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Thought I had a Detroit, Turns out it's a Gov Bomb

MTMike

MTMike

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When I was out pounding snow drifts this weekend, my would-be Detroit would disengage at all the wrong times, or allow 1 tire to spin slower than the other.

So when I got home I jacked up the back and thanks to some advice on here via the Search button, I found that I could test what kind of locker it is by turning the wheels. Sure enough, as I spun 1 tire, the other went in the opposite direction until I started to feel some resistance, then the other tire slowed, and then start spinning forward with the one I was turning. A clear indication of a Gov Lock according to several posts made in here in the past.

Upon this news, I called my buddy who happens to have a spare open 14bff Diff and a welder, and he's gonna Lincoln Lock my 14b for me until I can come up with $400 bones for a detroit. Thanks Joe!
 
If I were to do it agian I would stick with the welded rear end and spend the money on a detroit for the front. Now they have spools for under 200 bucks too, another good idea.
 
Yup, as long as it's a good weld job, I would save my money for something else. I have actually been thinking of taking my detroit out and selling it so i can buy other much needed parts. Then just welding the spiders up.
 
sapper said:
If I were to do it agian I would stick with the welded rear end and spend the money on a detroit for the front. Now they have spools for under 200 bucks too, another good idea.
Click to expand...

The thing is I have a bunch of other sh*t to buy for the truck (rear disc conversion, winch controls & accessories, possible k5 body swap) and running even another $200 by her will send her through the roof :D Gotta keep momma happy, so I'll run welded for a while.

The truck's a trailer queen anyways so I'm not that concerned.

Can you tell me more about spools? How do they work, how do they compare to detroits?
 
Spools replace the spider gears. Or I believe you can buy one that replaces the whole carrier. It is like having your spider gears welded, but its a solid piece or metal. Just locks both shafts together.

14_1.JPG
 
The picture above is a mini spool that goes inside your stock open carrier. A full spool replaces your entire carrier. Both will not allow your tires to turn seperately like a detroit does when it's unlocked. But if your truck is a trail only vehicle then it really doesn't matter if your tires rotate seperately or not. The detroit is made to disengage for street friendly manners.
 
Another thing to consider when you thinking of mini spool or full spool is that with a full spool you will need your gers to be reinstalled to proper specs. If you just install a mini spool you can do it without worrying about throwing out the specs of the gears.
 
Esteban86K5 said:
Yup, as long as it's a good weld job, I would save my money for something else. I have actually been thinking of taking my detroit out and selling it so i can buy other much needed parts. Then just welding the spiders up.
Click to expand...

E-mail me if you want to sell that Detroit!
 
Esteban86K5 said:
Another thing to consider when you thinking of mini spool or full spool is that with a full spool you will need your gers to be reinstalled to proper specs. If you just install a mini spool you can do it without worrying about throwing out the specs of the gears.
Click to expand...

even if he just replaces the gov-bomb carrier with an Open he should resetup the gears... there is no garauntee that the carriers are exactly the same in everyway.
 
sled_dog said:
even if he just replaces the gov-bomb carrier with an Open he should resetup the gears... there is no garauntee that the carriers are exactly the same in everyway.
Click to expand...

Yup, forgot that he was thinking of replacing it.

You can also just weld up the gov bomb and slap it back in there.
 
I like both my detroits.. I was gonna weld too as I have a spare set of spiders...

however just like everything else... it is an investment.. plus unlocking while cornering on the pavement is a nice feature :haha:
 
Esteban86K5 said:
Yup, forgot that he was thinking of replacing it.

You can also just weld up the gov bomb and slap it back in there.
Click to expand...

Are there pictures of this process around here, do you know?

Thanks,

Mike
 
RootBreaker said:
I like both my detroits.. I was gonna weld too as I have a spare set of spiders...

however just like everything else... it is an investment.. plus unlocking while cornering on the pavement is a nice feature :haha:
Click to expand...
open carriers are plentiful enough that personally I'm gonna weld it all up and if I find I want some unlocking I'll get an ARB or another open carrier to put a detroit in. I mean, I can pick up 14 bolts easily for $100, probably get a carrier for pocket change.... wait I think I have a spare open carrier... ha.


Oh and as for welding a Gov-Bomb, Jjlaugner is the one who first did it around here. I can't help more than that.
 
Come on Mike, nut up for the new ARB 14FF locker. Then install cutting brakes. Sweet.
 
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