Thread: truetrac and detroit locker

The newer ATB's should be OK.But the early ones were put together without threadlocker on the bolts,and they can and do come loose and destroy the diff and possibly the housing.Ask Mark (Isuzutooeh) as his detonated,and he was the first to bring it to Ashcrofts attention.But I would still be checking for any threadlocker before I fitted one,regardless

I can second what Wayne said. Knowing that Mark's had destroyed itself from the bolts working loose I asked my mechanic to check my ATB and there were bolts finger tight and none loctited. I too brought it to Ashcroft's attention and to Les Richmond whom I bought it from.

Ashcroft informed me there was a problem with the supplier, which had been resolved following Mark's experience. Thus if you are buying old stock you should check all the bolts.

MLD

And I can third that as well.
Both ATBs I recently ordered direct from Ashcrofts had some bolts with thread lock on them and some without or very little although no bolts were actually loose.
We ended up doing every bolt just to be sure.

Cheers,
Paul.

Thanks for the tips and warning it certainly sounds like a must check.

But what about their performance ? There seems to be a few out there, so do we think, are they worth while ?

Performance wise how do they compare to -

1/ Air lockers

2/ True trac

3/ Detroit lockers

Originally Posted by PAT303

Drover,I'm getting one after the intercooler,intercooler is getting ordered this week. Pat

Hey Pat, are yoy going for the front or rear ? What are doing for the other end ?

Thanks

my post from a previous discussion. http://www.aulro.com/afvb/1744104-post36.html

long and short: if you are looking to tour: an ATB with TC will be a great combination. Less stressful on the axles & CVs etc, keep control of steering etc, no thinking about it etc etc etc. If you are looking to play hard there is no substitute for a full locker, manual for the front, the world is your oyster for the back.

When I recover from the tax man's hand in my pocket, the possible replacement of my head (suspected cracked) and Xmas I'll be replacing the ATB for a manual locker. Tossing up between Ashcroft and the Elocker. I'll probably spend the extra cash on the Elocker. The only issue is longevity.

Can't speak for True-trac. My mechanic swears by them.

As for the detroit locker, if you are touring it would be my preference for an manual locker. I'm sure there are plenty of trucks, LR and others, running around with a rear auto-locker as tourers and daily drivers. To me it seems to be adding an element of stress on the drive train that can be avoided. Cost of fitting a manual locker isn't that much more than an ATB, ignoring the cost difference between the 2 units, the extra is the compressor and associated wiring plus an hour or so of time.

There is no right or wrong, only right for your particular circumstance and needs.

cheers MLD

Tru-traks front and rear on my D1 - worked really well, brilliant in mud and sand. 100,000km on them with no issues and not getting stuck once. Maxidrive rear axles and flanges fitted as well. They need a bit of left foot braking on steep rock slopes, but certainly make a huge difference

Ashcroft ATB front and rear on my Defender with Maxidrive axles and flanges, just got back from a 9,000km trip around SW QLD, NT and across the Savannah Way. We were very heavily loaded carrying our 5m inflatable boat and outboard, 160lt of water,160lt of diesel 20lt of petrol, a roof top tent, recovery gear and food for a 15 days without resupply. The ATBs worked really well in some very soft sand out near Diamantina lakes and on a few side tracks around the Gulf where I think we would have struggled without them. One particular approach to a creek crossing was in very soft sand with a large washout - Low Range 1st and using the "anti-stall" and we just crawled our way out without needing to drop tyre pressure . I would recommend them but you need the Maxidrive axles in the rear as well as I had already twisted a pair of standard rear axles before fitting the ATB.

Thanks Iain, this is a good report.

I already Ashcroft half shafts, flanges all round and Ashcroft CV's. so I should be okay in that regard.

How do your ATB's go when one wheel has no traction or say in the air, will the other kick in and provide drive ?

Originally Posted by Drover

Thanks for the tips and warning it certainly sounds like a must check.

But what about their performance ? There seems to be a few out there, so do we think, are they worth while ?

Performance wise how do they compare to -

1/ Air lockers

2/ True trac

3/ Detroit lockers





Hey Pat, are yoy going for the front or rear ? What are doing for the other end ?

Thanks

Rear,the dirt up here is like powder,it's like the sand at Stocktown beach and it's very easy to get stuck in,we also have a huge number of dry creek beds that have fine aggregate that's even worse,like ball bearings.I'm towing the camper more often than not and want the extra drive,I'm old fashioned in the way I drive and like to use technique instead of giving it a bootfull to clear a tough spot.I'm getting the intercooler for the same reason,hot temps so want the motor to get cooler air,I'm also going to fit one of Ashcrofts TC sumps to get more oil capacity and get the OK from the dealer to change the TC oil to a high temp synthetic like Redline. Pat