im working on a SAS conversion and was thinking of adding in at least 1 locker this summer. it would either be a detroit or an ARB. the only problem is that its my daily driver also

so, what i want to know is, how many poeple have had problems with a detroit (or any locker in the rear) on pavment and icy conditions? ive heard bad things about people loosing control because of them locking up on a turn.

i never had any problems with mine, after awhile you forget about it for the most part, sometimes itll let you know its there but no biggy, when its new its a little worse but they get better with time, only really notice on tight turns when youre on the gas or if youre turning and let off the throttle itll bark tires (i always liked that anyway)

another thought i had was, what about putting it in the front. with manual hubs it will be disengaged when not locked.

any thoughts on front or rear?

Originally posted by green chameleon
another thought i had was, what about putting it in the front. with manual hubs it will be disengaged when not locked.

any thoughts on front or rear?

if you go front don't go detroit it makes steering even worse than toy steering already is and if you are running stock steering bring extra j arms

if you are thinking rear and are concerned about daily driving characteristics then go arb or elec and just leave it off

Personal Opinion....

ARBs are to complicated. There are to many things that can/do go wrong in the woods. Compressor stop pumping, air line get ripped off, o-ring blow out, etc... I can see where it would be nice on the road...but oh well...

I have a detroit in the back of my dailydriver...sure it kicks and bangs and makes the tires bark...but you get used to it.

As far as electric lockers...dont know anything about them...however, if you realy want a selectable locker i think i would go this route.

(A good trail rig is going to drive like shit on the road no matter what you do to it...get over it and put a lockers in it!)

I decided on spool rear and ARB in front, but there sitting in the back of my truck. I was gonna do detroits f/r but for the same price I can control the front and the rear is predictable.

I love my rear Detroit! It does not cause the tires to squeal unless gunning it around a corner on pavement. Other then that, a little driving with it to get used to the extra driveshaft slop and you will be fine.

You're doing a SAS and you don't already have atleast one locker:rolleyes:? We all run some kind of locker or spool in the rear, daily driver or not. The only draw back would be not having one and trying to wheel.

Originally posted by Clifton
You're doing a SAS and you don't already have atleast one locker:rolleyes:? We all run some kind of locker or spool in the rear, daily driver or not. The only draw back would be not having one and trying to wheel.

i didnt have any $$ before. now i do :) so im going all out. but i still have to keep a budget.

i was just debating between front and rear for the simple fact that the rear is light enough you can usualy pull it up and over anything. the front is where i always have probs. but i agree, the stearing will be shit. i forgot about that. i guess ill just break down and go detroit in the rear. i dont want a spool. wayy too much wear down of tread on pavement.

I got a Detroit in the back of my truck and its the best off-road modification I have made! I hardly notice the locker until I am on the trail, albeit the sucker is quirky. I would go this same route if I had to do it over again, i love my Detroit. I just can't understand how peeps could ever whine about them in the rear, unless you alignment is all out of whack or it was installed wrong the road manners change less than going from stock tires to big M/T's. Its all a comprimises don't be so :rainbow: and get a locker so you don't have to be pulled up that next obstacle.

However the thing sucks hairy Nutz in the mud;) but that is jsut my opinion:flipoff2:

Originally posted by rocktoy4me
Personal Opinion....

ARBs are to complicated. There are to many things that can/do go wrong in the woods. Compressor stop pumping, air line get ripped off, o-ring blow out, etc... I can see where it would be nice on the road...but oh well... Have you run ARB's and these things have happened to, or you have been on a trail run that these things happened to? If not then it is hearsay and if you look the word hearsay up it means bullshit. I have been running ARB's for over five years and have yet to have any one of these things happen to mine. Even when my ARB compressor was totaly worn out and ran most of the time it still locked up the diffs. I am not saying that these things could not happen but it has not happened to mine. Also on the many runs that I have been on I have only seen one ARB failure and that was installer error in the way he ran his blue line and it got into the exhaust pipe, I slapped a splice on in less then a minuite and he was on his way. I cannot count the the number of times I have seen other type of locker failures on these, granted I do not know what type they were so Iwill not give them a name because that would be hearsay and you already know what I think about hearsay!!!!:D :D :D

Originally posted by green chameleon



i was just debating between front and rear for the simple fact that the rear is light enough you can usualy pull it up and over anything.



Do the rear first.

I used to work at the most pathetic off road shop in Phoenix, we didn't even sell detriots. We sold lockrites. Now those are some huges pieces of shit. I never sold one that I didn't see again. The toyotas were the worst. Toyota carriers are very prone to stretching and since the lockrites use the stock carrier I drove several trucks that were undrivable because of lockwrongs. You'd be driving down the street in a straight line with equal tire pressure and all of a suddon BANG! you're in the next lane. Turning corners was scary too. I thought lockers were crazy to drive on the street with and ordered ARBs for my truck. One of the mechanics finally ripped the lockrite out of his truck and put in a Detriot. Wow what a difference. The only time you ever knew it was there was when you were on slick concrete like a gas station where it chirped, or got on it in a corner. I called everyone I had sold a Toyota lock rite too and told them I'd get them Detriots at cost and their problems would be solved. Ended up with happy customers. If you can't handle a Detriot on the street quit being :rainbow: or sell your truck and invest in granola. They are great.

I have a solution to the few small quirks of a Detroit on the street:
Get bigger tires! Make most of the "issues" go away and you really don't notice it then.

You know that you needed another reason to justify bigger tires...
:)

I have run dual ARB's on a previous 4X and I do have first hand knowledge of problems with them, not rumours or second hand stories. I have torn an airline twice, freak accident maybe, or just testament to the :rainbow: of the stock blue plastic airlines. Both times I tore the airlines a tiny piece of grit got into the lines and kept the locker from sealing. I had to tear apart the diff and pull and clean the seals to get it to work again. The worst problem I had with the ARB was when the bolts that hold the case halfs together came loose while doing 75 on my way home from Moab. I came to a screaching skidding halt quick! Ruined the locker and R&P. I had to swap the thirds front to rear on the side of the friggin hwy. To their credit ARB did replace the locker for free, but I had to buy new gears. If you run ARB's buy better air lines and carefully route them. When I totaled that rig, I bought another Toy and went Detroit front and rear. The steering is a bitch with the front locker, but I have never had one problem with them. With the rear Detroit, I dont even feel it back there unless I try to haul ass around a sharp corner on road. We don't get much ice here so I don't know what it handles like on an icey hwy. Normal Hwy manners are great and I dont regret going with Detroits.

I ran an EZ-locker in the rear of my truck for 3 years without a problem. The 4 banger never had enough power to make it change lanes suddenly, it would drift a little but never just throw me into the other lane. Now, an FJ40 with a V8 that's a different story :flipoff2:

The EZ's in the front now and I went with a spool in the back. It's only been in a few days but I like it a lot!! It's a lot smoother. It never bucks around turns like the ez did. The only weird thing is like when I'm coastng into a parking space it will stop in the middle of the turn from the binding.

So I say go with a spool, simple, reliable and the ultimate in beef. It will wear the tires faster but who cares? :D

Try a Detroit in the rear... you will not be disappointed.

Don't buy the EZ Locker or the Lock-Right.
I always see guys on local trails with Lock Wrongs that are slipping and poping under power. In my Land Cruiser I used to have a Lock Wrong in the front... it slipped and broke before the pickup birfields!

Call Randy's Ring and Pinion up in Everett, WA their price is like $395 on a full Detroit.

Spools are no good for daily drivers (I say this because I have one) . Everyone seems to only worry about the tires getting worn out... I don't like them because they wear out the splines on the axle shafts.

Yeah....yeah....well I live with the banging and lane jumping and the way Detroits click and pop, but it's a rock crawler and I have no choice, right? Besides my cousin's friend's brother's mother-in-law's grandmother once had an ARB that stopped working. They really suck! It is SO difficult to replace a little blue line should one EVER get ripped off.....sheeesh.
Jay

Rear detroit rocks. Front in winter is otherwise pointless!!! Holy shit you can't steer. Almost got into an accident cuz I was fiting the wheel when I hit ice. The rear being locked and a little driving skill and I can drive with no prob in the snow. BTW I live in utah :D