Let's talk lockers

What do you run? Likes? Dislikes?

Thinking of putting one in over the summer but not sure which way to go. I've had a e-locker in my PowerWagon and it was ok - it worked when it wanted to.

I'm leaning toward like an ARB air locker if I get my onboard air done.

i have a thread over on PSN about this. we were talking about the pros and cons of the systems. big thing that bothered me about the lockers that i can remember was that when they werent locked only 1 wheel would drive the truck. The detroit truetrac is the way ill be going in the spring. pretty neat the way they work. all mechanical with no clutches. another option for you to think about if you haven't already.

I had a Detroit and now have a true trac . For daily driving , towing , occasional off road the true trac is the way to go . It's quiet , nothing to service and has lasted me 6 years without a problem .

dsberman94 said:

i have a thread over on PSN about this. we were talking about the pros and cons of the systems. big thing that bothered me about the lockers that i can remember was that when they werent locked only 1 wheel would drive the truck. The detroit truetrac is the way ill be going in the spring. pretty neat the way they work. all mechanical with no clutches. another option for you to think about if you haven't already.

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:whs:

I've installed 2 detroit no-spin lockers in two separate SD. I will install one in my 99 now.

It's stupid simple so it works for me. I never have to worry about turning it on before I get stuck or turning it off when I not needed. I drove in minneapolis for 6 years w/ a detroit and ZERO complaints or issues in snow or ice. Don't drive like a flat billed d$ck in bad weather and you'll be just fine.

I had a tru trac and will be putting one in my f150 as well absolutely loved mine, no ratcheting sound when cornering, felt completely stock.

sent from my galaxy note

I've installed a true trac in my front and rear. No complaints here. Simple, quite, and it has worked flawlessly.

Forgot to mention that i aslo live in SD and had been through plenty of snow with it, worked great never noticed it casusing any issues.

sent from my galaxy note

Detroit style difs for me.
currently a Grizzly in the rear and detroit in the front d60
I wont waste my time with LS difs ever again
I am in Canada, so yeah I drive in ice and snow

I'd been looking at the Trutracs during my research and liked what I saw - just wasn't real sure if it was better than an air locker - because of the way they word things. An air locker locks together so both wheels turn at the same speed (spool) whereas a Trutrac allows more torque to go to the wheel with the better traction right? I've used/seen spool style locker setups in Figure 8/demo cars and my RC truck so I'm familiar with them and loved how they worked that's why I was leaning that way.

I like simple things so a mechanical would probably be best plus then I don't have to worry about the compressor freezing up over the winter and not having the use of the locker. Or is there some sort of anti-freeze you can add to prevent freezing?

For you that have them did you install it yourself or have a shop do it? I'll have a shop do mine but am curious as to how hard they are to put in.

I would go read the thread on PSN but I avoid that place unless I have no other choice - to much drama.

Grizzly's front and rear for me. Certainly no complaints. Bought mine new when they were first introduced, (original grizzlys had a horrible failure rate, this is the new and improved version) and have lifetime warranty on both. Don't think they still offer the full warranty now, was an introductory thing.

Lots of miles on snow and ice, it's my first vehicle with lockers front and rear. Wish I would've done it years ago with my other vehicles.

I run a TruTrac in the rear of my truck.
Love it. Have never had "one wheel peel" since.
Looking to put one in on the front diff now too.

No switches, or airlines to worry about...it's just there, and it works.

chromehound said:

For you that have them did you install it yourself or have a shop do it? I'll have a shop do mine but am curious as to how hard they are to put in.
.

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I installed mine w/o any problems. You take the old carrier out and put the new one in. You can use a micrometer to measure the thickness of the old vs new carrier and make slight adjustments that way w/ the shims or use paint. Mine lined right up using the original shimming according to the paint.

I like the No-spin Detroit because you get 100% traction to both wheels not % difference between the two. There are clutch pack LS and geared type LS but both don't provide me the 100% I want. The LS would slip on ice when I pulled up to the curb when I lived in Mps. The curb area would be iced up pretty bad and I always had to put it in 4wd just to pull up to the house.

Neither in my 02 or 08 did I hear chatter or the noise of the Detroit. As big and loud as these are that is maybe why but either way I'll never spend $$ for a LS when it only provides partial torque splitting VS the 100% of the Detroit. The helical-gear true trac at summit for example is around 550 and the no spin is 650. The $100 is cheaper than the 1st tow bill if you get stuck pulling off the road onto a soft shoulder. Be there done that :morons:

It is my understanding that if you tow daily the helical-gear true-trac is better for trailering and when I spoke to Randys Ring and Pinion I was told you can get the helical-gear w/ more aggressive torque bias if needed.

At the moment I pull maybe 2-3 times a year and it's only around 5-7k max but a no spin definetly sounds better. I mainly want it for the winter up here and for when I go hunt/fish.

I had a 1/2 ton that had front and rear lockers and only got stuck once as the tires were bald and the snow up to the hood.

chromehound said:

At the moment I pull maybe 2-3 times a year and it's only around 5-7k max but a no spin definetly sounds better. I mainly want it for the winter up here and for when I go hunt/fish.

I had a 1/2 ton that had front and rear lockers and only got stuck once as the tires were bald and the snow up to the hood.

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I'm selling the No-spin because that's my preference. Some guys will swear by the helical geared unit.

I made my dad and a buddy a believer as I was in IL for the holidays a few years ago. We get up and had to make a food run but there was 6-8 inches of fresh snow on top of some older stuff. So I had the only vehicle that would make it off the property that would fit all of us. I park my 02 long bed in the grass by the horse pen at his 5 acre place. We got in, I backed up and drove off. He asked me, "aren't you gonna take it out of 4wd?" As we hit the pavement. I replied, never was in 4wd. He commented that every truck he owns, he has to use 4wd to get out of where I was parked when it snows.

I've never regretted installing one and I like how there are no electrical lines to short out, no airlines to freeze in the winter..... its -6 right now and it is dummy proof. Just drive.

When I got stuck in Austin I missed our exit and pulled off the road. There was no fully paved shoulder so I pulled onto the grass. It was at least 8-12"s deep so I thought nothing of it. I did't know that the area had rain recently and it was muddy. So I have both passenger tires off the pavement 100% and the drivers tire was on the little barely 2-3 foot wide paved shoulder. No biggie right? I reprogram the GPS and as I attempt to pull away, both passenger tires, 35" Pro Comp XT's start throwing gobs of mud, as I stand at a complete stand still. 6" lift, 35's and I"m stuck partially on the shoulder partially on the grass shoulder. ointlaugh: The 4wd did nothing as the front was open. The rear LS sucked donkey b@lls and didn't to d$ck either. The LS tried as it nudged forward a few times but never enough to get us moving.

An oversized tow truck happened to be driving by and sat for a minute enjoying the show before he finally offered to help. It was at moment that I realized, fully empty, not out in the boonies hunting, camping or going to a remote fishing spot, I got stuck on the fkin' side of an off ramp in N. Austin, TX, in the middle of the suburbs. :doh:

I will personally never install a LS when I have a fully, 100% locked option to choose from. Every truck I own will or has a Detroit no-spin. It's more useful than a winch 99% of the time and it's less likely to leave you stranded in the dumbest of situations that I somehow get myself into.

If I had a 5th wheel or trailer I towed constantly, every day I might go w/ a selectable but if I had no option but a helical gear unit, I'd install both front and rear, and I'd do a lot more praying when I left the pavement riest:

So wait there's 2 different versions of the truetrac? How can a buyer tell the difference?

powerlifter405 said:

I'm selling the No-spin because that's my preference. Some guys will swear by the helical geared unit.

I made my dad and a buddy a believer as I was in IL for the holidays a few years ago. We get up and had to make a food run but there was 6-8 inches of fresh snow on top of some older stuff. So I had the only vehicle that would make it off the property that would fit all of us. I park my 02 long bed in the grass by the horse pen at his 5 acre place. We got in, I backed up and drove off. He asked me, "aren't you gonna take it out of 4wd?" As we hit the pavement. I replied, never was in 4wd. He commented that every truck he owns, he has to use 4wd to get out of where I was parked when it snows.

I've never regretted installing one and I like how there are no electrical lines to short out, no airlines to freeze in the winter..... its -6 right now and it is dummy proof. Just drive.

When I got stuck in Austin I missed our exit and pulled off the road. There was no fully paved shoulder so I pulled onto the grass. It was at least 8-12"s deep so I thought nothing of it. I did't know that the area had rain recently and it was muddy. So I have both passenger tires off the pavement 100% and the drivers tire was on the little barely 2-3 foot wide paved shoulder. No biggie right? I reprogram the GPS and as I attempt to pull away, both passenger tires, 35" Pro Comp XT's start throwing gobs of mud, as I stand at a complete stand still. 6" lift, 35's and I"m stuck partially on the shoulder partially on the grass shoulder. ointlaugh: The 4wd did nothing as the front was open. The rear LS sucked donkey b@lls and didn't to d$ck either. The LS tried as it nudged forward a few times but never enough to get us moving.

An oversized tow truck happened to be driving by and sat for a minute enjoying the show before he finally offered to help. It was at moment that I realized, fully empty, not out in the boonies hunting, camping or going to a remote fishing spot, I got stuck on the fkin' side of an off ramp in N. Austin, TX, in the middle of the suburbs. :doh:

I will personally never install a LS when I have a fully, 100% locked option to choose from. Every truck I own will or has a Detroit no-spin. It's more useful than a winch 99% of the time and it's less likely to leave you stranded in the dumbest of situations that I somehow get myself into.

If I had a 5th wheel or trailer I towed constantly, every day I might go w/ a selectable but if I had no option but a helical gear unit, I'd install both front and rear, and I'd do a lot more praying when I left the pavement riest:

Click to expand...

Right there is why I'm leaning more and more towards a mechanical unit. It's -18*F without the wind here and my "driveway" is the grass yard that I spin in - even in 4wd. For the $$ I think that a mechanical will be the way I go since I tow light and not often.

It's either a Detroit Locker (No Spin) or a True Trac. http://www.eaton.eu/Europe/Vehicle/ProductsServices/Torquecontrol/index.htm

HeavyAssault said:

It's either a Detroit Locker (No Spin) or a True Trac. http://www.eaton.eu/Europe/Vehicle/ProductsServices/Torquecontrol/index.htm

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I have been looking into lockers myself and based on the info in the link you provided (thanks for that) I think the MLocker would be good for the front diff and the No-Spin for the rear. Thoughts? I tow 10-12K occasionally.

Thanks

I was told on the helical gear you can request an increased torque bias but to me it's a moot point. I have not looked into farther, it was a tech at R-R&P told me.

Rascal,

If you are thinking of putting one on the front, any sort of LS or full locker can be hard on the axle shafts if you ever accidently run them on a hard surface. DId you mean E-locker? & yep IMHO, the no spin is the way to go and drive smart when you're towing, just don't hammer it on a sharp turn.

powerlifter405 said:

I was told on the helical gear you can request an increased torque bias but to me it's a moot point. I have not looked into farther, it was a tech at R-R&P told me.

Rascal,

If you are thinking of putting one on the front, any sort of LS or full locker can be hard on the axle shafts if you ever accidently run them on a hard surface. DId you mean E-locker? & yep IMHO, the no spin is the way to go and drive smart when you're towing, just don't hammer it on a sharp turn.

Click to expand...

no he meant Mlocker. if you follow that link theres an Mlocker on it.

heres what im wondering about between the truetrac and the no-spin.
with the no spin it puts 100% power to the rear wheels which means a constant 50-50 split? where as the truetrac with the helical gears will split the power 50-50 most of the time but then when something happens like when you got stuck. wouldn't the truetrac have split the power more to the side that had traction than the side that didn't. so you stuck on the side of the road with one tire stuck in the mud would have gotten say 20% and the one on the hard roadway would have gotten 80%. correct me if im wrong. wouldn't the truetrac have been better in this application? im not trying to start a fight or an arguement just honestly curious.