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8.25 detroit locker

Demonoid369 said:
Get a selectable. If it's not a daily you can get away with a lunch box but if it's a daily and you're driving 40 miles then ya get a selectable
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4x4JeePmaNthINg said:
Does the Detroit clunk/pop while turning like lunchbox lockers? For daily driving I don't want to cheap a locker and destroy tires especially when i potentially should buy a selectable locker if tire damage is an issue. 1300$ on premature tire wear vs 1300 on a selectable locker and save the wear and tear on tires is a question I'm very curious about. I probably travel 40 miles a day minimum.
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I've had a lunch box locker in both of my jeeps, and both have been DDs for the past 12 years...no issues what so ever. No abnormal tire wear, no quirky handling, no sudden lane changes.

In fact, I just bought a pair of axles with ARBs front & rear, and I am seriously considering taking the rear ARB out and putting a detroit in. Only reason it won't be another lunch box is I have to set up the gears again, so why not go with the stronger case version.

I LIKE having a locked rear axle all the time.


Now, some serious observations:

1) As has been mentioned, with a locked axle, if one side spins, both sides spin, unless you break something, That applies to slick situations off camber or not.

2) With a locked rear axle, if it is slick and the front tires have less traction than the rear, the vehicle WILL go the direction the rear axle is pointing. I have been in slick red clay where I had the front tires (LS in the front) turned hard lock to the left, and I still went straight, cuz that is the way the rear axle was lined up. I had to let off the gas, and romp on it to get the front to pull hard enough quick enough to change direction. Tires were 85% tread 39.5 TSLs.

3) MY current jeep, open front, locked rear, np231 tcase, in snow, when you jump on it hard enough to spin all 4 tires, the whole jeep slides sideways and forward or backwards evenly, in the direction of the tread pattern on the tires and the direction of travel. I have non-directional mud terrains.

4) locked rear axle on my 88 had a 242 tcase, no issue whatsoever with either of them.

5) hard tight turns under steady or decreasing throttle will cause the locker to click

6) hard turns under increasing power will either spin the inside tire, or you will finish the turn faster than you can straighten the steering wheel back up

7) the more play you have in the install, the more you will notice a 'slam' when putting the truck in gear. So pay attention to the specs. Loose means clunk, tight means less clunk, but not so tight it can't easily disengage when needed. Gear wear and pinion play also has an affect here.

8) If you change gears at the same time,. test fit the pin with the ring gear on outside of the vehicle. Some axles, certain gear ratios may cause interference with getting the center pin in, and you may need to either rotate the ring gear, or grind some off the crown of that 1 tooth. I had this issue with my ramcharger (see avatar pic), and when I had someone change out the guts to a different housing, he decided to grind the center pin to get it back in, and doing so, made the locker not work due to ~3x the clearance it should have. Replaced the center pin properly and all was good...so word of warning.

9) Don't drive like a pizza delivery person from a TV commercial, and you won't have any issues




.
 
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Well, since the time limit expired for editing while I was editing.....there is no avatar pic....and some words are spelled wrong........LOL

edit: got avatar now....
 
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I havent personally messed with 8.8 detroits, but it seems by looking at summits site, that c-clip detroits have a removable window to allow access to the c-clips with a magnet.
 
TRCM said:
2) With a locked rear axle, if it is slick and the front tires have less traction than the rear, the vehicle WILL go the direction the rear axle is pointing. I have been in slick red clay where I had the front tires (LS in the front) turned hard lock to the left, and I still went straight, cuz that is the way the rear axle was lined up. I had to let off the gas, and romp on it to get the front to pull hard enough quick enough to change direction. Tires were 85% tread 39.5 TSLs.
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Previously my set up was auto lunchbox (ptrax no-slip) in th erear and open front with my np242. In FT or in PT 4wd in deep snow the the locked year would push the jeep straight even when the front was turned hard left or right. Now, with a true trac in front in combination with my rear Detroit locker, this problem has been essentially eliminated. Still have some slight push, but not enough to be a problem.
 
Rod Knee said:
Previously my set up was auto lunchbox (ptrax no-slip) in th erear and open front with my np242. In FT or in PT 4wd in deep snow the the locked year would push the jeep straight even when the front was turned hard left or right. Now, with a true trac in front in combination with my rear Detroit locker, this problem has been essentially eliminated. Still have some slight push, but not enough to be a problem.
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The front I had in that truck was a tru trac, and the rear would over power it in slicks stuff if you weren't careful.
 
Ok so the detroit is like the TT with the C clip window that seals back up.

snow is about the only slick issue i would have maybe a muddy area transitioning to rocks but not likely a problem.
 
its rare that i have an issue with the front axle spinning going up the trails, but this weekend i found a line the proved to be tricky. Im still in favor of the detroit in the rear, but does anyone have any more opinion on perhaps saving some money initially and putting say a power trax no slip in the front axle?

FYI axles are stock
 
I always prefer the opposite. I go auto up front and selectable in the rear.

Not a big fan of lunchboxes in the dana 30. Full case locker adds a lot of strength to gearset - the open carriers (supposedly) deflect and are a big cause of breaking gears.

I've never actually seen any proof on that, but it wasn't hard to sell me on it I guess.
 
thanks cal that something to think about. this is looking like its smarter to save and just do the rear detroit and gears in one swing. if a carrier says 3.73 and up is that in number?

i have 3.73 and the detroit or any locker will be listed as 3.73 up meaning i can slap a 4.56 on that same diff or i can install anything smaller than 3.73 like 3.55?
 
1990JEEPXJ said:
No because with auto lockers if power is not being applied they will not lock
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This is only partially true. Yes, it will be unlocked if you are freewheeling down a hill, such as the clutch pushed in or in neutral or if you are on a slight hill using engine braking or in the case of the front axle, the transfer case in 2wd. But if you are using engine braking on a steeper hill, you will be locked. It's not so much the act of only adding power to the locker as it is the difference in speed and torque of driveshaft to axles that causes the locking action.
In this instance (going down hill with engine braking), the locker doesn't know the difference between that or putting the transmission in reverse. It just sees that there is some kind of torque being applied from the driveshaft in opposition relative to the axles.
 
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Warlock1 said:
This is only partially true. Yes, it will be unlocked if you are freewheeling down a hill, such as the clutch pushed in or in neutral or if you are on a slight hill using engine braking or in the case of the front axle, the transfer case in 2wd. But if you are using engine braking on a steeper hill, you will be locked. It's not so much the act of only adding power to the locker as it is the difference in speed and torque of driveshaft to axles that causes the locking action.
In this instance (going down hill with engine braking), the locker doesn't know the difference between that or putting the transmission in reverse. It just sees that there is some kind of torque being applied from the driveshaft in opposition relative to the axles.
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This is a very interesting point and perhaps an overlooked benefit of lockers...improved stability going downhill. I would surmise the benefit arises mostly from lockers in the front axle since that is where most of the weight is when pointed downhill.
 
Warlock1 said:
Richmond racing gears. Made especially for high HP, high torque, and high impact applications.
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I missed this post. Richmond is part of Midwest/Motive Gear now, and they are the same gears from the same place.
 
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