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Which Lockers Should I Go With?

K5-Einari said:
I have had Detroit lockers front and rear in my K5 blazer over 10 years. Never any problems. Worked fine with full time 4wd (NP203) and now with part time (NP208). Lots of winter driving also.
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Manual or auto trans?
 
I have mixed feeling about Detroit lockers.

When I started out with my single cab short bed manual Ranger I lincoln locked the rear and drove that turd everywhere. Snow rain ice mud whatever, you knew what it was going to do. Stay out of the throttle and it won't loop you. Yes I could still spin it around quick with a 2.9

When I did the SAS it got spools front and rear, cause cheap. Similar manners, winter driving in 4wd on the street could be interesting, but only from a dead stop (turning at a light or stop sign) if it was bad enough to need 4wd then the understeer wasn't that noticeable.

Blew the Scout D44 up and swapped in a 14 bolt with a Detroit. Noisy clunky unpredictable POS. Really have never liked it. Added the 351 after the Detroit, I feel like having more power either made the clunking less noticeable, or I broke it and never noticed :laughing:

I've considered replacing with a mini spool in the rear, and Detroit in the front, but I dont drive it anyways :flipoff2:
 
LScout800 said:
Currently looking at getting a set of lockers for my scout. It is running a 5.3, NV3500, has a HP 60 front and 14 Bolt rear, and is linked front and rear on coil overs. The 14 Bolt currently has a factory gov lock (which just acts like an open diff). Last I checked a set of ARBs and compressor was like 3 times more expensive than a set of Detroits. I love the idea of having mechanical lockers, the are simple and cheap with no need to worry about extra wiring or air lines, but after talking to some vendors at offroad shows and reading stuff online I am scared to pull the trigger because of the handling quirks. Even Eaton recommends against mechanical lockers in vehicles with short wheelbases, soft suspensions, manual transmissions, and high horsepower if you plan on driving on the street. This rig sees quite a bit of street time. My question is are the handling characteristics exaggerated by companies to cover their asses, or are they negligible if you know to expect the handling quirks? I live out west and this truck does not see much ice or snow. I also have an open diff laying around someplace for a 14 bolt so not worried about sourcing one to replace the gov lock.
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The gov loc acts like an open diff until there's enough differential wheel speed and then it locks solid. It's not a limited slip. Are you sure it's busted? You have to get one wheel slipping decently before it slams engaged. Then it stays engaged until you let off. They do work pretty well and a functional one should last in a scout.
 
Ranchtruck said:
The gov loc acts like an open diff until there's enough differential wheel speed and then it locks solid. It's not a limited slip. Are you sure it's busted? You have to get one wheel slipping decently before it slams engaged. Then it stays engaged until you let off. They do work pretty well and a functional one should last in a scout.
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They engage once a difference in 100 rpm is felt. I hung a tire in the air and revved it with one tire on the ground. Did not move, just spun the other tire. Will try it again once the truck is operationional. Either way 100 rpm difference with low gears is not ideal for crawling.
 
It should lock within a couple rotations of the wheel when revved. 100rpm speed difference happens pretty quickly when a tire looses traction under power. Sounds like yours is busted.

For crawling its not ideal but a general purpose wheeling and road rig it's a decent compromise. The 1/2 ton 10 bolt version is garbage but the 14 bolt ones hold up well.
 
Ranchtruck said:
It should lock within a couple rotations of the wheel when revved. 100rpm speed difference happens pretty quickly when a tire looses traction under power. Sounds like yours is busted.

For crawling its not ideal but a general purpose wheeling and road rig it's a decent compromise. The 1/2 ton 10 bolt version is garbage but the 14 bolt ones hold up well.
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One of my buddies had one in his blazer on 33's. It worked good until it blew up doing some mild wheeling lol.
 
I always heard horror stories of running fulltime lockers on the road, especially in ice and snow.

I ended up with them front and rear in my stock wheelbase jeep TJ. They drove just fine, even in light snow. The deeper the snow got, the better they were.

Just gotta make sure you let off the gas when going into a sharp curve. Try to get your speed up before the curve, coast through most of the curve, then throttle out of it. The longer your wheelbase the less noticeable the locker will be.

Currently running a Trutrac in the rear of my JK, but it it's set up for peel outs at red lights and such with a supercharger and gears that are way too deep for my tire size.
 
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