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lunchbox style locker in burb 14b sf??

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black dawg

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Anybody have any experience with one? I have been thinking of adding something to the rear, been back and forth between a locker and ls.

What are your guys thoughts on a locker or maybe a gov lock in good shape. Burb doesnt see any wheels up action, but lots of deep snowy roads and muddy roads.
 
So far the gov-lock in my 14SF has been pretty good. They still use pretty small components, but I think with the larger/stronger carrier it's more likely the gov-lock specific stuff would break, not the carrier.

Kind of need specs on rig and your driving style. Over 25MPH the gov-lock unlocks, and if operating right is unlocked at all times except with wheel slip, so for some that is fine, others that might not work well for. Slow hill climbs in bad traction though, I've not had problems with it.

AFAIK it's the only choice out there for an "automatic locker" that is essentially invisible to the driver. It definitely has downsides, but even the e-locker isn't supposed to be locked at speed, so the gov-lock also has some major advantages too IMO, for the right applications.
 
This suburban has small tires and doesnt get beat on, just would like more traction.

I have NO experience with the gov lock, and in theory it should work pretty good, but is it much better than a good limited slip?
 
only good gov lock is a 14ff .

i love gov lock for dd / mild wheelin / hard if you know its there and how it works .

if snow i would go selectable as open is best then when you need it lock it up . this from years of playin in the snow.

i installed a detroit it was great . but snow driving sucked over 2" of snow had to use 4wd or truck just went sideways . swaped back to the gov lock and 200% better. ( all this in a 14ff )
 
Small tires, no abuse, gov-lock in 14SF will likely be fine. Maybe excepting the 14FF version I don't think I'd guarantee the gov-lock to last, but I haven't seen a split 14SF gov-lock case yet. I *know* the one I got had been abused with large tires, and it was stuck locked. Swapped carrier out, and while I'm not particularly hard on mine,
it hasn't had any problems. It's not come apart like the 10 bolt did in fairly short order in the same truck.

I *will* agree that on off camber traverses with really bad traction, the gov-lock will make the rear end come around if the conditions are right, as will any traction device that keeps both axles bound together. BTDT, not fun. But going uphill it causes no issues.

I don't know what the availability is, but the Zexel Torsen was something I had looked into, although I'm not sure what they are calling the particular varieties being sold now. Those are a tough call because of how they operate, and I've never driven a truck so-equipped, but I'd suspect they are pretty seamless too.

I'd stay away from any limited slip/posi stuff, in a heavy truck they will probably slip way too easily (even though that can be adjusted with some versions) and if the rear end is light enough, they will throw the rear out too if you are on the throttle too much in a turn with poor traction.
 
I had a Lock Right lunchbox style locker in my 14bsf. It worked by keeping the wheels locked 100% of the time until you initiate a turn. Then it ratchets to unlock the rear wheels. It worked great but the ratcheting can be harsh in certain low speed situations as well as the occasional pop and bang sound (which is normal).

The only reason I removed it was because the cross shaft bolt backed out and the carrier spit the cross shaft into the pinion at highway speeds effectively destroying the cross shaft, cross shaft bolt, carrier, and pinion. It turns out you're supposed to lock-tite the bolt so that doesn't happen :doah: Well since I had to replace everything in the rear end I figured I might as well upgrade to a Detroit Locker.

The Detroit Locker is far smoother the lock right but works just as good and is far stronger too. Remember you get what you pay for, that's why the Detroit is double the cost of the lock right.
 
I just put an Eaton electric locker in my 14 bolt SF, I have a good Gov Loc I would sell very cheap if you would like to give it a try.
 
I've used lunch-box style lockers in a few trucks now and I can say they are pretty good for the price, but.....

I would not put one in the rear...JMO. I would only put a selective locker in the rear if you are planning on doing any street driving. The lunch-box can be loud as hell when she pops and whines over turns and depending on the brand they can be problematic. I have used Aussie, which does not make one for the 10b YET, Lockrite, and Spartan. STAY FAR AWAY from the Spartan locker...total POS.

For a truck that sees only offroad, it can be a great option....for a street truck that drives to the offroad location, I would either lunchbox the front and LSD the rear, lunch box the front and selective the rear, or selective both axles....again, JMO.
 
AZShooter said:
I've used lunch-box style lockers in a few trucks now and I can say they are pretty good for the price, but.....

I would not put one in the rear...JMO. I would only put a selective locker in the rear if you are planning on doing any street driving. The lunch-box can be loud as hell when she pops and whines over turns and depending on the brand they can be problematic. I have used Aussie, which does not make one for the 10b YET, Lockrite, and Spartan. STAY FAR AWAY from the Spartan locker...total POS.

For a truck that sees only offroad, it can be a great option....for a street truck that drives to the offroad location, I would either lunchbox the front and LSD the rear, lunch box the front and selective the rear, or selective both axles....again, JMO.
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Whats your issue with the Spartan lockers? I have 2 of them in front axles with no problems (yet)
 
This is my 2nd truck now with lockrights in the rears. Have driven both in snow without issue as long as you don't get crazy with the skinny pedal. They are harsh on dry pavement as said above so I wouldn't recomend for a DD. Not the end of the world to buy one, slap it in and try it for a while. Then if you don't like it just pull it and sell it, get most of your money back.

I would also suggest the gov lock for your stock tire, DD, snowy roads, no real off road burb. They are designed to give you traction when you need it and unlock at speed, perfect for a stock DD situation. In fact my Volvo has one in it's rear diff (D30 variant) and it has worked fantastic this past winter in every snowy road situation that I've driven it in. Cause you can be damn sure I'd rather drive my old RWD wagon on the snowy salty roads than the old 4WD K5. The K5 is harder to find a replacement.
 
1BEATK5 said:
Whats your issue with the Spartan lockers? I have 2 of them in front axles with no problems (yet)
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I liked the Spartan b/c Aussie did not make a unit for the 10b and I wanted the similar design....had wonderful results w/ Aussie on a D30 Early CJ5. The Spartan was noticeably lighter and fit into the housing almost too easily....sure enough, only 2 hunting trips old, she dug in and seized up, taking out the NP208 with it. When we took the housing apart the locker was shredded.

I rebuilt the NP208 and Spartan had no issues taking the unit back....the guy even told me he returns these things all the time!! I ordered the Lock-Rite and it was much heavier and stronger feeling right out of the box. The Lock-Rite does rattle a bit in the field on turns when the front end is engaged, but otherwise functioning perfectly......thus far. :)
 
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The gov-lock carrier is different than the open carrier, so you can't buy a lunchbox locker if you already have the gov-lock. Likewise, swapping to the gov-lock is also a full gear setup, just like going to a selectable or full-case detroit (is there a full-case detroit for the 14B s/f?). The only shortcut is adding the lunchbox to an open carrier.

The zexel torsion equivalent is the Detroit TrueTrac. It is available for the 9.5" rear. I always wanted one for the front, but everybody says it's not strong enough for the 8.5" axle.
 
Yes, from what I saw in a quick search of Zexel's products, I didn't see a 33 spline setup for c-clip axles, but the truetrac definitely is made for that.

I think for fairly easy wheeling (like hunting logging roads and easy trails) and a mostly-street rig, the truetrac might be a real good bet, although a G80 14SF can probably be found for a lot less than the ~$550 of the truetrac, if you can find one that suits your needs and don't have a problem running a used axle setup.
 
If you just need a reasonable gear ratio like 4.10 or 3.73, you can score a whole 9.5" rear for cheap with a gov-lock and drop it in.
 
Not concerned about gear set up, mostly just about cost. I think that a locker would help this burb out, and I am not worried about handling, but am worried about noise.

What about the powertrax no slip? Is it really that much quieter than a detroit or lock right?
 
black dawg said:
Not concerned about gear set up, mostly just about cost. I think that a locker would help this burb out, and I am not worried about handling, but am worried about noise.

What about the powertrax no slip? Is it really that much quieter than a detroit or lock right?
Click to expand...

Richmond Gear makes Powertrax who also make the Lock Right. The No Slip is supposed to be a smoother version of the Lock Right though I don't know anyone who can attest to that.
 
I know Jeep people with them. Same charactaristics of the lock right, slightly quieter.
 
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