Detroit Lockers

nizel · 02-22-2005, 07:27 AM

A friend is taking their detroit lockers off of a k5 blazer and giving them to me. To hear him talk they are the baddest things on the planet. Has anyone had any experience with them and had a chance to try them out on a Titan yet?

I think i may put them on if yall think its a good idea.

Ohh by the way, theyre government issued

hes told me a million times. So they've got to be decent, right?

THanks

Sammy Sandbag · 02-22-2005, 09:00 AM

Well, that's if it'll work with our diff, which I don't believe it will. It would also have to have the same spline count as our axles, as well as few other variables. Another thing you might want to take into consideration is that auto lockers will cause you to chirp tires when turning on high traction surfaces, and can be dangerous if you gas it through turns. They also are kinda noisy and rough. But on the bright side they are near impossible to break (other driveline parts would snap before anyways.)

Armada · 02-22-2005, 09:10 AM

Sammy is right. True lockers are not very street friendly. I've got Lock-Rights in the front and rear of my CJ-5 Jeep. You can't even drive on the street with the front diff engaged. You have to make sure the front is disengaged. Besides the drive train bind, it's very hard to turn with a front locker. On the street an air locker is far better for the front. Or if you have manual locking hubs like on my jeep, you have to have the front "unlocked."

I run 36 inch tall TLS bias ply Super Swampers and have a lot of other mods. Even rear lockers don't behave very well on the street but lockers are absolutely THE way to go in the dirt and mud. They are absolutely amazing when you have the front and rears both engaged in the dirt or woods. But that kind of grip can force you to upgrade the rest of the drive train, or you will quickly find yourself breaking axles, or at a minimum, popping u-joints regularly. When tires can't slip, the weakest other part will!

Besides Sammy's observation about the "chirp" of the inside tire when going around a corner, the clicking sound when turning, and noise when they engage and disengage, sometimes with my CJ the whole back axle (with the rear of the truck) will try to jump to the side about six inches or so when you accelerate or especially when you suddenly let up on the throttle. Jumps out when you get on it, jumps in when you let up. You get used to that, but passengers can be really spooked. And you can expect that quirk even when running at high speed in the dirt.

Again, damn good in the dirt and mud, (or on the drag strip) but usually a bad idea on the street. And, I doubt there is anything out there yet that will work with our gears and axles.

nizel · 02-22-2005, 07:16 PM

So is it worth the time to put them on ?

He says that i can disable them whenever i dont need them, then lock them down if i want to do say a hellracious burnout or get off in the mud.

he says they go on at the hubs ? So it seems like they could go on just about any truck, right ?

Ill try to get more info on them, thanks for the repsonses

Sammy Sandbag · 02-22-2005, 08:17 PM

You aren't talking about a detroit locker then. A detroit locker replaces your carrier within your axle housing. And as I mentioned before, I don't believe there is one available for our axle yet. The ring gear is actually bolted to the locker, so it has to match up to the gear as well as have the proper fit for our axle shaft diameter and spline count. The detroit locker is an auto-locker, so it can't be disabled at the drivers choosing, and they definately have nothing to do with the hubs. What your buddy is probably thinking is that his K5's Dana 44 axle assembly is the same as the Titan's Dana 44, unfortunately they aren't.

nizel · 02-23-2005, 06:34 AM

thanks sammy, you seem to know youre stuff.

He says he took whatever he was talking about off and its laying in his garage. I may go check it out later, but dont know if ill fool with trying to put it on my truck.

Thanks for the sound advice

Armada · 02-23-2005, 06:17 PM

Can't possibly go on at the hub. He must be talking about something like the Warn manual locking hubs. We have autolocking hubs, a totally different thing than locking differentials. And true locking differentials like a Detroit Locker, or Lock-Right cannot be turned on or off by the driver. They activate on their own.

But if you ever own a truck which does have a true locking differential in the front, you do need to have manual locking front hubs. Two totally different things. The manual hubs have a rotary dial on the front that you can turn. One direction is to "lock" the hub and the other is to "unlock" the hub. This does not unlock the differential. It unlocks the wheels from the axles. It let the front wheels and hubs move independently of each other so you can go around a corner a lot easier. With unlocked front hubs and a locker differential, both front axles would be still be turning, receiving power, but no power would be going to either front wheel, even if you were in 4 wheel drive, they would just be free-wheeling.

I hope I did not confuse you, but your friend must be trying to sell you some type of manual locking hubs, not the guts of a Detroit Locker differential. Those hubs are not available for our trucks yet, to my knowledge and even if they were they would not provide you with any real benefit in my humble opinion.

nizel · 02-24-2005, 07:46 AM

I think youre right Armada. sorry if i steered you wrong. I remember he has a switch on his front wheels that he has to get out and lock in but not for the rear. But i know he called something detroit lockers, could he have a setup with a locking differential in the rear and manual lock hubs up front ? But if thats the case, like sammy said it probally wouldnt work with my rear end....

Maybee its just too crazy. Thanks for the help.

Sammy Sandbag · 02-24-2005, 06:37 PM

He could very well have manual hubs out front, not an uncommon thing, especially on off-road built vehicles. But manual hubs have nothing to do with traction aid, they simply save wear and tear on drive line components, make the vehicle more street-able, and let you limp out of situations like broken axle shafts, u-joints, and differentials.

Armada · 02-24-2005, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sammy sandbag

He could very well have manual hubs out front, not an uncommon thing, especially on off-road built vehicles. But manual hubs have nothing to do with traction aid, they simply save wear and tear on drive line components, make the vehicle more street-able, and let you limp out of situations like broken axle shafts, u-joints, and differentials.

Good summary. Said it better and briefer than my try.

ptgarcia · 02-25-2005, 07:45 AM

I had a Detroit on my '89 4-Runner. Offroad they kick ***. I could go places in 2wd that guys in 4wd with open diffs couldn't go. But on road they get annoying. They sure are fun in the rain, though!