Mini Spool vs Lunchbox Locker

[Bohemian]

1982 K5 Blazer with GM 10 bolts front & back.

anybody have experience with mini spools and lunch box lockers?

i can't afford to put one tons, a np205 and a 6" lift in right now...

so i'm thinking about throwing either some lunch box lockers or mini spools in my front & rear gm10 bolts, because they're plug & play and cheap.

I just use the truck for hunting mostly, so i think either will do me until i can put the one tons in.

I don't want to throw a bunch of money in open diff, weak axles like the gm 10 bolts, so if there's not of advantage to lunch box lockers over mini spools I'd like to go with the mini spools cause they're so cheap.

what say you?

thanks in advance.

 

[Fastereddie]

1982 K5 Blazer with GM 10 bolts front & back.

anybody have experience with mini spools and lunch box lockers?

i can't afford to put one tons, a np205 and a 6" lift in right now...

so i'm thinking about throwing either some lunch box lockers or mini spools in my front & rear gm10 bolts, because they're plug & play and cheap.

I just use the truck for hunting mostly, so i think either will do me until i can put the one tons in.

I don't want to throw a bunch of money in open diff, weak axles like the gm 10 bolts, so if there's not of advantage to lunch box lockers over mini spools I'd like to go with the mini spools cause they're so cheap.

what say you?

thanks in advance.

I ran a mini spool in my front 10 bolt with no problems. It is harder to steer/pushes a bit but it’s livable. Except on all rock like Moab, that becomes a pain in the ass. I did a lot of driving with one hub unlocked.

 

[sweetk30]

if thinking lunchbox lockers you better price them . there almost 3/4 the price anymore of a decent full locker carrier unit .

 

[imiceman44]

1982 K5 Blazer with GM 10 bolts front & back.

anybody have experience with mini spools and lunch box lockers?

i can't afford to put one tons, a np205 and a 6" lift in right now...

so i'm thinking about throwing either some lunch box lockers or mini spools in my front & rear gm10 bolts, because they're plug & play and cheap.

I just use the truck for hunting mostly, so i think either will do me until i can put the one tons in.

I don't want to throw a bunch of money in open diff, weak axles like the gm 10 bolts, so if there's not of advantage to lunch box lockers over mini spools I'd like to go with the mini spools cause they're so cheap.

what say you?

thanks in advance.

I put lunch box lockers in mine

 

[6.2Blazer]

if thinking lunchbox lockers you better price them . there almost 3/4 the price anymore of a decent full locker carrier unit .

That may be true but it's the installation that makes the difference. There is a lot of cost involved with installing a full carrier "correctly" if you can't do it yourself, versus just about anybody can install a lunch box locker.

Back to the OP, I would have no problem installing a mini spool in the rear axle but would prefer an actual locker in the front. Of course for the rear if you really want to be cheap just weld the rear axle, and then a lunch box locker in the front. The only consideration on welding the rear 10-bolt is that removing the c-clips to get the axle shafts out could be a real pain if you every wanted to replace parts.

 

[Bohemian]

I put lunch box lockers in mine

which one's did you use? are they the same for the front & back?

i can get the lunchbox spartan's for 250 each to my door but i can't find anything saying there's a different model for front and back on a gm 10 bolt like there is for the eaton/detroit truetrac for example.

thanks in advance.

 

[imiceman44]

which one's did you use? are they the same for the front & back?

i can get the lunchbox spartan's for 250 each to my door but i can't find anything saying there's a different model for front and back on a gm 10 bolt like there is for the eaton/detroit truetrac for example.

thanks in advance.

Unfortunately I had d44 front and 12 bolt rear so they were different.

 

[frankin5]

I have the same front or rear on my ten bolt, Detroit true trac.. It uses the same ring and pinion front and rear.

 

[K85 Octane]

I’ve been running a Spartan in my D60 with 37s. Been fine, no issues, though it’s a D60.

Doesn’t seem like hunting rigs need 1tons. How come desire for them? Just make sure the 10s are in good shape, maybe throw a 14b with locker in the back.

 

[Bohemian]

I have the same front or rear on my ten bolt, Detroit true trac.. It uses the same ring and pinion front and rear.

i was refering to the trutrac itself being different in the front & back.
E.G.:
GM 10 Bolt 28 Spline Rear - 912A556
GM 10 Bolt 28 Spline Front - 912A557

I do not know what the difference is only that they have two different part numbers and are listed front only, rear only from Eaton.

And they do use same ring & pinion front & rear as you said.

I was wondering if the spartan used a different locker for front vs rear, I've since found out the spartan lunchbox locker is the same front or rear for the gm 10 bolt 28 spline and bought them last night...
250 each all inclusive to my front door from:

SLGM8.528-SL GM8.5-28 - Spartan locker for GM 8.5" with

www.quickperformance.com

 

[Bohemian]

I’ve been running a Spartan in my D60 with 37s. Been fine, no issues, though it’s a D60.

Doesn’t seem like hunting rigs need 1tons. How come desire for them? Just make sure the 10s are in good shape, maybe throw a 14b with locker in the back.

I have a dana 60 king pin & a 14 bolt sitting on my garage floor, I want to get the np205 from ORD but it's expensive and a months long wait. The 6" lift I want is like 800-900 bucks. Notwithstanding, the expense of having new driveshafts made. Moreover, couple grand in new rims & 37" tires.

For where I go hunting I can live with the 10 bolts and 35's and the np208 & the lunchbox lockers i just bought if i take it easy... real easy.
Those 28 spline c-clip axles are the weak point.

So the one tons are the long term project, I'm chipping away at, while keeping the k5 running and driving until I can do the one ton upgrades all at one time...
500 bucks for lunchbox lockers vs about 4-5 thousand to do the one ton setup in one shot where I don't have to worry about breaking 50-100 miles plus from the nearest 4x4 towtruck.

 

[runamok151]

I had a powertrax in my rear 10 bolt for years w/ 35s (open front). It was a DD and weekend wheeler. I took it on trips to Paragon and Rausch Creek and was able to cover 80+% of the parks, bypassing the hardcore competition stuff my friends were hitting. And it spent hundreds of days on the NJ beaches surf fishing. I thought it was a perfect traction aid for a multi-use vehicle.

Just remember, most of these aid has a certain carrier/ ring size they work with. IIRC it's over/ under 4.10s? Just make sure you get the right one for the gears you're going to use. I put the powertrax in when I regeared from 3.73s to 4.56s and had to get a different carrier.

 

[Bohemian]

I had a powertrax in my rear 10 bolt for years w/ 35s (open front). It was a DD and weekend wheeler. I took it on trips to Paragon and Rausch Creek and was able to cover 80+% of the parks, bypassing the hardcore competition stuff my friends were hitting. And it spent hundreds of days on the NJ beaches surf fishing. I thought it was a perfect traction aid for a multi-use vehicle.

Just remember, most of these aid has a certain carrier/ ring size they work with. IIRC it's over/ under 4.10s? Just make sure you get the right one for the gears you're going to use. I put the powertrax in when I regeared from 3.73s to 4.56s and had to get a different carrier.

Thanks for the info, good to know.

As I currently understand it, the Spartan Lunchbox Locker is the same part number for front or rear 8.5" GM 10 Bolts and the 8.5" GM 10 Bolts only used 1 carrier regardless of ring & pinion, so all the 8.5" GM 10 Bolts are 2:73 and up for ring & pinions.

In addition, the GM 10 Bolt 8.5" Carrier was avaialble In standard and heavy duty (HD). The Heavy duty case featured larger carrier bearings. But still was a 2:73 & up carrier and as far as I know the ring and pinions were interchangable between the two.

I'm not sure if there was 28 and 30 spline axles for the two carriers or not, I think it was 28 Spline for the smaller bearing carrier and 30 spline for the big bearing carrier.

 

[6.2Blazer]

Generally lunch box style lockers are not dependent on gear ratios or the associated carrier, simply because the part of the carrier that may change only affects the position of the ring gear and has nothing to do with the inside of the carrier where the locker goes.....at least I've never seen a lunch box locker that was different based on the gear ratios.

For the TrueTrac part number difference between front and back, I believe that is due to some bearing sizes on the carrier.....but not 100% sure on that.

 

[imiceman44]

Generally lunch box style lockers are not dependent on gear ratios or the associated carrier, simply because the part of the carrier that may change only affects the position of the ring gear and has nothing to do with the inside of the carrier where the locker goes.....at least I've never seen a lunch box locker that was different based on the gear ratios.

For the TrueTrac part number difference between front and back, I believe that is due to some bearing sizes on the carrier.....but not 100% sure on that.

On mine it was an extra notch to get to the C clip on the rear axle so different front to rear

 

[onetonbb74]

On the 10 bolts, the lunchbox locker bolts right in, you don't even have to pull the ring gear. I highly recommend the hardened centerpin for the carrier.

10 bolts 73-88- 28 spline, 89 newer 30 spline.