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To spool, or not to spool

Will12785

Red Skull Member
Joined
May 19, 2020
Member Number
174
Messages
745
Loc
Syracuse, NY
Finally getting around to building the front axle for my rig and can't decide what locker to run.

In the front I really am not interested in an auto locker at all. That leaves a selectable or a spool.

Selectable lockers are cool but I'm not sold on having to wire or plumb them in and dealing with any issues that though rare may arise.

A spool seams appealing because they are cheap and fool proof. I plan to run hydro assist and locking hubs so I can steer when I lock the hubs.

The spool seems like a win but I do plan to drive the truck on the street and in the snow so Ill to figure something else out for the rear.

What is everyone's experience with a front spool?
 
The only way I'd spool a front diff is if it were a trail only rig. Any street driving that may require 4wd is going to have you hating your life.
 
Spooled front just bit me last weekend. Slid down a snow covered hill right into a tree. Wiped out my driver front fender.

Other than that, I've been quite pleased with my spooled front :flipoff2:

I don't use 4wd on the street though. We get snow, but I 2wd it everywhere.
 
Had a front spool on the old truck and hated it
Leaving the hubs locked with a rear spool the turning radius sucked balls
 
Had a spool in front - hated it - even off road. Too hard to turn when traction is good - especially with only hydro assist.
Lunch box or Detroit or Grizzly.
Im really not sold on auto lockers. Seems to be endless stories of them either not locking when they should or locking when they shouldn't.

Edit: auto not selectable
 
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Do you have any first hand experience?
Yeah. I’ve followed guys with spools up front who wanted selectable. Im going with a Yukon Grizzly and I’m probably going to want selectable even with hydro assist.
 
Wife has selectables. 4wd in the snow she prefers open front, locked rear so it doesn’t “push” around corners and turns. She’ll lock both if she gets into the rough and needs the traction/wheel speed. I agree with her. Surprisingly.
Buddy has ARB up front and locks/unlocks as needed. Hasn’t had any issues with it. Buddy #2 hasn’t had any problems with his ARBs besides breaking a part once.
I run mechanicals, lunchbox up front and a Detroit outback because they are cheap and I know how to use them
 
In theory, selectable is the way to go. My personal experience with selectable has been horrible. ARB . . . leaks every other week. E-locker . . . when it locked it sometimes would not unlock, etc. Literally every single trail ride I attend, which is 2-3 per month, somebody has a selectable locker that is not working properly.

Spool. Nope.

Detroit. Done. Why the hate on auto lockers?
 
Im really not sold on selectable lockers. Seems to be endless stories of them either not locking when they should or locking when they shouldn't.
None of those I quoted are selectable. They are all auto lockers.
RE selectable ARB, personally I've had them in a variety of vehicles and I love them, but they have to be set up right. I currently have them front/rear in my TJ and in the rear of my buggy. Totally happy.
 
I had a mini-truck with a front Detroit that I drove sparingly in the winter. It was terrible, but I would unlock the passenger hub to drive in 3wheel drive to make it manageable.

I have a spool in the front of my FJ40, and its terrible at any speed, (short wheelbase) so I am contemplating a selectable. I just can't decide on an ARB or E-locker. I have an ARB in my other truck that never works when I need it, but always works in the shop when I am trying to fix it.
 
In theory, selectable is the way to go. My personal experience with selectable has been horrible. ARB . . . leaks every other week. E-locker . . . when it locked it sometimes would not unlock, etc. Literally every single trail ride I attend, which is 2-3 per month, somebody has a selectable locker that is not working properly.

Spool. Nope.

Detroit. Done. Why the hate on auto lockers?
I would be ok with an auto locker in the rear if I wasnt planning to drive in the snow but overall I don't like the idea that they are unpredictable.

Ive also seen guys running detroits in the front and at full lock 1 wheel is spinning and the locker is just clicking away.
 
Ive also seen guys running detroits in the front and at full lock 1 wheel is spinning and the locker is just clicking away.
You sure it wasn't a lunchbox of some flavor? I've seen those do that a lot.

I like auto lockers in the front of offroad only rigs and selectable lockers in the front of mixed use rigs. Selectable rears for both applications. Especially for snow. I've run spools front and rear and hate them for on road use and don't love them for off road.
 
Ive also seen guys running detroits in the front and at full lock 1 wheel is spinning and the locker is just clicking away.
IMO, that's just a broken locker. I've never had anything close to that issue with my my Spartan in the front and I haven't had any friends have issues with their detroits or whatever. Usually I'm a certified selectable hater but for your use for 4wd street/snow driving that's definitely the safest option.
 
I would be ok with an auto locker in the rear if I wasnt planning to drive in the snow but overall I don't like the idea that they are unpredictable.

Ive also seen guys running detroits in the front and at full lock 1 wheel is spinning and the locker is just clicking away.
I've got a Detroit front locker in one rig and an E-Locker in a second rig.

I've never had an issue with the Detroit Clicking at full lock. I have had to unlock one hub because I was a pussy and was afraid at full lock I would snap something.

The E-Locker is nice as long as you don't have it under load when you try to lock or unlock it has been dependable, And easy to control.

EDIT

I don't think a spool is a great idea up front, But that's one opinion
 
Well after everyones comments I am less sold on a spool so that brings it down to selectable or auto.

Selectable seems to be a solid love it or hate it split. Auto might win out due to not needing 4wd all the time. Selectable seams nice but I hear a ton of horror stories about ARB and it sounds like e lockers are iffy when it comes to locking/unlocking or switching from forward to reverse. The alternative is OX which I have never met anyone who wheels one.
 
Selectable seems to be a solid love it or hate it split. Auto might win out due to not needing 4wd all the time. Selectable seams nice but I hear a ton of horror stories about ARB and it sounds like e lockers are iffy when it comes to locking/unlocking or switching from forward to reverse. The alternative is OX which I have never met anyone who wheels one.

I would like to hear more peoples experience with the OX locker. I don't really like the cable mounting on the front, but maybe it would be tucked behind the tie-rod and/or ram to not be an issue.
 
Mine has OX's in F/R D60. System is Puma PD-1006 comp > $4/25' tubing from HD > 1/8"NPT to 1/4" air line 90 fitting. No problems with the lockers, but I have knocked a few fittings off the rear locker cover. The rear is exposed and needs a guard, the front is protected behind truss. Locker design seems stout and uses a fork like a transmission. Even has a plug lock if actuator system fails

It's had broken DS, stubs shafts, and hubs over the years. 6400lb, 400hp, manual, 40" pro xs.

Carry a pipe nipple extractor set, spare line, assortment of NPT and push to connect fittings for trail repairs.

@ Doe Valley in PA
 
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Do you have any first hand experience?
I ran a Detroit in a D44 front and first broken axle shaft broke the locker. I've heard it's common, but I moved on to a D60 shortly after.
I've had an ARB in my front D60 since '06 and it has survived broken ujoints, shafts, r&p.... Hell I even snapped the whole D60 in half. That time it messed up the ARB :laughing: but it was a simple fix and back in it went. Super stout diff, and it's been super reliable for me.
 
The alternative is OX which I have never met anyone who wheels one.

I would like to hear more peoples experience with the OX locker. I don't really like the cable mounting on the front, but maybe it would be tucked behind the tie-rod and/or ram to not be an issue.
Don't OX lockers have some bolt type thing you can screw into the diff cover to lock it in instead of the cable shifter? Leave it out and it's open, get to the trail and install the bolt setup real quick, then you're locked until you take it back out. I want to say BigWheel was telling me about them but I can't remember
 
I've never seen any auto locker not lock, they either lock or they break.

I'm on my 4th auto locker front. In very different rigs and axles. 3 Spartans and 1 Detroit. I actually thought the spartans worked better than the Detroit. The first 2 were almost unnoticeable in 2wd with locked hubs, the 3rd is in a samurai and being as light as it is, it seems to have a harder time unlocking it.

Drove all of them in snow, drive all of them on the road with hubs locked. I don't think they're the best thing out. But I'm a big fan of the spartan for $300. Cake install and if you hate it, you can probably sell it for $200-250.

I also use to weld my diffs F&r when I was younger. It sucks dick with everything but full hydro, and even then, the front will still push. Locking and unlocking the driver side hub gets old after about 3 times. Only thing I'd run a spool front in these days is a rock bouncer.

Another vote for auto front, selectable rear. Best of both worlds.
 
Don't OX lockers have some bolt type thing you can screw into the diff cover to lock it in instead of the cable shifter? Leave it out and it's open, get to the trail and install the bolt setup real quick, then you're locked until you take it back out. I want to say BigWheel was telling me about them but I can't remember
This is what I do for my rear OX. I crawl under the rig and manually lock it when I get to the trailhead. Manually unlock for the road. It's a pretty solid setup if you're cool with crawling under your rig every time you want to lock/unlock. No actuators to fail.
 
Th
This is what I do for my rear OX. I crawl under the rig and manually lock it when I get to the trailhead. Manually unlock for the road. It's a pretty solid setup if you're cool with crawling under your rig every time you want to lock/unlock. No actuators to fail.
That actually doesn't sound like a bad way to go.
 
I would be ok with an auto locker in the rear if I wasnt planning to drive in the snow but overall I don't like the idea that they are unpredictable.
Seems like 99.9% of the time people that complain about their locker being "unpredictable" are doing something wrong (broken, tire pressure, etc.). A spool in the front just sounds like a bad idea but I've never tried it. I had a lockright in the front of a samurai, it wasn't that bad. I had to run 4wd in the snow too, there was no option. I had a lockright in the rear also and if the road wasn't perfectly flat driving straight was impossible in 2wd. It ran down the road fine in 4wd. I think it comes down to your budget.
 
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