What do you think is the best brand for a locker? Not a ARB or OX but more like a Detroit, Lock Right, or Tax-Lock. I'm ready to drop some serious coin in to a locker and i want it to last for the life of my truck and because It is a Ford. I also do some serious wheeling on the weekends but it is still my daily driver. Thanks for any help.

 

Hi Bob,

The Detroit locker is the strongest of the auto lockers, and will hold up to some serious pounding off road. Alot of people complain that the Detroit causes problems with street driving, such as making loud noises, chirping tires, or steering problems. Well, I just had my '02 F-250 filled with 4.56 gears and Detroits front and rear, and it rides and drives great on the street. It does make a very soft clunk noise occasionally, but it's barely noticeable. There's a bit more slack in the drivetrain, but it doesn't affect the way the truck drives, just makes a very soft clunk. It actually sounds kinda cool.

Apparently the poor street manners of the Detroit are most noticeable on lighter, short wheelbase vehicles (like Jeeps).
Off road, it absolutely rocks!

The guys at the shop showed me a bunch of broken LockRights, TrakLocks (not sure the spelling) and other types of lockers. They said that they rarely see a Detroit locker fail. This is from a shop that only does diffs, and mostly for race cars and high performance. (By the way if anyone is in the San Diego area, Pro Gear Differentials is the place; they have excellent service.)

Mine's a daily driver, and I like to do some serious off roading on the weekend too, so I put what I think is the best in my new truck even though it wasn't cheap. So far I'm very happy with it.

Lee

 

lee.

i am getting ready to put lockers in my rig..... i have heard both good and bad regarding having a locker in the front diff....

any opinions?

thanks

 

There's some good and bad, mostly good. One good part is that the front is not noticeable on the street when the hubs are unlocked. With locked hubs and in 4WD while driving on normal trails, sand dunes, mud, etc., it really hooks up, and it's fun to drive. Most of the time, I don't realize that it's there until I stop and look at the people behind me who are stuck.

When the front auto-locker locks, its hard to do really tight turns on the trail, and steering can sometimes be an issue because the truck really wants to go straight. So you have to adjust your off-road driving habits and learn some driving tricks, but hey, that's part of the challenge.

The only thing i'm not sure of: snow and ice. Some people say that auto-lockers are scary to drive in the snow due to understeer and wheel spin. Some say it's no big deal. Maybe it has to do with driver skill and being able to adapt to the way the auto-lockers work. I guess I'll find out in a month or so when I drive to Tahoe.

 

Bob, you will not regret getting the Detroit locker. I've had mine in the rear for about 2 years now and my truck is also a daily driver. Mostly my off-roading is tooling around two-tracks deep in the woods but also mud bogs. The Detroit is awesome. It is not bad on the street at all and I drive it all winter. Where I live I have about 4 solid months of snow too. Like the other post said, you'll hear a clunk sometimes, like when it disengages while coasting around turns and such. If you drive on snow and ice, just coast slow through corners and dont give it any gas until you are straightened out. Otherwise your back end will kick out. Anybody with reasonable common sense can drive with a locker in the winter. But on dry pavement I dont really notice it at all. People who tell you it sucks on the street just dont know what they're talking about, or they drive a short light vehicle like a Jeep. If your willing to spend the money and want a really strong locker that will last the life of your truck like you said this is what you want. I almost went with the Auburn l/s because everybody says "lockers and street driving dont mix". I'm sure glad I didn't listen.

 

thanks guys.

i am not sure if i am misreading your answers, but my concern is having a locker in the FRONT diff while driving on the STREET.

- brad

 

Yea, they are talking about one in the tail, in which the Detroit is king unless you have a short wheel-based rig like a jeep. A Detroit will be fine up front IF you don't lock up your hubs on the road. If you ever plan on using your truck in 4x mode on the street you will have some very unpleasant surprises in the corners, not to mention on slick surfaces. But then, if you are only locking in your hubs off-road, you might as well put in a spool. I myself would stick with a selectable locker up front, even if you have to save for it.

 

Actually, I was talking about a Detroit in the front axle. I have them in both.

Brad, a Detroit in the Front is completely unnoticeable on the street with the hubs unlocked, since it's not connected to anything.

With the front hubs locked & in 2WD, it drives pretty normal on pavement, but your steering may feel a bit "sloppy" and have a tendency to want to go straight. Of course my truck weighs over 7000 lbs, so I can't even tell. Only when going about 5mph and turning sharp (like into a parking spot) it clunks and gives a slight momentary tug on the steering wheel as it unlocks.

Call Tractech's engineering dept if you're thinking about getting a Detroit, they had a tech note about installing it in the front axle. There's a way to install it which makes it unlock alot easier, and then it's almost unnoticeable even on pavement with the hubs locked (2WD, of course).

Lee

 

lee.

cool! thanks for the info... what about in 4wd on the road... lets say if it is raining heavy or in the mountains in teh snow??? is this where i would encounter problems with the detroit up front?

 

Yeah, that's where it gets tricky. If you accelerate too hard on a slippery surface in 4wd, the detroit will lock, then you are spinning both (or all) wheels - you can slide sideways or even lose steering. That's why open diffs (or unlocked selective lockers) are good for that because you can only spin one wheel on each axle... the other one just sits there, keeps you from sliding to the side. I haven't run 4wd in the snow/ice, so I don't know first hand about that yet. But I always run 2wd/hubs-unlocked on a rainy highway because it feels safer.

 

Over the years I've had locking diffs in several vehicles and in my mind there's no doubt that the Detroit is the strongest, most dependable locker. Currently I have one in my 8.8 and love it, rain or shine. As far as a front end application I really like the limited slip for a daily driver/weekend warrior because it doesn't effect handling/steering like a locker and it still transfers some torque to the tire that has traction. Sure, it's not as good as a real locker, but with a little brake input (for example when one tire's in the air and the thing just won't lock without some resistance) it can come pretty close for almost any situation. Although the light braking technique does get a little tricky with a manual tranny! As far as snow, yes I suppose it's a litter harder to maintain control with a locker equipped vehicle but you double you're chances for finding some bite and making it through. If you get a locker spend some time playing around to become aware of how it reacts to different situations. Its all about being familar with your vehicle.
-Cope

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