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rear Detroit, 1st impressions...

BillR

Toy Jeep driver!
Location
Flagstaff, AZ
I got the Detroit installed last night in my D44. I was really suprised at how quiet and well-behaved it is. I've read many places where they are noisy, bang and jerk constantly, and are almost not suitable for a DD. This thing is MUCH quieter than the No-Slip I took out. Does it get worse when it "breaks in"?
The manners are a nice suprise, and I'm wondering what all the fuss was about. :laugh3:
 
My Detroits are invisible until I accellerate hard around a tight corner with my tires aired down. The front is invisible as well, as it was toasted on Poison Spider. (yeah you know where)
 
Did it blow out at the same place/time your balljoints threw in the towel?
 
bretto said:
Did it blow out at the same place/time your balljoints threw in the towel?
I was wondering the same thing... He was hopping pretty good on that ledge, but I didn't think that would grenade a Detroit! :laugh3:
 
When I had my old jeep I ran one in my dana 44. It was super quiet too except when cornering every now and then you could make the tires squeal. Just like any other if you turn sharp enough it will catch and squeal. Other than that every now and then it will give a loud bang and scare the bejeezus out of you but nothing will be wrong when it does this. I wish I still had a detroit.=======Kyle
 
Bill mine should be good and broke in now and still just as quite as can be. unless get on it in a corner. No the real test comes today, we had some snow last night and some ice on the roads, so I need to take it and get use to the winter road manners.:yelclap:
 
I appreciate the reassurance guys.

I'm planning a rear detroit for my 44, and have heard and seen how noisy and clunky they can be.

Safari Ary had a detroit rear in his Toy 8", and that damn thing was clunky and loud. Everytime you engaged the tranny, it seemed to have some play in it either way. Maybe it wasn't the Detroit doing it :D
 
i think the people who say those detroits amke all that noise never owned a new one... the detroit is a design that goes back to the early musclecar days, it was re-designed in recent years and is now reffered to as the "soft locker".. the older one wasnt really loud either.. i had one in an old chevelle and i will say i heard it ratchet regularly and if you stomped the gas in a corner when it was unlocked you would know when it locked up... i never get any noise out of my current one.. and i can make the tires bark if i want to.. or keep them quiet if i want to... when you drive with a locker you just know how its going to react and you just think ahead subliminaly.. its invisible for all practical purposes... and IMHO the best damn locker you can get..
 
91 Jeep Project said:
Just picked up the 9" today, will be a while before it goes in though. But good to hear the detroit isn't gonna be obnoxious (assuming it's in working order) Hey Justin, did you swindle Jon Jon out of that 44 shaft??????
Shaft, bpi, and shock conversions, as well as 2 9010's and 2 9012's.
 
Mine is more like running a spool, but it is an old worn out pig that seriously needs to be either canned or rehab'd. I have absolutely no complaints on the trail but with the stroker in town and 35's, I am constantly squeeling tires around the corners and it is down right spooky on the ice.
 
Unfortunately on boards like this, many people comment on what they've heard rather than on their own experience. It's good to hear accurate reports from actual users. I've had Detroits in both a rear D44 and D60, and they both were nearly invisible.....just like has been described here. Also, some people comment on an EZ locker calling it a Detroit since it's made by the same company.

I love my Detroits.
 
offroadman83 said:
It was super quiet too except when cornering every now and then you could make the tires squeal. Just like any other if you turn sharp enough it will catch and squeal. Other than that every now and then it will give a loud bang and scare the bejeezus out of you but nothing will be wrong when it does this.
what he said, Mine in a C8.25 is the same way.
 
when commenting on auto-lockers, I think everyone should always say if they're running a manual or auto-tranny.

most people I've heard saying their auto-locker is annoying drive a manual tranny.

I have an auto tranny and the Lockright in my Toy 8" is completely predictable and has never locked when I didn't want it to (or not lock when I did want it to).
 
jrsxj98 said:
No the real test comes today, we had some snow last night and some ice on the roads, so I need to take it and get use to the winter road manners.:yelclap:
Hey Justin. I had always heard about how lockers act differently on snow and ice. I went up to Big Bear last weekend. On the first long patch of snow and ice, the rear end got real squirrely. But after 10 seconds, you automatically adapt your driving to compensate. And I never felt it again all day. So all the talk was about nothing.
 
xjohnnyc said:
Hey Justin. I had always heard about how lockers act differently on snow and ice. I went up to Big Bear last weekend. On the first long patch of snow and ice, the rear end got real squirrely. But after 10 seconds, you automatically adapt your driving to compensate. And I never felt it again all day. So all the talk was about nothing.

Thats what I heard also. It took a few minutes to get use to but like you said I adapted pretty well. Sure is fun to play in the snow and ice with that locker there. :cheers:
87- I have an auto and find that my lockers are pretty much invisible. The only time I notice them on the highway is when you let off and then accelerate hard to pass, I can feel the the rear torgueing (sp?) but other than that nothing.
 
BrettM said:
most people I've heard saying their auto-locker is annoying drive a manual tranny.

this is an intersting point.. i am currently running the AW4 and the new rig thats getting all the drivetrain swapped over is an AX-15.... i can see how it would act differently, but never really thought about it...
 
when you shift a manual you remove all "pressure" on the differential, then slam it all back on relatively quickly. with an auto there is constant pressure on the differential during the shift. I've heard many times of people with auto-lockers and manuals saying that the Jeep tries to change lanes whenever they shift. I've been reading on a lot of Toyota boards this last year (since I have a Toy 8" under my MJ) and auto-lockers are generally despised there, I figure this is because 99% of guys wheelin Toyotas have a manual tranny.

it's the reason a rig with an auto tranny will generally break less shafts than with a manaul, less shock-loading.
 
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