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bigjimmy82

bigjimmy82

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New Albany, IN
I have a '82 Jimmy with a 4" lift and 35" tires, and I am swapping in a 8-lug 10-bolt front and a disked 14 bolt out back. The truck will be a second vehicle and wheeled every once in a while(once a month maybe?). I have a few questions about rear lockers....

Detroit on the street? Is that jerk when it locks/unlocks going to f-up my transmission or t-case:confused:? and how bad will it be on the highway changing lanes etc.

Or just buy a nice gov-loc?


or something else?


Anybody with a powertrax/loc rite locker?


Thanks in advance for advice! :D
 
bigjimmy82 said:
I have a '82 Jimmy with a 4" lift and 35" tires, and I am swapping in a 8-lug 10-bolt front and a disked 14 bolt out back. The truck will be a second vehicle and wheeled every once in a while(once a month maybe?). I have a few questions about rear lockers....

Detroit on the street? Is that jerk when it locks/unlocks going to f-up my transmission or t-case:confused:? and how bad will it be on the highway changing lanes etc.

Or just buy a nice gov-loc?


or something else?


Anybody with a powertrax/loc rite locker?


Thanks in advance for advice! :D
Click to expand...

Up to 35" tires aI think the gov lock has been the best for me, it locks up seamlessly at very low speed and it is transparent on highway.
People with 39-40" tires and bigger have had bad luck with the gov loc but it was never designed to take such big tires, stock tires where in the 30-33" range, the 35" isn't too far from that and I have not seen a gov loc busted with that size tire.
The detroit isn't too bad, it might be anoying with the noise, and if driven like a jerk on icy roads could be a problem
 
I have had years ( plural now already :pimp: ) of driving with a rear locker now , and it makes an occasional bang ( quality brand ) , but is no big deal on the street .

You should have no worries at all with a locker since your axle is stronger than mine .
 
does it transmit any of that bang to transfer case / transmission or it all absorbed by the shafts/tires?
 
I have a rear detroit in my 14 FF rear, and once you get used to driving it on the street, and just keep the gas light in the turns, it is basically unnoticable on the street. I only ever hear a noise out of it if I am getting on it on the street. Is the 14B you mentioned a ff? If so, I would just get a detroit, it will be an easier install, and a better overall locker.
 
yeah it is a full floater, I was leaning toward a detroit but was worried if it would play hell with my np208
 
I had my first "Detroit Bang" last night going to work. Scarred the hell out of me then I realized what it was, lol. I haven't had my rig in anything real serious yet but having both rear wheels locked I have been pleasantly surprised with the results. You can't go wrong with the Detroit, just respect it and it'll respect you back. :bow::D
 
go for the detroit. not that bad on the street once you get used to it. and from there you'll never regret putting it in once you get to the trails and see the amazing difference it makes
 
I'm running a loc-rite in my 14bff. Works well and was a heck of a lot cheaper than the detroit. It still makes me go WTF every once in a while. And I have had no problems so far with trans/tcase due to the locker.
 
I had a detroit, it worked good...but for wheeling once a month...I'd say go with a gov-lok. I have a gov-lok now and the thing you need to watch out for with them is the engagement...IE if your doing holeshots with 35" tires and it grabs you're probably gonna break the govenor teeth. It has a govenor that engages when it senses something like 100-200 RPM difference between the wheels. Once it's locked it stays locked until you backup (I believe) and you can hammer away...it's the engagement that breaks them, and it's RPM based..so with bigger tires you have more rotational tourque (mass going in a circle) before it reaches engagement RPM... which is a quick recipe for failure.

IMO....If you see yourself having a few beers with the boys and taking the truck out for a mud run at 2 in the morning...finding yourself rocking backing forth with the 4 barrels wide open in the middle of a creek then go with a detroit and live with the noise that sounds like a troll whaling your frame with a 6lb hammer every once in a while. If you've outgrown those days...or the wife keeps you under control and you respect the truck at all times and are mindfull of how the equipment operates then go with a gov-lok as it's a little more pleasurable. You can allways do a "controlled" powerbrake before the mudhole to get it locked up and then hammer down.
 
pseudomike said:
I had a detroit, it worked good...but for wheeling once a month...I'd say go with a gov-lok. I have a gov-lok now and the thing you need to watch out for with them is the engagement...IE if your doing holeshots with 35" tires and it grabs you're probably gonna break the govenor teeth. It has a govenor that engages when it senses something like 100-200 RPM difference between the wheels. Once it's locked it stays locked until you backup (I believe) and you can hammer away...it's the engagement that breaks them, and it's RPM based..so with bigger tires you have more rotational tourque (mass going in a circle) before it reaches engagement RPM... which is a quick recipe for failure.

IMO....If you see yourself having a few beers with the boys and taking the truck out for a mud run at 2 in the morning...finding yourself rocking backing forth with the 4 barrels wide open in the middle of a creek then go with a detroit and live with the noise that sounds like a troll whaling your frame with a 6lb hammer every once in a while. If you've outgrown those days...or the wife keeps you under control and you respect the truck at all times and are mindfull of how the equipment operates then go with a gov-lok as it's a little more pleasurable. You can allways do a "controlled" powerbrake before the mudhole to get it locked up and then hammer down.
Click to expand...

I agree, I liked my gov lock in the crew cab, it locks seemlessly and at very low speed.
The first time I found out I had one was when I was trying to pull someone out of a mudd hole, I was digging both sides at the same time. :haha:
 
thanks again for all the replies, is the noise from a detroit that bad or can it be avoided with careful driving?

Thanks again!
 
It can be loud...like I said sounds like a troll smacking your frame rail with a 6lb hammer. Maybe they are quieter now? That was a good 8-yrs ago...but I'm pretty sure they are not, at least for the 14FF because there still are very few options available to lock it.

I'm not sure what type of wheeling you do...rocks...mud..trails. I guess if your hopping rocks once a month the detroit would be better..otherwise, like I said I'd rather do my "carfull driving" offroad because it sounds like the truck spends most of it's time on the tarmac and that's just not what the detroit was designed for. You could allways pick up a dana 70, a ford rear?, or some other rear and do an ARB...which of course depends on your budget.

Thats just my opinion...if you just want balls out traction weld the spiders or buy a spool.
 
pseudomike said:
It can be loud...like I said sounds like a troll smacking your frame rail with a 6lb hammer. Maybe they are quieter now? That was a good 8-yrs ago...but I'm pretty sure they are not, at least for the 14FF because there still are very few options available to lock it.

I'm not sure what type of wheeling you do...rocks...mud..trails. I guess if your hopping rocks once a month the detroit would be better..otherwise, like I said I'd rather do my "carfull driving" offroad because it sounds like the truck spends most of it's time on the tarmac and that's just not what the detroit was designed for. You could allways pick up a dana 70, a ford rear?, or some other rear and do an ARB...which of course depends on your budget.

Thats just my opinion...if you just want balls out traction weld the spiders or buy a spool.
Click to expand...


yeah the truck is wheeled but not to oftened and I want to be able to drive it on the street without trouble, so I think gov-loc it is, anybody no where to get a good used/new one for little $
 
Ebay probably isn't a bad bet. You can probably pick up a good unit maybe even NOS. The gov-lock is still in production...just make sure you get one for a 10.5" 14bolt and not the 11.5" that comes in the new duramax trucks.

Only problem with Ebay is that is competitive..so you might pay a few $ more for than if someone on here has one. I know they are about $700-$800 new from my Spicer/AAM dealer. I wouldn't pay more than a $100 for a used one, maybe $200 from a guy who will warranty it. If you get one out of an old full-time 4wd truck chances are it will be in pretty good shape. A new take out wouldn't be bad either.
 
bigjimmy82 said:
thanks again for all the replies, is the noise from a detroit that bad or can it be avoided with careful driving?

Thanks again!
Click to expand...

I just make sure to not be heavy on the gas in the turns, and I have not heard so much as a click from my detroit in the last 2 weeks. Mayby they have gotten a better, quieter design over the years? I have only had mine about a month, and I am glad I didn't go any other way! Mine is in a 14B FF in my 89 K5 with 35" boggers. I have had Gov-lok's, and with bigger tires, I was not a fan.
 
bigjimmy82 said:
yeah it is a full floater, I was leaning toward a detroit but was worried if it would play hell with my np208
Click to expand...

I haven't heard any bang from my Detroit yet. But I would suggest you put one in anyway, you'll love it for its invisibility on the street. I forget mine is there until I punch the pedal around a corner then it just makes my rear tires scream "rape!" back at me :D
 
I have a Detroit in my 14ff and I got used to the road manner within a week of when I installed it. It clunks quite a bit if you don't drive with a smooth right foot, but it's not that big of a deal. Like mentioned above if you are nice to it it won't make a peep. And it's so nice to have the traction of a full locker, it squeels the inside tire on sharp turns, but it's not that big of a deal. Well worth it to install a full Detroit imo.

I'm sure you can find gov-locks pretty cheap on Ebay, and I've also seen a few floating around on sights like this one from time to time for pretty cheap, it shouldn't be too hard to find if that's the way you decide to go.
 
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