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The ultimate locker post...

Your first post and you tell us your a furd owner? I hope that comes with a story like i rolled my blazer and scrapped it and now all i have is my furd...


Good luck getting ford info out of these guys... You might be able to get by with a mustang or van but a fullsize furd is like a cat in a dogpound around here.

no, seriously... welcome to ck5

All jokes aside this is the best site on the internet for tech and info...
 
Thanks Dirtwarrior. :thumb: Actually, I have previosuly owned a Blazer........I bought/traded for a poser rig (9" lift, 36" Baja Belted's, purple & black paint, etc :pimp: ) K5 over a year ago and joined this site....under a different name, but didn't spend much time here. I sold the Blazer and forgot I was a member of this site until 6.2Blazer posted some pictures from a recent Slade KY outing on this site.

Anyway, I'd rather read Chebby tech than Heep tech.

Roy
 
My DD has detroit lockers front and rear,and I tow up to 7500 lbs. with it.Other than chirping tires around corners and faster tire wear,it causes no problems at all.My trail truck has Detroit rear and a Powr Lok with modified clutches.Steering seems a little easier with the Powr lok compared to the Detroit.Personally I like the Detroit in the rear and the Powr Lok up front better.
 
originally i was planning on keeping my rear 10b only because auburn ecteds are only made for 10bs, but i've seen one too many breakage videos where something in the rear axle snaps and they end up tumblin down the hill...

looks likes its a 14ff lockright and a auburn ected for the front 10b.
 
az-k5 said:
This is just the kinda info I was hoping for. The going sensus seems to be that you can be happy with any of these set ups but would never live with an open rear end again. I am also happy to hear that what ever has been settled on works (nobody seems to regret their decision). This leaves me to believe that there isn't much of a driving difference to be seen between the options.

How about another question...
did any body have to "settle" for a detroit in their 14FF and still wish they would have waited for a selectable??

Keep it coming and thanx for the input :grin:

PS Yes I am pro auto-locker but I am also wondering which set up is better suited to the masses (selectable vs auto). I know this is like auto vs stick, but it is alway fun to hash out the details.
Click to expand...


I am VERY satisfied with my choice of locking diff ( D/L ) and have no regrets not going with an ARB or something similar. Automatic lockers are just so functional and durable - just put them in and enjoy years and years and years of trouble free service without fear of too much abuse reeking havoc on them .
Everyone has their own choice/preferance but I like the dependable "NoSpin" design that has never failed me.
JMHO , Tom
 
82 K3500 dually, street driven, some snow, no wheeling. Dual 15 x 36 tires in the rear and Detriot Locker. The truck exhibits some of the unpredictable steering characteristics of a locker, but since the back of a pick up is so light and the weight is divided up over 4 15" wide tires, the tires break loose and slide quite easily when going around corners. The crossover steering really helped out quite a bit, you'd be hard pressed to guess if there was a locker in the rear or not based on the driving characteristics. I can't tell you if the Locker was good or bad in the snow on that truck. The truck was too light in the rear and the tires too wide. It scatted all over the place. I'm sure the Locker contributed to that, but the truck was just set up wrong for snow covered roads.

The front has a Power Lock. Not great for the snow. I've lost control 2 or 3 times due to it. But now the truck is painted and won't ever see the snow again .... I probably won't ever lock the front hubs, so, who cares.


Next truck, 91 Burb, 1 ton running gear, daily driver and snow. 9" wide tires, Detroit rear, open front. I hate the steering characteristics of the Detroit on the street, much different than the dually probably because the back of the Burb is heavier and there are only 2 narrow tires (not 4 wide) to take the heavier load. In the snow I like the extra traction, but you really have to be careful in corners, the back will fishtail if you aren't careful. I wish I did an ARB mostly because of the steering characteristics for daily driving. I'm gonna change to an ARB in the 14 Bolt FF as soon as they are available.

Open front is great for snow covered roads ... much safer in turns especially since there are usually other cars on the road with you. If I was doing more hard core off roading or some seroius snow, I might consider an ARB up front, but for what I'm doing, I'll keep it open.


Eric M.
 
Lockrite in my 12 bolt on the K5, no problems. Open in front still, although thinkin of welding it cause I am lazy :D

Welded the rear diff on my roomies Toyota, no problems, nice and locked up. I was lazy then too. :D Many trail runs on it to Hollister, Moon Rocks, other places, holding up fine so far.
 
Welding a rear and welding a front are 2 totally different animals. I would strongly advise against welding a front especially if it is 1/2 ton. You won't be able to steer for crap unless you have crossover and hydro and if you have crossover and hydro working over a 1/2 ton welded front the ujoints are going to HATE you. Most likely you will be very familiar with front axle disassembly and reassembly with a welded 1/2 ton front.

Harley
 
I don't think that welding the front or rear diff is a good idea.Just save and buy a locker, or if you are cheap get a spool.
 
I have Detroits front and rear. The front detroit was kinda a pain until I installed hydro assist, now I wouldn't trade either one for anything...I have 4-wheel traction on tap, just by pressing the gas pedal...

Chris
 
I run detroits front and rear with no problems. I have run welded, spools, detroits, and quickloks (which are junk in my opinion). Other than the quickloks, I have never had any problems with any of them.
 
How 'bout an update? Here is what I wrote 2 years ago.

6.2Blazer said:
I currently have a welded 14FF and a Lock-right in the front 60. A good friend is running a welded D70 rear and Lock-right 60 front in his Furd F-250.

Neither one of us have had any issues with the welded rear axles. I went from a l/s rear to the welded and besides for a little tire chirp at low speeds there are really no handling issues on the road. I did notice a pretty big increase in rear tire wear with both MT/R's and TSL's, with the TSL's really wearing quick (I tow it now, so it's not a problem). The Furd is still driven to the trails (average 200 mile round trip) and his rear tires really don't seem to be wearing much, if any, quicker than the fronts......these were the same size TSL's as I had. I imagine a lot of that is due to the light rear axle weight of the pickup vs. Blazer.

On the front Lock-rights, again neither of us have had any failures while running 38" TSL's and pretty heavy trail use. My Lock-right survived breaking the shortside inner shaft (old necked-down version) this fall and the Furd broke a front driveshaft this last weekend. The Furd is also now running 42" TSL's so that should put it to the test.

I had previously ran a l/s front axle on my Blazer before going to the Lock-right. For turning, I really don't notice much of a difference on the trail and really never have a steering issue that can be contributed to the locker. I do occassionally shift into 2wd if I need to do a multi-point turn, but mainly so I can spin the rear tires and slide it around easier.
Click to expand...

Here is an update:

I still have the same welded 14-bolt, no issues. I ran 38x13 TSL's up to recently and just recently switched to 39.5x15's, and do notice more tire squeal around sharp corners on pavement with the wider tires. I would not want a welded rear diff on a DD, but would never consider spending the cash on a locker for the rear axle of a primarily off-road truck again.

The front Lock-right is still hanging in there with no noticable differences or issues. Since my last message it has also survived two snapped 30-spline stubs and another twisted stub.

The guy with the Ford truck did strip out the front Lock-right...it would work fine in reverse but would not lock up in forward. I don't think there were any noticable chunks floating around when he pulled the cover, but closer inspection I believe the dog teeth were a little rounded off. Keep in mind this was in a 7,000 lb. rig with a big block and ran several years with 38's and then was on 42's when this occurred. He now has a Detroit in the front.

There are several others in our club that I wheel with regularly that now have welded rear diffs and all of them are happy with them.
 
I learned a tip from Springer about that lockright , if it doesn't want to lock up well after a few years , either turn the crosshaft/pinion pin around so it can ramp up again , or replace it completely :thumb:
 
Comments 2 years later :D:

Build/use of truck: no change in drivetrain/suspension/tires; new front springs due to sagging and addition of a bumper + winch. A few more Moab trips, a lot of AZ forest roads and some of the milder rock trails.

Overall evaluation: still the same; I like the selectability, and it fits pefectly with my use of the vehicle.
 
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Ill play
I have an ARB in both my 14ff and D60. Being my daily driver(got a few years left of that) I love having the ability to lock and unlock the rear Diff. On the trails I usually forget about the rear being locked but with 38's and no assist yet, I lock and unlock the front unit a lot. I havent had any issues minus the plastic lines breaking(replaced with stainless) but I think if my truck only saw trails and I had my hydro assist already I would probably just run detroits just for simplicity. I dont think the ARB's are all that complicated though. There is a way to wire the relay so that you can lock just the front but I forgot how it goes.
 
ive run the lock right on 38's and its lived for 9 plus trips. It is now a paper weight. personally love the locker and with its performance and design it allowed me to wheel on stock shafts.. but I would keep the tire size to 37's and down and no wide swampers!


detroit..run them and loved them, if you run large tire on a 10 bolt or 44 front..take spare shafts!


powertraxx..cant remember wwhy I invested in it, but im going to try it in the buggy on 42's, chromos and a dana 60..ill report back:D
 
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