Lots of stone landscape here, but most of the big rocks have a layer of mud on them. In the dry sections, It's more likely to be a gravel pile than an actual boulder. With my tires, the wheels slip long before I'd expect to be breaking things.
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Myself, I wouldn't put a locker in a D44/10 bolt. A clutch type posi/limited slip but not a locked diff. I made it 15 years of really hard wheelin on an open 10 bolt front, 5 of them on a big block, and never had a front axle problem. Put in a Detroit and busted 4 axles in one year. Two of them broke so easy I couldn't believe I had broke one. I now have a 60 with a Spartan and it is surviving.
 
There is no point to using any sort of clutch/posi type unit. They are a complete waste of time in a trail truck.

I wheeled with a locked 10 bolt for something like 6 years and it never gave me an issue. If something breaks, it’s not like you’re done for. You can still get dragged through an obstacle and use your rear wheels. Front shafts aren’t bad to swap. Campy, what are you running for tires? Almost 33s?

I don’t see a lockright performing any different than a Detroit.

Is your rear end already locked? I’m really confused now. Wasn’t this post about selecting a rear locker?
 
Richcz28 said:
There is no point to using any sort of clutch/posi type unit. They are a complete waste of time in a trail truck.

I wheeled with a locked 10 bolt for something like 6 years and it never gave me an issue. If something breaks, it’s not like you’re done for. You can still get dragged through an obstacle and use your rear wheels. Front shafts aren’t bad to swap. Campy, what are you running for tires? Almost 33s?

I don’t see a lockright performing any different than a Detroit.

Is your rear end already locked? I’m really confused now. Wasn’t this post about selecting a rear locker?
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It was about rear lockers. Then I bought a rear Detroit, ran it for a year or two, and revived the thread to talk about front lockers. That's why there's a 2.5-year gap between posts. Sorry for the cornfustication. My plan has been to swipe the Detroit from the CUCV and put it into the Suburban (which is becoming the offroad rig). It's not worth my time to grab the Posi from the front, because I don't like it's inability to keep both wheels spinning. But I'd like to put something up there eventually. So I'm gathering ideas for that. I'm paranoid about snapping front shafts, and I don't want to be compromising steering ability (so spools are out).

Tires are going from 31" E-range highway tread to 33" C-range all terrains. It's no swamper, but ditching the 65PSI highway tires should make a larger difference than any of the other mods.
 
I think you’d be hard pressed to snap a front shaft on a two track or in a mud hole with 33s. Just throw a spartan in. It’ll only take you a day.
 
A power Trax, Detroit, Spartan, lockrite, etc, are all working on the same principal. Locked until one tire gets bound up not under power. So turning in snow will leave both wheels locked, and you'd be looking at going forward instead of how you are turning. It will force one wheel to lose traction.
It will turn with power yes, but one of them in a corner will lose traction on slippery ground. I'd pony up for selectable for your front, or go truetrac since it is essentially an open diff that transfers power in a slip situation. It's not a true locker no, but it's better than the Eaton or the open

And don't go Air selectable in your area. You'll find that you hate air systems in severe cold.

Plus, why were you running 65psi in your tires? Should have been about 30-35
 
How often do you really intend to drive this truck as transportation? I thought you kept a daily in addition to your trucks? Is it realistic to spend an extra $800 for a selectable locker for a vehicle that sees the road a couple weeks of the year?
 
Richcz28 said:
How often do you really intend to drive this truck as transportation? I thought you kept a daily in addition to your trucks? Is it realistic to spend an extra $800 for a selectable locker for a vehicle that sees the road a couple weeks of the year?
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Sigh. No, it's not realistic. But I can dream, can't I? :rolleyes:

:haha: :haha:
 
Richcz28 said:
How often do you really intend to drive this truck as transportation? I thought you kept a daily in addition to your trucks? Is it realistic to spend an extra $800 for a selectable locker for a vehicle that sees the road a couple weeks of the year?
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Road time remains the primary purpose, but I do have a daily driver. I could also run a solid locker and just disable one hub as needed. :thinking:

Question for those who have done this...keeping the diff locked in front messes with steering regardless of whether the T-case is engaged, yes? So it's not just a matter of working the floor lever...right?
 
shady said:
A power Trax, Detroit, Spartan, lockrite, etc, are all working on the same principal. Locked until one tire gets bound up not under power. So turning in snow will leave both wheels locked, and you'd be looking at going forward instead of how you are turning. It will force one wheel to lose traction.
It will turn with power yes, but one of them in a corner will lose traction on slippery ground. I'd pony up for selectable for your front, or go truetrac since it is essentially an open diff that transfers power in a slip situation. It's not a true locker no, but it's better than the Eaton or the open

And don't go Air selectable in your area. You'll find that you hate air systems in severe cold.
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I haven't run a truetrac, but my understanding is that it will lock up if you drag the brakes enough. Not that I'd be able to do that easily, but I know that@ZooMad75 limped home on 3 axle shafts last year.
 
Some people have no problems with lockers in D44/10 bolts. Richcz28 is a perfect example of this. He got away with one and never broke axles. Mine was a bad experience. One axle broke in the mud. Pure mud, no rock. Your mileage may vary. The thing about a true locker (Detroit type) is it is a locked differential that MAY unlock. They are always locked and if conditions are correct it can unlock and let one tire spin faster than the carrier but never slower. In a front end if you have the hubs locked and are in 4x4 it will, 99% of the time, stay locked and make turning an issue to some degree. With the t-case in 2x it will unlock turning corners and you wont notice it's there. If you don't intend on using 4x4 on the street I would go locker in the front. But, mine is a trailer to the trail rig so road use is rare. If it gets that bad I drive my 4x4 pickup. I would never put a locker in a 10 bolt again as I bust them too easy. I will say "I" as some have no problems. Maybe my 'easy' wheelin is extreme to some. Don't know.
 
@AV8TER what tire size are you running?

When there is no pressure from the driveshaft, the locker can easily unlock. That’s my experience. Jacked up, a hard spin of a tire on one side will get the teeth clicking.

I’d be curious to know if someone has a more scientific reply.
 
I'm running 35s. I broke one axle on 31s and 3 on the 35s. My experience with a Detroit and now a Spartan in the front is t-caes in 4x4 the front stays locked. T-case in 2x4 you don't know the front has a locker.
 
AV8TER said:
Some people have no problems with lockers in D44/10 bolts. Richcz28 is a perfect example of this. He got away with one and never broke axles. Mine was a bad experience. One axle broke in the mud. Pure mud, no rock. Your mileage may vary. The thing about a true locker (Detroit type) is it is a locked differential that MAY unlock. They are always locked and if conditions are correct it can unlock and let one tire spin faster than the carrier but never slower. In a front end if you have the hubs locked and are in 4x4 it will, 99% of the time, stay locked and make turning an issue to some degree. With the t-case in 2x it will unlock turning corners and you wont notice it's there. If you don't intend on using 4x4 on the street I would go locker in the front. But, mine is a trailer to the trail rig so road use is rare. If it gets that bad I drive my 4x4 pickup. I would never put a locker in a 10 bolt again as I bust them too easy. I will say "I" as some have no problems. Maybe my 'easy' wheelin is extreme to some. Don't know.
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I ran lockrite lunch box lockers in my 1/2 ton 12b and d44 on 35" mud terrains for 6 years, did snoe sand mud rocks including Rubicon trail, never broke anything.
I even had a manual trans.
Just was gentle.
 
AV8TER said:
I guess it all depends on what is easy and how gentle you can be. To me, this is easy.

View attachment 260878
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Easy is how you drive not the trail difficulty.
The Rubicon trail is not easy by any means.
My buddies all haf d60s and lot busted shafts. I never did.
I also never touched the gas pedal, I idled over everything with my turbo diesel.
 
imiceman44 said:
Easy is how you drive not the trail difficulty.
The Rubicon trail is not easy by any means.
My buddies all haf d60s and lot busted shafts. I never did.
I also never touched the gas pedal, I idled over everything with my turbo diesel.
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The funny thing is I am nothing like that on the road.
I get mostly beater cars and run them to the ground.
I drive very aggressive, but I go offroad and I worry I will be stuck in the middle of nowhere and I become a gentle driver and keep telling my truck to make it back.
You should watch me driving my 18 wheeler :D:whistle:
 
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