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detroit locker in front

S

Shomsky462

NAXJA Forum User
NAXJA Member
Location
Atascadero, CA
This is a thread for all those people with any kind of detroit locker in the front. if you could answer a few questions about detroit lockers i would appreciate it and maybe make a decision on if i want to buy one or not. How does it perform in 4WD in the snow? How does it perform when crawling? What are the advantages/disadvantages of them compared to lockrites,ez lockers etc. and selectables?
thanks for those of you who reply
-Ryan
 
It will be virtually invisible when in 2 wheel drive if you are running a non-disco front. If you have a disco front...it will now drive the front driveshaft all the time and the disco function in 4 wheel will give you a choice between 3 wheel and 4 wheel drive.

In 4wd while turning, the front will hop around...not a problem in dirt usually...but a problem on high traction surfaces like clean rock while under power.

Don't know about ice and snow (never driven on either). but in slimy shallow mud in 4wd sometimes the heep don't want to turn. A selectable can be deselected...but if you are in 4wd regardless of locker/no locker, you will still need to drag or push one wheel anyway...

I wouldnt trade my lockers for anything...without 'em its only REALLY 2 wheel drive.
 
Last edited:
yeah i have a non disco front so dont have to worry about the front drive shaft spinning in 2WD. anyone else that has detroit in front? topinions needed
 
Shomsky462 said:
i guess no one likes detroit.
Click to expand...
sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesh, patience! Some of us recovering alcoholics are recovering from the new years eve celebrations :D

I got detroit in the front, I love it in the rocks, once every so often I wish I had selecteable cause I have to take two stabs at taking a really tight turn in 4wd but it's simplicity and reliability makes up for that minor inconvenience.
 
i've got a detroit in the front of mine. its a trail only jeep but does see some street use. in 4wd its pretty difficult to turn on the street or trails. in 2wd its invisible. works very good on the trails
 
hey kinda off topic but Kejtar ive seen you a lot on this forum and might i ask you what the hell are you doing in your avatar? takin it out for a test drive?
 
Shomsky462 said:
hey kinda off topic but Kejtar ive seen you a lot on this forum and might i ask you what the hell are you doing in your avatar? takin it out for a test drive?
Click to expand...

We were road testing an axle after taking it of my rolled rig :D When my neighbour saw us coming round the corner she started laughing so hard she damn near took out a street lamp.
 
I love mine, I have a Tera 2 low kit, so offroad in 2 low no problems turning, a little bump of the lever and over the rock we go.
 
I put the full detroit in my front D-44. Made a world of difference over the true-trac LSD. After about 8 months, I got tired of not being able to turn the tires when in the middle of an obsticle such as a rock pile. So, I added a ram assist. No problems now!! :wave: Goes where I point it and can turn with my little finger.
On the street? If my truck sees the street it's a 40 MPH trip so no great input there for ya. Now if you install some lock out hubs with it, there'd be no noticing it up front.
 
I'd avoid it in front for a DD in snow.
You want the front tires (or at least one of them) to roll while turning, not spin. That's what keeps you going where you want to.
If you're spinning all four tires, gravity and momentum are making the directional decisions for you.
You have very little control over which way you're heading.
 
2offroad said:
I love mine, I have a Tera 2 low kit, so offroad in 2 low no problems turning, a little bump of the lever and over the rock we go.
Click to expand...

Ditto. I ran a front Detroit in my old front axle and got a 2LO kit after about 3 trips out with it. In 4LO the front is basically spooled, which completely killed my turning ability on tight trails. I was constantly making 2- and 3-point turns where I had previous not had to do that with an open front. Both our Jeeps have selectable lockers up front (one ARB, one OX) and I'm MUCH happier with that setup than I was with a Detroit.

If you're not having to replace the carrier (ie: regearing), I'd just get an Aussie Locker or a No-Slip. Otherwise IMHO it's well worth the extra cash to go with a selectable up front. Especially if you need to have 4wd on the roads in the winter.
 
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