Off Roading Powertrax??

[Moab4x4]

OK, OK, I would like to be able to afford a Detroit or preferably an ARB, but I just talked to a rockcrawler builder here in Moab that has Powertrax Lock-Rights front and rear in his 90 5 speed CTD.

The hard core rockcrawler types frown on them and only use my two first mentioned options.

I will be using the truck as a daily driver with weekend trail trips through the rock country and hunting trips in the mud and snow in the mountains.

I am seriously tempted by the Powertrax No-Spin lockers for their price, ease of installation, and road manners.



Does anyone else have any experiences with these either positive or negative??



My rig is a 92 4x4 5-speed with open diffs and ~300?? HP.



Thanks for any ideas.

Ken

 

[Flexiheep]

I have not run the lockrite in my CTD, but I had one in my 89 Cherokee for 2 years. I will never own one again, you mentioned road manners, my experience is that they do not have any! My Jeep would buck and shake turning at low speeds (had to put it in neutral to roll into a parking space). you would push the gas pedal down on the highway and it would jerk one way or the other (thing would lock when you applied power, we called it steering by lockrite). I towed small trailers (1500-4000 lb) with it and hated how it jerked and moved when downshifting on hills.....



The above was my experience, others have liked their lockrites and have had no problems.

Some of my problem could have been the less than strong Dana 35 rear axle I had, some people talk about carrier flex with this style locker in the stock carrier.

 

[RDelissen]

if you go with a Powertrax product I'd go with the Noslip, rather than the Lockright.

The Noslip will be more forgiving on the road, but it's a little more expensive than the Lockright.

 

[Moab4x4]

I appreciate the feedback. Especially with the towing information. I will tow my 6 sleeper camper from time to time and occasionally a 33' gooseneck with a 14k Backhoe on it. (slowly)

Ken

 

[EKlem]

I had one in my truck that I have now taken out due to not needing it. The road manners weren't that bad but you could definitely hear it. The reason that I removed it was that it was noticeably wearing the rear tires more and I did a lot of starting on slippery sideslopes where a locker can cause you to slide the rearend downhill.



I have had a detroit in another truck and it seemed to have similar road manners but it didn't wear the tires quite as quickly for some reason.



What rear axle and spline count do you have?

 

[Moab4x4]

My Dana 70 is supposed to be 35 spline, but I haven't pulled it out to count

Thanks for the input, I had wondered about the tires too.

Was yours the lock-right or the no-spin?

Ken

 

[EKlem]

Mine was the no-spin. They aren't quite as easy to install as advertised, at least with a 3. 55 rear but they aren't bad at all. They claim that you can install them without removing the carrier but the ring gear is too big to allow you to remove your spiders so you have to pull the carrier to remove your ring gear. Without air tools, it took me about 2 hours total if I remember correctly.



Looking at the one that I pulled out, the unit showed almost no signs of wear. It was in there for probably 20k miles and it looked to be in great shape.



Instead of pulling an axle to count the splines, you can look at the tag on the differential. I don't know what the numbers mean but if you call someone who sells these units, they should be able to look it up and give you the spline count.



I am looking to sell the 35 spline powertrax that I have for a D80 and I don't know whether it is the same as for the D70 but if it is, shoot me a pm if you are interested in it.

 

[Pavemen]

i've got a LockRight in the front of my 1500 with 4. 56 gears. Works great. No issues after 4 years and lots of on and off-road miles and hard wheeling.

I would not put one in the rear axle behind anything with much power though. For my 3500, I am looking at a LSD for the rear as its my tow rig.

I have a Detroit in the rear of my 1500. Its real nice and barely noticeable once you relearn how to drive. However, I'd go with an LSD or an ARB or other selectable locker if you are going to be in the snow. icy fairly regularly.

 

[BILLVO]

I have over 500 hp and was looking for advice on powertrax versus an eaton lsd. I have the eaton in my d70 now and it has been holding up good. I am putting a d80 in my rig and was thinking of switching over the lsd to it. But was wondering how it would do with a powertrax?

 

[Pavemen]

i admit, i have not seen a D80 version of the PowerTrax nor have I heard of many folks running one in that application. Locker behavior is locker behavior in an automatic style unit (Lockright, Detroit, etc). I don't feel mine in my truck with the 139" wheelbase (at least most of the time). The occasional bang and jerk does not bother me. However, turning while accelerating will cause tire wear with a trailer load and some odd behavior I would think.

I have not towed a lot of weight with my locker as its my wheeling rig and 13" over stock.

 

[.44 mag]

I put a Lock-right kit in an old Toyota Landcruiser FJ-40 that we have. It works GREAT in that rig. Now, I only installed it in the rear axle, the front was left open. I can climb anything I'd care to with that set-up. You do hear it when you coast around a corner click-click-click... ... but it's no big deal. Easy to install and I haven't broke it yet after about 8 years of heavy use.

 

[Moe]

The lockrite I had in my 97 worked just like it should. A little noisey when you turn a corner, but so what. Take the corners normally and the tire wear wont make any difference. Enjoed the traction tho. Moe

 

[AVerHage]

Go Detroit or Go Home

 

[Moab4x4]

Detroit Won

OK, I went with the Detroit in the rear last spring and have used it in 4 seasons now.

Great traction, usually don't even realize it is there. I just try not to power through turns and all is OK. It did contribute to me sliding sideways off a crowned icy road while trying to pull out another diesel truck out of a snowdrift though, shoulda used the winch again, got lazy and tried the strap.



I really like the manners of the detroit and the fact that I don't have to think about it. If I power through a curve I occasionally get a bang from the rear.



I wheel it relatively hard and love having the detroit in the rear. No question that it is better than it would have been in the front. With the big heavy CTD in the front, I almost always have both fronts on the ground, I frequently have a rear hanging in the air though.



I do have some additional tire wear, but am willing to pay that price.



Detroit is a heavy hunk of iron for a reason. :-laf