Hey guys, I was wondering if I could get some input.

So, the traction in my 89' has been getting worse and worse lately, and I suspect the factory LS is starting to bite the dust. I'll admit, I drive my truck hard at times in the dirt and snow.

I'm looking to replace the factory LS with either a Detroit Tru-Trac, or a Detroit Locker. what are your opinions? And before anyone asks, yes, I have looked into E-Lockers/ARB Lockers.... WAY too much money. The truck is a 7.3l IDI, ZF5, 4.10 gears(for now), and it's Daily Driven. I plan on putting a lot more power to the wheels after about June, after the rebuild. A lot more.

I do plan on towing with the truck, possibly in the 15k-17k pound range. I understand that, if I had a locker, backing up and maneuvering a trailer would be hell... but I wouldn't be towing 24/7. I like the idea that no matter what, both wheels are spinning and locked. Going down the trails in my 2WD with my 4WD buddies wouldn't be as hard for me...

On the other hand, I do hear very good things about the Tru-Trac diff... no clutches, very durable, good "lock-up" you could say... but is it really that good? Does it get good traction?

Any and all help/input is appreciated. Thanks yall!

 

Trutrac

 

We have went over this 3 times this week I think LOL
Look down a page or two and find all the info you need.

 

X2 I did lots of research on this about a year ago. Trutrac all the way

 

I'm a big fan of the Detroit locker, as well as the less expensive (and less bulletproof) "lunch-box" lockers. They are nowhere near as bad on the street as some people say, because they don't work like some people say. They will unlock any time one tire wants to spin faster than the other tire (like when going around a corner) regardless of whether you are on the gas or not. So they do not make backing or maneuvering a trailer a lot worse.

However, they do have a big disadvantage when moving heavy trailers because they give you one-wheel drive in a corner. An open diff sends equal torque to both sides all the time, so you always have 2 wheel drive (but with both tires limited to the torque supported by the tire with the least traction). An automatic locker only sends torque to the inside tire when you are turning. So if that one tire doesn't have enough traction to move the load it will spin until the locker picks up the outside tire, giving you 2WD again, but with one tire slipping.

This isn't so bad if the load is on the truck, because the additional weight gives you additional traction, so you often can get away with only the inside tire driving. But a load on a trailer takes more force to move, but doesn't give (much) more traction. So spinning the inside tire will happen a lot towing a heavy trailer, even on pavement. Even an open diff will work better when both tires get traction.

But an open diff sends the same torque to the tire with traction as it does to the tire with less traction. A Truetrac sends 3.5 times as much torque to the tire with traction. 3.5 times zero is still zero, so there needs to be some resistance at both rear tires for a Truetrac to work. But even when there's no traction at one tire you can load it up with a light touch on the brake to get the Truetrac to work. And it still gives full differentiating, so you still get 2WD when both tires get traction.

I haven't used a Truetrac yet, but theoretically it sounds ideal for towing, and people's experience on this board seems to bear that out.

 

I have a Detroit in my 95 and i have zero issues with it. Tow all the time in summer and zero issues towing. When i had one in my jeep i noticed it but not to the point of it bothering me, i think in a longer wheelbase truck there are next to nothing for reasons not to have one.