What is the difference between a locker and other traction devices like a spool or is it a spindle, and any others you know of. Also how come many people choose electric an electric winch over PTO other than more difficult installation?

 

a spool replaces your differental and effectively lock both axels togeather permanatly giving you better traction in sand, snow and gue. If you drive your truck on roads as well as off road this is not a good coice. Differentals alow your inside wheel to turn more slowly going around corners. A locker such as a Detroit locker is a good choice but is has a few draw backs as well. As you go around a corner the locker will release one of the axles alowing it to free wheel so to speak. But if you hit the gas going around the corner or hit a slick spot on the road it will sence a slipping effect and instantly lock. This can cause you to spin out or find yourself in the ditch...the best alternative is an air locker. One the acts like an open differential but one push of a button and it locks. They do cost more and are more difficult to install. There are all different kinds and magazines often talk about the different types

 

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Actually lockers do not sense wheel spin per se, they just allow some slippage between both wheels, whereas a spool does not. A locker will "ratchet," making lots of noise when it goes around a corner. Under normal straight line operation, both wheels are driven. If you give it enough gas in a corner, you can end the ratcheting action, which can be quite exciting in the snow. You usually find these on cars and trucks that see occasional high performance use but are not daily drivers.

Limited slip differentials do sense wheel spin and apply power to the wheel with more traction, but not fully and only sporadically. Under normal operation, they work just like an open differential, applying an equal amount of torque to both wheels (thus the wheel most likely to spin is, uh, most likely to spin). Most limited slip differentials have a little clutch pack that allows them to briefly lock up both wheels and aid you in getting out of sticky situations. These generally suck. You can find all-gear limited slip diffs out there that work well on and off road, providing you do your part and get good tires. They aren't cheap, though.

The Easy-Locker and Lock-right differentials are easy to install (you don't need to remove the gear set or axles unless you have C-clips holding them in) but they are not as strong as the Detroit Locker and other locking differentials.

Hum-vees have differentials that are normally unlocked unless you step on the brakes and then give it some gas. Not sure how this works or how you unlock them or even what they are called ( I think Torsen or something) but they sound pretty neat.


I believe Four wheel Parts Wholesalers has a web site,
maybe you can kick around there and find something neat.

Final thought: if you have hubs on the front end of your 4x4 and you never engage them unless you are stuck, you can put a spool up front and have no worries. Spools are cheaper than just about anything you can stick in your differential (besides oil) and are the strongest to boot. For the rear axle, you can dream up ways to apply the brakes to only one wheel--my idea is to have separate parking brakes and parking brake cables for each wheel--so you can put brakes to whichever wheel is spinning. Because on open diff transfers equal amounts of torque to both wheels, the wheel with traction will now spin instead of sitting there. As another bonus, you can set the brake on the inside wheel (offroad, of course) and turn REALLY sharp. I haven't done all of this yet but I will someday.

 

Big Eric is ahead of his time (sort of). What he is describing in his final comments is what modern traction control does on high performance cars like BMW's and such. Only it's electonically controlled which I'm sure has a much faster reaction time than either Eric or myself.

 

Actually i was thinking about my dad's old Ford 9n (n9?) tractor. I remember using the independent rear brakes to whip that sucker around while plowing the garden--something you still can't do in a BMW!