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Here`s something I don`t understand.Why do so many people install an ARB in the front,and a locker in the rear?I`ve done the opposite w/great results.Here`s why:1)ARB locks on demand,so in the rear you can run open on the street and locked in the ruff(best,right?) 2)the front axle stays free-wheel on the street(2wd/open) and is engaged(4wd)when extra traction is needed.3)If your rear is locked,you need 4wd less.4)When you do need 4wd,it`s better w/rear locked and better yet w/front end locked.So when I need 4wd,I got it all.When I need 2wd I got it all,and I can have a little more if I want.I run a Tru-Trac for better steering control.In my Bogger I run dual Detroit-Lockers(`71GMC w/2 1/2T axles&44"Boggers).
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My 2500hd has a "locking differential-rear axle".
That is what it says on the original window sticker. How do I know what type of locker it is?
The rear end has 8 bolt wheels but that is all I know.
I also am not sure if it works right. If your in the mud it will just sit and spin one wheel if the engine is just idling but if you rev it up a little, then the both wheels kick in. Is that the way it is supposed to work?
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Yes Jim, that is the way it will work. The factory limited slip is an Eaton (I think) and it engages when your side gears speed up when 1 wheel spins and the other doesnt. I am into mudding, and I have found none better than Detroit Locker. It is cheaper for for the 14 bolt full floater cause it uses the original carrier and only replaces the side gear chunk. I paid $500+ for the Detroit for my 14 bolt semi floater, and $500 for the Detroit for my Dana 60 in the front end. I had an Auburn limited slip up front for a while, but I broke the side gears out of it. ( I run 44 x 18.5 tires though). I think the Auburn limited slip might be a good choice for the 14 bolt FF if you arent running bigger than about 35" tires. Get the better
Auburn though, I think it is the 'performance line' or something like that. Auburn sent me another LS, but I didnt put it in. ( I also didnt tell them my tire size !!) I sold it on Ebay for 200.00 . I then put in the Detroit up front.
As others have noted, the detroit will work real well if you kind of 'coast' through turns. You really dont know it is in my truck, except for the extra ' backlash ' which is heard when going from coast to drive, and vice versa.
IMHO, I think a LOCKER may be a little harsh for a daily driver. I would go for a limited slip, like the Auburn Gear unit.
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C.K. My experiences w/lockers and ARB's are w/trail vehicles. I have a FJ40 w/Detroit in rear and ARB in frt. I have seen several people w/similar vehicles that use the ARB in the rear. They seem to have alot of problems w/them. Something either mechanically goes wrong or the develop an air leak. It seems like when they are constantly engaged and disengaged they lose their reliablity, IMO. I've never had a problem w/one in the frt, but its use is limited to the obstacle in frt of me.
For what I use my vehicle for I don't care about any driving charactheristics that a locker in the rear might create. I am looking for the function of a positive locker, and Detriot is the top of the line. 75% of the time I can use 2wd low. If I need 4wd I just pull a shifter. If I'm doing something extreme I can lock the frt. I used to have a lockrite in the frt but I didn't like the stress that was being applied to the tie rods,steering box and pump and the axle joints or Birfields.
If I had a 60 I'd probably install a Detroit.
My 2cts. It works for me.
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I didn`t think we were talking about trail vehicles.ARBs are great,I don`t know why a rear unit would be any more prone to failure than the front.I like the cable activation method of the OX units.They`re only available for Danas,I believe.The same goes for the Detroit E-lockers,with limited applications available,too.Both of these are the way to go for me,simpler/more reliable.
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I think the problem w/the ARB in the rear is that it is under constant use. I'm just letting you know my experiences. We do alot of trail riding and punish our rigs severely, so we see what works and what doesn't. The OX lockers have had problems too. It seems the cable clamp can strip on the shifting fork. As it was stated to me, if you engaged it and the cable stripped you would have to remove the cover to disengage it & repair. I doubt all of them do it but there is a possibilty of this problem arising. Also the shifting fork is in the new cover that they supply. The cover protrudes out futher than a stk cover and can be hit by rocks and stuff.
A friend of mine just installed an electric locker. It's a limited slip that can then be locked. He seems to like it, but he has only gone on a couple of trail rides w/it. He has not had any problems so far. It looks like a well built unit but time will tell. The shifting forks are in a stk but altered cover, w/a steel rock guard protecting the solenoid.
ARB's are all internally operated. You have to drill holes for airlines and breathers on top of the pumpkin. I have seen problems w/the ARB.
Compressors going bad,bad relays, broken airlines, the 2 seals in the locker fail and broken parts. Most failures were in the rear locker.I have not had any problems w/mine. Its been installed in the frt for approx 5yrs.
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My experiance with the factory govlock is not great. On two different K-2500 Suburbans the orginal diff (gov-lock unit) failed at a little over 100,000 miles. These were factory 14 bolt semi-floater 9 1/2" units. I replaced one with another new govlock and got about 50,000 more miles when it failed again. Mostly street miles with significant trailer pulling. (8-10,000lbs)
The other one I replaced with a Detroit and have run another 150,000+ miles without failure.
(Of course I had to replace the entire diferential assembly to a full floater from a sem-floater when I did that in 1993 as Detroit did not make a locker for the 14 bolt semi-floater at that time.)This truck is also runing a Banks sidwinder turbo on a 6.5 and has pulled about a 10,000lb trailer for about 60,000 of that 150,000miles.
I replaced the second failure of the factory govlock in the other suburban with a Power Trax "soft locker" for the 2 pinion semi-floater 14 bolt 9 1/2" and went through three units under warrantee in less than 10,000 miles. I finaly changed the entire axle assembly to a 10 1/2" full floater with a Power Trax "soft locker" and it has held up for about another 50,000 miles to this point with no problem.
The company that put in the Power trax units and warranteed the failures for me claimed that the govlocks in the semi floaters did not hold up nearly as well as the govlocks in the full floating design.
I also have a C-20 suburban closing in on 200,000 miles with a semi-floater diff with a factory govlock and no problems to date. However this truck is driven almost entirely on the street with small standard tires- 235/85/16. and has towed only a little with light loads.
The trucks that destroyed the gove locks were runing wide 33 or 35 inch tall tires and periodically were of road in sand or just tough dirt roads.
There are some significant differences to driving with the full lockers that are magnified by pulling trailers. ALso the rear tires need to be exactly the same tire and the same amount of tread and hopefully the smae tire air pressure. Otherwise you will find the taller tire doing all the work and "pushing you in corners". Going through winding roads with a lot of corners pulling a heavy trailer off and on the throttle will give yoiu a real work out with the steering whell to keep the vehicle in the center of the lanes. This is becuase depending on whether you and going right of left, or on the throttle or using engine braking around corners, the force of the power will push you one direction or another becuase of the freewheeling effect of the diff on the corners.
In spite of the challanges of the full lockers , and the additional rear tire wear unless you are VERY carefull with the throttle taking off around corners, they have such good traction and dependability (in full floaters)that I would not have a four wheel drive without them.
