Thread: Detroit no spin and truetrac lockers via USA

Other people may have other ideas and thats fine with me.
This is what I did to install my detroit locker to my 101 landy Salisbury diff.
First I made up out of steel I had kicking around a frame which spreads the diff housing apart using the large holes in the casting on the diff centre.
That's what the holes in the casting are for........it is to spread the housing a little.
A old car jack supplied the muscle for the frame to spread the housing slightly.
........... Now you do not have to do this , but the diff housing spreader is the correct way and makes things easier to put together.
1 drain diff oil
2 remove hub drive flanges.
3 remove drive axles from axle tubes
4 remove diff centre cover plate.
5 centre pop both castings which are the diff centre carrier bearing caps, so you Know exactly which way they go and from what side.
6 do a general inspection of the diff noting the condition of the crown wheel and pinion, bearings and check back lash.
7 I recommend the pinion and crown wheel be bearing blued and note the crown wheel and pinion contact pattern
8 Undo the carrier bearing caps evenly ( four big bolts)
9 place tension on the frame or spreader you have made with the jack in the middle of it and the crown wheel and carrier should fall out.....place something soft under the diff to catch it.
If not using a diff housing spreader......use a bar or large screw driver , soft hammer etc to pop the crown wheel and carrier out.
10 give the whole thing a clean up and set your self up on the bench.
11 this is from memory so I may not be totally correct...........evenly undo the bolts holding on the crown wheel to the carrier as the crown wheel must be removed to fit the locker.
12 the carrier is in to halves......undo the bolts evenly and split the carrier using centre pop marks so you know exactly the way it goes together again.
13 remove the original side gears and smaller planet gears with the steel round bars join together as one piece by a ring which they run on.
14 fit the detroit locker in one half of the carrier taking note of the instructions supplied by the detroit locker (may have to reuse or replace original side gear washers and measure one or two things to check.
15 don't release the the through bolt and nuts holding the locker together as there is alot of spring pressure behind it until the two halves of the carrier are bolted back together .
Check instructions supplied and fit ,,....bolt carrier halves together (I use loctite on all diff bolts)
16 Torque all diff bolts evenly to Landrover specs
17 refit crown wheel and torque to specs.
18 Using the diff housing spreader spread the diff housing apart slightly so the carrier bearings and carrier can be refitted( carrier bearings must go back in the side they came off as well as the bearing caps)
If you do not have a diff housing spreader or made one the other option is to try and fit the carrier in the diff housing by carefully knocking (soft hammer)and levering it into place.
I suspect this can be made easier by getting a die grinder with a cutter( not stone) and put small chamfers on the diff housing casting to make this easier.
Evenly tighten the carrier bearing caps and this will push the rest of the carrier home in it bearings(be careful)
Torque carrier cap bolts.( clean out metal chips from die grinder)
Blue crown wheel and check gear mesh pattern ( if you have not changed the bearings and every thing is correct it should be the same as before.
Check pinion backlash....should be the same as before or to makers specs.
19 refit axles to tubes and drive flanges.
20 test operation of the locker by hand by spinning the tail shaft and wheels.
21 refit diff cover plate and add the normal oil you use.
22 note for the first few Ks the locker will be lazy to unlock until it frees up a bit.
After a month or two it will be perfect.
I hope this helps.
May be some one can add to this or find a miss take as it is from memery from a few years ago.
NOTE.......if you break a axle witha detroit locker you break the locker as well.
Recommend stronger axles that standard be fitted as any locker by nature places more strain on the axles as fully engine torque can be transmitted through one axle instead of two.
RON
PS if you have all the gear in place and have rattle guns etc it is possible to do the whole job very quickly.

Thanks Ron for taking the time to post such a detailed thread, I've never been inside a diff before so that is a great help and much appreciated.
I havn't got a spreader so will see how I go and make one up if it gets to be too much of a struggle,I'm looking forward to having a go at it...

If you don't have a spreader you can try this if you are careful.

Use a torch to heat the surface where the diff cover bolts on it will take about 5 minutes witha propane torch but the metal will expand and the diff will come out easily.
Do the same to put it back in.

It works!
But:
Then strip nekkid and burn your clothes, go directly to the shower, clean up and put new ones on before you see the wife.

This last step can be ommitted if you aren't married.

Originally Posted by revor

<snip>
But:
Then strip nekkid and burn your clothes, go directly to the shower, clean up and put new ones on before you see the wife.

This last step can be ommitted if you aren't married.

ROTFLMAO

How bloody true

FWIW Mal Storey/Maxi Drive made a spreader that worked by compressing the case vertically (which expands it horizontally).
Neat trick.

Help!!Anyone?
I have the axles out, housing cover off, bearing carriers bolts out bearing carriers off, all smooth sailing...but I've had a bit of a go with a short pry bar to drop the diff out and it's not coming.
I havn't jacked the 110 up at all so it's sitting on it's wheels still, would it make any difference if I sat the axle housing or chassis on stands?
Or is it just tight and I may need a spreader, or some heat(thanks Keith) or maybe a bit more effort with the bar?
Thanks

Got it !!Popped right out with a lever on either side

The trick is to get it back in !

Originally Posted by cockie55

DROP KEITH A LINE & GIVE THINGS LIKE THIS A WIDE BERTH

DETROIT TRUETRAC LIMITED SLIP - LAND ROVER DISCOVERY - eBay Axle Parts, Transmission, Car Parts, Accessories, Cars, Bikes, Boats. (end time 12-Feb-09 11:52:06 AEDST)

Is there a reason for this warning (apart from the $$)?

I know the seller & he has helped quite a few members on here out with various transmission problems.