Thread: Chinese diff locks

I did quite a bit of reading on the detroit lockers.... This would have to be better than all the other lockers... It'll always be there when needed... you just fit and forget ... It shouldn't trash the CV's as all it does is prevent any wheel spinning slower than the input shaft. If you need to turn, it'll unlock the outside wheel and allow it to spin faster. If you lift a wheel, it'll continue to spin at the speed of the input shaft both sides.

My understanding is it's "always locked" ... unless you go around a corner as it only unlocks when a wheel tries to spin faster than the input shaft.

Given this I would imagine you could fit them to both front and rear, and it would drive identically You wouldn't know it's there even when locked and spinning in mud, as it'll still allow the outside wheels to "unlock" when you move the steering wheel to turn

seeya,
Shane L.

Originally Posted by DoubleChevron

I did quite a bit of reading on the detroit lockers.... This would have to be better than all the other lockers...



....



Given this I would imagine you could fit them to both front and rear, and it would drive identically

This is one area where reading and practical experience are two vastly different things.

You do no want to fit them on the front of a constant 4x4. Despite vast improvements in recent years, they are not as seamless as the marketing claims.

Originally Posted by isuzurover

This is one area where reading and practical experience are two vastly different things.

You do no want to fit them on the front of a constant 4x4. Despite vast improvements in recent years, they are not as seamless as the marketing claims.

That's for sure. I just wondering why most seem to want air lockers when they appear to be so much work and need so much upkeep of the compressors and seals... . When you can fit something that appears to be ancient well proven technology ... that just seamlessly works

As always there will be good reasons, it's just I haven't done serious offroading to figure out what they are

seeya,
Shane L.

Originally Posted by DoubleChevron

That's for sure. I just wondering why most seem to want air lockers when they appear to be so much work and need so much upkeep of the compressors and seals... . When you can fit something that appears to be ancient well proven technology ... that just seamlessly works

As always there will be good reasons, it's just I haven't done serious offroading to figure out what they are

seeya,
Shane L.

The original detroits were very clunky and bad mannered, plus if you snapped an axle they would often grenade. As I said the new ones are better, but would still make for scary driving in the front end at high speed, as they wouldn't unlock fast enough.

Because they are locked all the time, detroits are harder on axles IMHO.

ARBs aren't as bad as they are made out with seal leaks. One of mine is probably 20 years old and still on the original seals AFAIK. The other only had the seals replaced because I upgraded it to 24 spline.

MD or Ashcroft or Prolocker/McNamara lockers are other options.

Detroits were made using the same American philosophy that sees them all driving automatics. Whether you put a detroit or a selectable locker in the rear is really just a personal preference thing like whether you want a manual or auto.

However there are some cases where it is good to know the locker is locked and staying locked - like on steep cross-axle descents.

Originally Posted by isuzurover

The original detroits were very clunky and bad mannered, plus if you snapped an axle they would often grenade. As I said the new ones are better, but would still make for scary driving in the front end at high speed, as they wouldn't unlock fast enough.

Because they are locked all the time, detroits are harder on axles IMHO.

ARBs aren't as bad as they are made out with seal leaks. One of mine is probably 20 years old and still on the original seals AFAIK. The other only had the seals replaced because I upgraded it to 24 spline.

MD or Ashcroft or Prolocker/McNamara lockers are other options.

Detroits were made using the same American philosophy that sees them all driving automatics. Whether you put a detroit or a selectable locker in the rear is really just a personal preference thing like whether you want a manual or auto.

However there are some cases where it is good to know the locker is locked and staying locked - like on steep cross-axle descents.

Sounds like good reasons to avoid them. I'm on forums that have lots of front wheel drive cars ... They always talk about quaife diffs... If these work well on the front axle, I wonder why the offroaders aren't using them (maybe there simply not strong enough ... or don't lock with 100% loss in traction)

These would be "fit and forget" like the detroit lockers:
Differentials - Quaife Engineering

The guys that race/rally there cars seem to swear by them. THey shouldn't hurt the driveline at all, as they are design for front wheel drive road cars.

seeya,
Shane L.

Originally Posted by DoubleChevron

Sounds like good reasons to avoid them. I'm on forums that have lots of front wheel drive cars ... They always talk about quaife diffs... If these work well on the front axle, I wonder why the offroaders aren't using them (maybe there simply not strong enough ... or don't lock with 100% loss in traction)

These would be "fit and forget" like the detroit lockers:
Differentials - Quaife Engineering

The guys that race/rally there cars seem to swear by them. THey shouldn't hurt the driveline at all, as they are design for front wheel drive road cars.

seeya,
Shane L.

Quaife are basically the same as an Ascroft ATB or a TrueTrac. They are all geared LSDs, not lockers. Ashcroft started making their ATB because Quaife are too expensive - that is the only reason why they aren't fitted to 4x4s more frequently.

The Geared LSD is a good option for the front, especially coupled with ETC. However the biggest drawback IME is that is a wheel is completely in the air it will still spin (if no ETC). This is a significant drawback on a not ETC vehicle.

It shouldn't trash the CV's as all it does is prevent any wheel spinning slower
than the input shaft. If you need to turn, it'll unlock the outside wheel and
allow it to spin faster. If you lift a wheel, it'll continue to spin at the
speed of the input shaft both sides.

This is one area where reading and practical experience are two vastly
different things.

You can say that again.
Although mine was good , it was rather uncivil,especially in carparks where it clanked and banged. Mine used to twist 10 splines like licourice, and did so until I fitted Jacmacs.
Regards Philip A

Another thing to consider with a detroit is a slippery side slope. A locked rear end will/can crab on a slippery side slope. Sometimes it's nice to be able to disengage the rear before driving off the edge of the track.

Ask Isuzutoo-eh about a wayward rear end from his Tasmanian trip.

Budget $400 in labour to fit an ATB and from Mark's comments about his detroit rear it's about the same to fit detroit to a salisbury. Budget for new journal bearings at $70 a pair.

While i have no experience with the ARB unit, from what i'm told the cause of most seal failures is incorrect installation. Some mechanics cut the copper pipe too short which puts pressure on the internal seals. Just the explanation offered to me in a discussion about the pro's and con's of ARB and it was a discussion where i wasn't buying nor the mechanic selling.

MLD