Detroit locker

[wayneg]

Having seen Keithy P38s vids of his air locker I have become envious and am trying to convince myself I should get one. Having no idea about lockers, types and makers I have been reading all I can and am leaning towards the Detroit locker as it seems the most simple and cost effective.
Has anyone fitted a Detroit to the rear of their P38? Is this the correct part number 187SL-173A ? Is this a DIY job.
Any views or experiances with this type of locker welcome. My P38 is my daily driver.

[Landover]

I can't talk for the P38 but I have one fitted to my D1 recently. I have the Truetrac in the front and Detroit in the rear. For a daily driver you would not even know there there. Get it off road and it just works great.

The P38 is probably like the D2 and a lot of them have it fitted. A lot of D2 people use the Truetac as it's a bit kinder on axles and the traction control makes it like a full locker.

The part number is correct for a D1 and D2 so if the diffs are the same as a D2 would fit.

Good luck with your decision.

[Razza's Rangie]

Hey there,
Well I did that very exercise only a little while ago, we managed to talk the local ARB guy that if we bought more than 2 he would give us a big discount ( worth a try) so me and a couple of mate got together and got one each and paid about $1000 there abouts fitted!!!!

Anyway, with the arb ones they have a matching compressor so you don't have to stuff around getting airline fittings etc. I fit my compressor (arb) on the passenger wheel arch right beside the existing EAS compressor. ( I have piped mine to be a back up incase eas compressor dies.) it fits in there easily and I got the tyre inflation kit too which sits nicely under there.
Now, buttons and electrics !!!
Well arb comes with a pre made harness!! Easy as anything to install, I originally had my switches neatly tucked into the ash tray at the front. But then I learned of a genuine switch that has a big 'L' and some gear picture on it. It's the low range button for the manual range rovers in Europe. I wired that in ( not easy, need electronic relays to work with genuine switch) but I fitted it where the fog light switch whent.
So that's about it, the first day I tested it, I was at landcruiser terrain park, and I was driving a totally different beast!!! Wow the change was amazing!!
Hope this helps and let me know if there is anything I can help you with
Razza

[wayneg]

Thanks for that. It seems the air type lockers are the go as after more reading the Detroit is not a direct fit. The crown wheel needs a spacer inserted and longer bolts are required. No direct fit is available. I have been quoted US$700 delivered for the Chinese ARB type inc compressor and wiring loom. Now I need to convince my self I can fit it properly. Still not sure on this pre-load measuring, the rest seems straight forward enough. I like the Idea of a backup compressor too.
Would like to see a pic of your compressor in situe.

[justinc]

Just a word of warning about fitting a detroit or any automatic 'locker' to ANY vehicle with a viscous coupling/ limited slip centre differential. The very forces transmitted through to the rear differential while turning tight corners will tend to begin to engage the locker, with unpleasant results.

Selectable lockers are the best thing in this instance.

JC