rear Detroit, 1st impressions...

[BillR]

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:

[logdog]

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)

[bretto]

Did it blow out at the same place/time your balljoints threw in the towel?

[BillR]

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:

[offroadman83]

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

[jrsxj98]

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:

[BajaXJ92]

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

[sidriptide]

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..

[Kittrell]

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??????

[jrsxj98]

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.

[old_man]

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.

[Kittrell]

Shaft, bpi, and shock conversions, as well as 2 9010's and 2 9012's.

Ahahaha, get enough stuff???

[Goatman]

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.

[2offroad]

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.

[BrettM]

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).

[johnnyc]

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.

[87CherokeeChief]

so how does an auto locker react with a auto tranny compared to a manual??

[jrsxj98]

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.

[sidriptide]

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...

[BrettM]

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.

[sidriptide]

and i was all happy i was going to be able to use 2nd gear now too.. well ya take the good with the bad...

[Kejtar]

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).

I drove in town the jeep with an aw4 and the d44 with detroit and I didn't feel it or hear it (unless it's a tight turn then the tires chirped a bit but they did the same thing with stock limited slip). Then I swapped in my ax15 and took it out on the trail and again it's near invisible in sound.

I did have it make noise on the street though when I had uneven tire pressure (when they rotated and balanced my tires they filled up each tire differently). Anyways a few secs with the compressor fixed it.

[Kejtar]

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...
Don't worry about it it runs really nice and quiet with the ax15.

[Kejtar]

it's the reason a rig with an auto tranny will generally break less shafts than with a manaul, less shock-loading.
Hmmm that sounds like a stretch as you're not supposed to "slam" the pressure onto the differential with the stick shift. If you do I think that shafts will be the least of your problems.

[DrMoab]

They sure are noisy when you break um though. You wanna talk about a ratcheting sound. Holy crap!
Notice the intact inner square teeth!
http://images.snapfish.com/34236%3C6%3B23232%7Ffp64%3Dot%3E2334%3D%3C8%3A%3D3 24%3DXROQDF%3E232368739%3C24%3Bot1lsi
Notice no inner square teeth
http://images.snapfish.com/34236%3C6%3B23232%7Ffp63%3Dot%3E2334%3D%3C8%3A%3D3 24%3DXROQDF%3E232368739%3A77%3Bot1lsi
Don't think I need to point anything out here.
http://images.snapfish.com/34236%3C6%3B23232%7Ffp58%3Dot%3E2334%3D%3C8%3A%3D3 24%3DXROQDF%3E232368739%3C268ot1lsi

[BrettM]

Hmmm that sounds like a stretch as you're not supposed to "slam" the pressure onto the differential with the stick shift. If you do I think that shafts will be the least of your problems.
"lunchbox" lockers are more known for annoying manual tranny habits.

you've never had to drop the clutch in 1st, lowrange, 3000rpm? okay, I guess you can just stay on the little rocks :laugh3:

[BillR]

They sure are noisy when you break um though. You wanna talk about a ratcheting sound. Holy crap!
Notice the intact inner square teeth!
http://images.snapfish.com/34236%3C6%3B23232%7Ffp64%3Dot%3E2334%3D%3C8%3A%3D3 24%3DXROQDF%3E232368739%3C24%3Bot1lsi
Notice no inner square teeth
http://images.snapfish.com/34236%3C6%3B23232%7Ffp63%3Dot%3E2334%3D%3C8%3A%3D3 24%3DXROQDF%3E232368739%3A77%3Bot1lsi
Don't think I need to point anything out here.
http://images.snapfish.com/34236%3C6%3B23232%7Ffp58%3Dot%3E2334%3D%3C8%3A%3D3 24%3DXROQDF%3E232368739%3C268ot1lsi
:gag: How'd that happen? I heard these things last forever...

[DrMoab]

:gag: How'd that happen? I heard these things last forever...
Yeah I heard that too. I don't know. When it broke we were on a real mild camping trip in the mountians. No hard wheeling at all. On the way home I noticed it was pulling hard to one side. The next time I went to back out of the driveway it wouldn't move in reverse and it would only pull on one wheel going forward. Took it apart and thats what I found.

[Kejtar]

"lunchbox" lockers are more known for annoying manual tranny habits.

you've never had to drop the clutch in 1st, lowrange, 3000rpm? okay, I guess you can just stay on the little rocks :laugh3:
I've had a no slip in my 8.25 and it wasn't noisy either. Maybe I was just lucky.... And you can ask anyone that ever was on a trail with me: I'm not too easy on the skinny pedal :D

oh and little rocks?? I use them to get to the big rocks :party:
Something that occured to me though is that part of the issues and problems that have with the lockers is gearing. With 4.88's I noticed that I'm way easier on the rig then when I was with 4.11's.

[hjeepxj]

This is great info, should be ordering my Detroit in less than a month, and I was unassured about how it was going to behave on the street. Bookmarked! :D :cheers: