2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Limite Slip or Locker?

[MarkMiller]

The locker avaialable for Rockwell 2. 5 ton axles is a Detroit Locker. Detoit makes some serious beef. Incorrectly installed they can be made to fail. They will positively lock the wheels together if there is throttle applied AT ALL. I run them in my Jeep that sees street use and abusive trail work. I wouln't own another locker (though I am considering a spool).



As far as drag racers: there may be something specific with the CTD crowd but I can tell you that spools are the holy grail for most traditional drag racers because it gives you a perfectly even launch. Detroits are also quite popular for the street strip crowd. Solid and reliable with no special fluids etc...



Now for my 500HP plus truck I use to pull a 8 ton gooseneck and haul 3000k plus in hte bed, I will not put a detroit in the rear. I have one here but the thought of shattering axle shafts becuase I have to throttle a heavy load around a sharp corner. Sure tires will break loose at a point but those shafts and hte down time are too much for me.



I will go to manual hubs up front and put a locker up there for when I need it. But the factory LS is all I will run in the rear. I cuss it sometimes when 1 tire spins in the mud and the other is on dry ground, but thats what 4wd is for.



Comes down to your uses. If you don't do heavy hauling a detroit is stone cold solid and simple and it will work. Most likely with little to no load in the back you will spin the tire before you snap a axle shaft. If you haul heavy loads go with a LS or open rear and lock the front when you get manual hubs.

 

[Mhannink]

my cuz has a 75 ford 390 gasser nothing fancy ford 9in rear and a locker and that thing has alot of twist in the axel and has blown the rear end a couple times its real hard on it course non of us drive it easy either so that makes a big diff



i was wondering does anyone make an air locker for these trucks if so seems like that would be the thing locked when you want it unlocked when you don't

 

[Stamey]

i was wondering does anyone make an air locker for these trucks if so seems like that would be the thing locked when you want it unlocked when you don't

Yep, ARB has them all day long, air and electirc, from what I understand.



Chris

 

[Nate]

Where the hell did you go to school? Huked un Foniks wurked fur mee.

my cuz has a 75 ford 390 gasser nothing fancy ford 9in rear and a locker and that thing has alot of twist in the axel and has blown the rear end a couple times its real hard on it course non of us drive it easy either so that makes a big diff



i was wondering does anyone make an air locker for these trucks if so seems like that would be the thing locked when you want it unlocked when you don't

My cousin has a 75 Ford 390 gasser. It's not fancy, just a Ford 9" rear with a locker. That thing has a lot of twist in the axle and has blown the rear end a couple times. It's real hard on it, though none of us drive it easy either so that makes a big difference.



I was wondering, does anyone make an air locker for these trucks? If so, that seems like it ould be the best thing - locked when you want it, unlocked when you don't.

 

[Mhannink]

Where the hell did you go to school? Huked un Foniks wurked fur mee.







My cousin has a 75 Ford 390 gasser. It's not fancy, just a Ford 9" rear with a locker. That thing has a lot of twist in the axle and has blown the rear end a couple times. It's real hard on it, though none of us drive it easy either so that makes a big difference.



I was wondering, does anyone make an air locker for these trucks? If so, that seems like it ould be the best thing - locked when you want it, unlocked when you don't.

look i'm real sorry i didn't spell it all out nice and perfect for you. i tend to just type what im thinking while im thinking i don't really care much about grammer here if i where writing a formal paper i would be more careful.



i just figured since we where talking trucks and rather informaly at that, that no one owuld care about grammer too much. and yes i know it makes it easier to read, but it seems that most people can follow me. so enough with this lets talk trucks and lockers in particular ok.

 

[steved]

IMO, LS vs Detroit depends on what you do... for a mainly road truck, a power loc is a great choice since it is really tight and rebuildable. For offroad, detroit is the clear winner.



As for lockers on road... it isn't having one tire lower than the other, it is the fact they bang, snap, pop around corners, have a lot of slop which causes them to lock/unlock under accel/decel and will cause unwanted lane changes and excessive tire wear. They can also lead to broken springs and ujoints.



As for a locker vs a LSD in snow... there is absolutely NO DIFFERENCE between the two... they both cause sliding on off camber situations. My powerloc'd D70 was no different than my locked 9. 25 rear.



As for chosing a detroit over a "lunch box" locker, there is no comparison... detroit full case locker all the way (you get what you pay for). Lunchers wear out... and when they do, say good by to all your center section bearings.



Oh, and I have owned lunchers, detroits, traclocs, and powerlocs... and now this blasted tracrite (junk).



steved

 

[TRCM]

So if all you say is true, why do most all drag racers use the LS instead of a locker. Seems most Detroits, snap, crackle, and pop doing down the track. We've had very good luck with the LS in the Dana with torque 1n the range of 1400lbs.



Is it just different applications?



. . Preston. .

HUH ??? All the drag racers ( and that's quite a few) I know use a spool, which is even harsher than a locker.



The only ones that don't, use a LSD or detroit cuz they also drive it on the street.

 

[Turbo Thom]

Mr Maniac,



Well, this is a truck site. I was refering to diesels and the trucks they come in. If you want to discuss NHRA , all the gassers, and other fuels, they have a site for you.



C'ya'



. . Preston. .

 

[MarkMiller]

Alright, all ya'll unpucker your collective sphincters. This is just a debate on carriers. :-laf :-laf :-laf



SteveD, Detroits lock mechanically by application of torque. Let off the throttle and it unlocks, get on it and it locks. Period. The clunking is the sound of it unlocking because there is no drive pressure from the pinion and there is a diffrentiation of axle shaft speeds. If it pops (and the truck shudders a little from it) that means you were on the throttle lightly and the load from the scrub of the tire was greater than the amount of torque the engine was producing and the sides of the locker came apart under pressure which wear down the teeth more quickly. (Just like a heavily fueled or huge turboed diesel you have to learn to drive around some of the quirks of a Detroit) There is no way possible a locker could cause you to change lanes though. If you have tires that are different heights, run at diffferent pressures or the road is rutted and the side of the tire is catching the ruts the tire will naturally ride up it. And with wider tires the wander due to the road bed being worn into tracks is extremely pronounced. As the side wall of the tire reaches farther and farther from the center point of the pivot the leverage is greater against the natural centering of the steering and it will wander farther, fasterk, due to that alone.



Breaking springs and ubolts does happen more frequently because the tires will hook up rather than just the one spinning in the mud. A stock truck shouldn't be breaking those things though. But using cheaper lifts like BDS,skycrapper- i mean jacker, or the rest of those brands you will get only questionable components. I bought springs from BDS for my jeep and rolling it out of the shop and driving it fifty feet onto the trailer broke a main leaf. The others lasted a couple of years. I eventually threw them away because the rode like crap and kept breaking. Ubolts also come in different grades. I bought a sky crapper kit once and just pushing them down over the axle housing flattened out all the threads on the ubolts. The ones I ordered from Blue torch Fabworks (they can make and size or shape ubolt u want) I have beaten mercilessly and neverso much as marred a thread. What kind of crap steel do you thing the skycrappers were made of? I can tell you my BTF stuff is cold rolled stock. Cheap ubolts and springs break often. Quality components are a little moire expensive up front but a hell of a lot cheaper in the long run.