Thread: Detroit rear locker....am i crazy???

Originally Posted by bee utey

The Detroit can lock all it likes but without the CDL engaged there is no way ANY useful torque can be applied to the rear axle when the front axle is up in the air under very little load. With the CDL engaged the rear axle gets up to 100% of the torque when the front is spinning uselessly. Not having the CDL on for a steep hill is like breaking the front tailshaft!

...again....this relates to the detroit rear locking up, HOW?

BTW, my experience suggests that you will find the bearings get a lot harder time with a Detroit. I had to have my carriers changed within 20KK or so. Also the bushes in the rear were worn much more quickly, I guess due to the extra torque going through all the time.

I also did standard axles very quickly and bought Jacmacs about 19 years ago!! I twisted both standard rears 1/4- 1/2 turn in the Nissan Trials.

I once had an interesting trip from Wannaring to Bourke after 3 inches of rain, when most of the trip was spent sideways as the rear followed the slope of the road due to both wheels spinning.
BUT I loved the detroit except mine was an "interim" soft locker which was better than the old clunker but not as good/quiet as they are now and I had heard great (true)things about the maxi.
Regards Philip A

...again....this relates to the detroit rear locking up, HOW?

No it doesn't.
The rear is locked. BUT you are going nowhere because all the power is going to the front. The rear is just sitting there with no power to it. As if you were in a front wheel drive car.
Regards Philip A

Originally Posted by PhilipA

Well, if you knew that it remained locked all the time you could have told your mate he was wrong. That although it maybe was spitting a couple of rocks out of one side it was locked.

The reason for your difficulty was that ALL the power was being delivered to the front if the CDL was unlocked because the CDL is an OPEN diff, and if the CDL was locked then you were getting wheelspin on all the wheels.( well both back and one front)
Regards Philip A
I wasn't having a go re unfashionable but 20 years ago nobody fitted them. I was one of the first. And I should have said the centre diff is an OPEN diff not CDL.

It definitely spun only one rear wheel....witnessed on a few attampts until the CDL was engaged. I'm obviously a moron, bacause I just don't understand how the CDL would change anything
The rear should be an independant entity, or why would people fit them to 2wd's and race cars etc?

If only 1 rear wheel was turning you either have a problem with the locker or a snapped shaft. It is not possible for only 1 wheel to turn if it is working OK.

CDL is a different issue totally, if you were suffering traction problems, why was your CDL not locked, it should be the first thing you engage before attempting any problem climbs.

Originally Posted by moorey

It definitely spun only one rear wheel....witnessed on a few attampts until the CDL was engaged. I'm obviously a moron, bacause I just don't understand how the CDL would change anything
The rear should be an independant entity, or why would people fit them to 2wd's and race cars etc?

Just think for a minute, please. Your centre diff is like any open wheel diff. If there is no load on one side there is no way power will flow to the other. The lowest loaded side just goes spinny spinny spinny. There is NO DIRECT CONNECTION from your gearbox to the rear axle UNLESS YOU ENGAGE THE CDL. As I said, without it engaged it is like a broken front shaft. Just stop thinking too hard about it and engage the CDL for steep track work.

Originally Posted by cols110

If only 1 rear wheel was turning you either have a problem with the locker or a snapped shaft. It is not possible for only 1 wheel to turn if it is working OK.

No snapped shaft....locked up fine when CDL engaged.

CDL is a different issue totally, if you were suffering traction problems, why was your CDL not locked, it should be the first thing you engage before attempting any problem climbs.

Seeing how it would go first without engaging. Don't you ever try lines without engaging all your big guns, eg in 2wd (if not driving a landy), without lockers engaged or without CDL in?

Hi Moorey,
The centre diff isn't very big, and thus not particularly strong, so locking it protects it somewhat.
Personally I lock it nearly as soon as I leave the blacktop. Others I have driven with engage CDL only when an obstacle that may cause wheelspin is encountered. The Series Landies automatically select 4wd when you select low range. To each their own but try not to damage the track too much experimenting