Detroit Locker

[CumminsKid]

Is anyone running a locker in their trucks rear end? If so how does it handle in the snow? I have to go through the rear end on my truck and thought it might be worth doing now.

 

[the whale dog]

I had an older gasser tha I ran a lockright differential in and it worked great unlike the detroits it did not bind up while turning corners nor did it pop and bang. Had one in the front and rear. I hooked onto this guy,with the front tow hooks, that was in my way in 30 inches of snow and proceeded to back up with chains on all 4 wheels he stepped on the brakes and I drug him out of my way. later I could not get through this drift found out I had broken all 4 front axle shafts and joints. The differentials held up fine. I am thinking of the ARB air lockers this time around. The positrac units cause the rear end to slide down hill in the slick stuff. hope this helps Kevin

 

[dan brooks]

Different beast, I know, but I have Detroits in my Jeep and it is HORRIBLE in the snow and ice. I wouldn't recommend one in the light rear end of a truck that sees frequent snow/ice.



My old Lockright popped and banged more than the Detroits, but had the same driving characteristics in the snow.

 

[JGrefenstette]

for a detroit in a D70, how bad is the banging? how much of a corner causes it to bang, like would an on/off ramp be enough to make it bang?

 

[DodgeWarlock]

In snow they work great. On icy streets, they can be a real ride. I drove several vans with different setups, for my job in Wyoming. Had to do a lot of driving on highway, icy streets, dirt roads, and getting in and out of mines and gravelpits. The lockers and limited slips were great for the snow, muck, and mud. The lockers would also get moving easier on ice, but once you were moving were unpredictable. The open diffs were better on highway, icy streets, and dirt roads. For a wintery climate, if I had the money I would run selectables. If not I would look for good tires and studs. Hope it helps.

 

[JGrefenstette]

im in Virginia now, and we dont get that much snow and ice... a little in the hills, but not too much.



this fall im moving to North Carolina. so i wont be seeing to much snow. i think i want the detroit, because im about to need a rear end rebuild and i would like to have a lock rear. when i get in a wet field or in some slop itd be nice to not always need 4x4. but i do primarily road driving. and will be donig more highway driving when i go from VA to NC. ive also herd that the detroits are better for towing, cause of the direct and full power.

 

[Moab4x4]

I Installed a detroit recently and love it. Don't really have much of a pop and bang. Every now and then if I get on it too hard in a corner, it pops a little. With the cummins you just don't hear that much from the rear end.

I expected to be able to feel it when it locked coming out of a corner, not really with these big heavy beasts.

I have times on slickrock when it is under enough load that it won't unlock and you can hear the tires squeak on the rocks. I haven't been through a winter yet, but for now I'm happy.



If I had unlimited funds I would have ARB's front and rear. I don't have either.

For wheeling I was convinced by the hardcore wheelers not to go with lockrights due to the terrain around here and boosted output of the motor. Another friend used lockrights front and rear for general all around use and loved it. Still has them in his stock 90CTD.

 

[JGrefenstette]

thats good to know. were did you get yours from Moab? how much was it.

how much of the rear end does the locker replace?