i have a 78 F-150 w/ a built 400. its 4-speed with a granny gear. i was thinking about putting in a locker. ill be driving this truck on the highway as well as off. would a "detroit" locker or an air locker be better? and where would i be able to find one? thanks for the help

 

im not sure.what is the difference between an air locker and a detroit locker?

 

I would definitely suggest you put the air locker in the rear end if you plan to do even half your driving on the hard road.The detroit locker will eat up your tires and wear on your drivetrain,as well as your nerves. As for the front, depends on what your needs are.

 

Air locker is selectable.........most detroits arent (unless he is talking about the electrac).

 

the better question would be.....do you want a selectable locker(flip a switch and be locked, or flip it off and be open(some have l/s)), or an auto locker? the selectable are always more expensive, but some like the arb can be prone to problems

 

I have a detriot locker in the back of my 79 f150 and i drive it every day. I would suggest just putting the detriot locker in the back and mabye the air locker for the front if you were gonna go with one in the front.

 

I have a Powertrax Lock Right, which is very similar in operation to a Detroit Locker, in the rear of my truck. I don't mind it at all on the road and it does excellent off road. My neighbor has a Detroit Locker in his truck and drives it every day, no problems. If you don't mind a little chattering and clacking comming from the rear end and using a light touch with the pedal when accelerating out of a turn then the full time lockers will be a good choice and alot less than the selectables, especially the installation cost.

 

ho what kind of problems have you seen with the arb locker?

 

cant you run an air locker in the front and the back?

 

yes you can run air locker front and rear.....some jeeps come from the factory with an air locker in the front. The biggest problem with a selectable locker (be it electric or vaccum) is there are separate lines for mud, rocks, and sticks to jab at and possibly cut or puncture and then you have no more locker! also there are more moving parts in a selectable that could get hung up or stuck if not used a lot or not maintained. The Detroit is very simple (considering)

as long as you lay off the gas around turns you are basically running an open diff....therefore your tires will never know the difference.

the ideal setup (to me) would be a Detroit in the rear and ARB air locker in the front. to me that would be unstoppable!

-jason-

 

the arb sometimes has problems with internal leaks...and you have to have a compressed air ssytem to make it all work...and thats one more thing to fail. i would prefer the electrac up front, and a spool out back myself, but thats just me

 

detriot for the rear. The ARB has no place in the back, unless your running a crawler with cutting brakes.
ARB=stuck with open diff all the time on the street. the front on the other hand, perfect place for one.

 

whats a good LS unit?

 

Yea tarvis, there are pros and cons(and opinions) for just about everything when it comes to upgrades. This forum is great for getting a well rounded list of info. You got mudders, crawlers, trailers and dune jockeys etc.. but what are gonna be doing with YOUR truck? I've had my detroit locker in the rearend of my ford for about 7-8 years now and it's been tough,dependable and reliable no doubt. It eats up my tires in about half the time my old limited used to and bucks around corners if I get into the throttle too much(luv my gas pedal). I've got ARB's front and rear in my jeep and it's nice to be able to turn em off completely until it's no B.S. time. I converted the a/c system to onboard air and it's nice to have the availability to air up tires or run an air ratchet at all times. Can stuff break...always. You just have to weigh your wheelin needs against the thickness of your wallet. So watcha need?

 

LS is crap. There is no 'good' one out there. for the time and money you spend getting an already crappy LS you could be throwing in a REAL locker for not much more money.

why not put an ARB in the rear? it's the exact smae thing as having a Detroit except you manually control an ARB! So what's the difference?

-jason-