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School me on 14BFF lockers..

I

Irork

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the great NW
Ok guys bare with me here. I have recently made the switch from my 94 toyota with a solid axle swap on 36" iroks to my new toy which is a 84 K5. Just put in a nice 3/4 ton dana 44, which i pretty much went through inside and out, warn premiums, you know the deal. Out back i have a 14 bolt ff. Now that i have it in solid workin condition, pretty much turn key. It time to add a locker to the 14 bolt. I plan on leaving the front alone for awhile. My question is, what kind of selection do i have for the 14 bolt. Ive found a detroit and thats about it. I drive the k5 on the rainy, snowy, ugly days to work and back(to keep my airbagged silverado clean and in the garage:D ) Im tryin to stay away from the detroit just for the simple fact of me driving on the street. Ive been told that they make lockrites for this axle... but some some stupid reason i cant find anywhere to order them... i dont really want to make the 2 hour drive to the nearest 4wheelparts. From the sounds of it though the lockrite would work well for me, so.... where can i find them. I know this is the ultimate newb question... but im a newb so it kinda goes hand in hand:haha: Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks guys
and heres a pic of the blazer
mod-2.jpg
 
The Detroit and lock-rite will perform basically the same. Your only choice for a selectable locker is an ARB ($$$$).
 
ya im not in the situation for droppin dollars on a arb at this moment. college kid money..... with 2 trucks, the k5 being the cheap one= not alot of extra cash
 
I'm in the same boat as you are. I have ice and snow here from time-to-time as well. My main concern is getting pitched over a nasty embankment on black ice while I'm driving on the mountain highways:yikes: I've been considering the lockright but I'm still concerned about overall highway safety. Anyone got any experience with such a driving condition?
 
thats a really nice looking rig.

I ran a detroit in my 14FF with 35" boggers on the street. rain, snow, ice and dry pavement. never had any problems. the trick is to drive more cautiously when it is bad out. the detroit was really easy to install. I'm going to assume the lockright is almost exactly the same as there is only really one way to do it. thats if they actually make it. the inside of your 14FF carrier is not like other carriers. it is 2 peices that bolt together.

to install the detroit you need to remove the carrier. split it in half, take out the spider gears, drop in the detroit. bolt the case back together. there is a wing nut, washers, and a long bolt that holds the detroit together until you get the case back together. remove the nut, bolt and washer. install the carrier back in your housing.

no real gear setup required. the bearing are held in by side to side adjustable collars.

you do not even need to jack the truck up to pull the axle shafts. unbolt them, slide them out a few inches. probably one of the easier mods to do to your truck that looks hard until you do it.
 
Sounds good. But what about when I'm driving down I-80 and round a curve where the snow has melted and then refrozen on the highway...and I'm doing 60? How are they then?
 
K-5 Bomber said:
Sounds good. But what about when I'm driving down I-80 and round a curve where the snow has melted and then refrozen on the highway...and I'm doing 60? How are they then?
Click to expand...

hold on.:eek1:

seriously though. you should drive slower when it's bad out. also the detroit is designed so that it locks up when you are on the gas. if you let off the gas then the locker should disengage. at 60 mph all 4 wheels are turning at the same speed so to get the locker to have a big effect you need to gas it.

a locked a rear is going to have more profound effects at slower speed and in tighter turns. I-80 is an interstate highway. I know because it runs by my neck of the woods. the curves are pretty gentle compared to smaller roads.

think of it this way. if you spin one wheel now, you will spin 2 wheels with the locker. just do not drive in a manner that would break the tires loose.

you will get there eventually, slow down and show up in your truck or drive as if it's dry out and arrive in a casket. not trying to start a fight, but it always amazes me to watch people speed in the snow.
 
No matter what locker you get go out on a less traveled road or parking lot and mess around a bit. The locked rear end behaves diffrently than an open diff. Once you realize the differences, driving in said weather conditions will be no problem. Also I think a lock right would probably be alright in a 14b but I think a detroit will probably have slightly better behavior
 
i am thinking of buying a 14 bolf ff , and then put an ARB airlocker in it, do you guys now the partnumber of this ARB locker?(its for a 4.56 or 4.88 diffratio) i now have 4.88 diffs with ARB lockers (dana 44+ GM 12 bold combo) but i am thinking too put 4.56 in it too drop the rpm,s a little (now 2600rpm/60 miles an hour)
thanks !!!!

Patrick
The Netherlands.
 
i have had full locked 14ff before in truck with 38s. it was good for traction . but when we got 2" of snow or more it sucked. always wanted to kick out in the rear.

i had a factory gov lock in the rear before the detroit and loved it. it was open till 1 wheel spun. but with gov lock you need to know how thay work and how to lock them in. or thay can blow up.

the strongest gov lock is the 14ff unit.

i still run that same gov lock in my dd 2x4 truck to this day. its been great and never realy let me down at all. when i needed her she was full locked and both tires spinnin. but every day drivin she was nice and open diff.

if it was me and only some off roadin and mopstly dd . i would go gov lock unit. thay can be had cheep on ebay.
 
Thanks for the quick responces!! Youve all talked me into the detroit i have no problem with driving cautiously in the bad conditions.... as long as when i get off the beatin path i have the traction i need to get it done... or "git er' done"! Now my next question is who has them for the cheapest haha... im a cheap SOB:D
thanks again for the insight and for the compliment on the blazer gmc4cw
 
Irork said:
Now my next question is who has them for the cheapest
Click to expand...

you want us to do everything.:D I bought mine a long time ago(8 years ago) but the cheapest place was Hoaks 4wd here in Pa. I called all the places that advertise in the magazines and all the local speed shops. Hoaks beat everybody even with shipping. At the time I did not have internet access. now if I had to buy one it would take me a week to find the cheapest place.

here is their contact info.

Hoaks Four Wheel Drive
815 Hellam Street
Wrightsville, PA 17368
717-252-3602
 
gmc4cw said:
I-80 is an interstate highway. I know because it runs by my neck of the woods. the curves are pretty gentle compared to smaller roads.
Click to expand...
your neck of the woods is about 3k miles away. :wink1: the terrain might be a bit different there. :)

to the original poster - what part of the NW are you in?
 
A few friends and I ordered from Complete Offroad just last month. Two of them are now Detoited on their DDs... one is a 2wd. :D
 
I had a detroit in the rear before and it popped and made crazy loud noises like the axle broke in half. Other then that it was great though, and in snow you really need to be careful. Sorry for the highjack but are those 37x13.00 Boggers? I want to get some of those for my K20 but have never seen them on a rig before, do you have anymore pics maybe from the front so I can see how wide they look. Thanks
 
I picked up my detroit off of ebay for 300 hundred shipped, brand new in the box. Keep searching....youll find a good deal.
 
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