Complete Diff Locker options thread

[mikehzz]

I had a Lokka auto locker in the rear of my Jeep. They are locked all the time and only unlock when going around corners when the force of the road surface is greater than the power applied by the engine. That is, if you keep your foot on the gas, they won't unlock and you will squeal the inside tyre. If it's a wet road or a bush track the inside wheel will be skidding to some degree on corners. I ended up replacing it with a Track Loc LSD because the Lokka would throw the Jeep into limp mode with a transmission slip error on really tight round abouts. Auto lockers are great off road but can be a pain in the **** on road.

[101 Ron]

As I understand Detroit lockers, they are "LOCKED" when driving in a straight line, they then "UNLOCK" when turning, returning to a normal open type diff.
Which means if for instance you were 4Wdriving up say Dampier Fire Trail out of Bendethra the Detroit lockers would unlock on the several switchback turns encountered on this trail, meaning you only have 2WD and will go nowhere on this steep and slippery trail.
In this situation you would be better served by a LSD and certainly better served by a manual Locking diff, ARB, Ashcroft, etc., Regards Frank.

I havent had time to read though all of this thread, but the usual bagging of auto lockers comes up.
Dampier fire trail..........been there, done that , many times , wet and dry with a detroit in the rear with constant 4WD in my 101 landy manual steering, short wheel base.
I can put someone in the vehicle and not tell them about the detroit and they will not pick it is fitted on or off road, but they will notice the extra traction the locker is giving when needed.
The fact is the detroit takes extremely little to unlock it and if you are doing a tight hairpin corner and the wheel starts to slip, the locker will lock up again when you need it(because the ground traction conditions are poor if this happens the locking very rarely affects the vehicle steering/handling)
I have been running around in my 101 for a about 5 months now with the front tailshaft out of it and the centre diff locked because I am too lazy to refit the tailshaft after a problem with it.
The detroit in the rear diff has been working so good off road I am not in a rush to refit it.
As a two wheel drive vehicle , yes you can feel the locker working on tarred roads and first thing in the morning when the diff oil is cold, but it takes only a minor change in driving habits to adjust.

[LowRanger]

I have to agree with Ron.I have had a Detroit in the rear of my 110 for a few years and you just drive and forget.The only times you notice it,is if you do a tight U turn and then back off the accelerator,sometimes you will get a bang,as it unlocks after being under tension.
The other place you will notice it is on very slippery side slopes ie driving across a muddy hillside,but unless you like inviting a rollover,you don't normally do this anyway.In all other situations it is just thoughtless traction.I will say that they need to be set up properly,or they can present some noises that a few people have mentioned.But if set up properly,you wouldn't know they are fitted,all the old clicking and banging noises associated with the early models have long since been overcome.I have given mine a hard time offroad,harder than most I would suggest and it is still silent,and no need to worry about airlines etc. which is more than I can say for the front air locker

[bob10]

Anyone have a maxi locker fitted, I'd be interested in your opinion of them, MR Auto fit them. With Maxi HD axles, not cheap . Bob

[DiscoMick]

Never had a problem with my rear Detroit auto locker and most people woudn't even know it was there. Its important to get the fitting correct and then its set and forget. The only maintenance is to occasionally replace the oil.

[uninformed]

Anyone have a maxi locker fitted, I'd be interested in your opinion of them, MR Auto fit them. With Maxi HD axles, not cheap . Bob

Yep, Sals rear, Rover front. Came with MD shafts and flanges. I fitted custom RRC CV with MD stub shafts. The Sals has been in now for 10 or so years. Never a problem. The front about 5, no problems either. Some will say the ARB will lock/unlock alot quicker but thats not really the case. The MD locker light is activated by the locker, not the switch like some others The arb will unlock a touch quicker in the front, but in real world term, 2/5ths of bugger all.

If I was buying again, I would be looking at 3, MD, Ashcroft amd Mac/Pro locker. On thing with MD is you have to weld the actuator block to the housing....not that big a deal, but could be for some.

No matter which one you get make sure when you are price comparing that If the MD still come with Hi Tough Eng. axles that you allow to add axles to the others. There is a reason Mal Storey only ever sold his lockers with axles....you could not buy them without.

[rick130]

There is a reason Mal Storey only ever sold his lockers with axles....you could not buy them without.

Yeah, the locking dog slides along the extended splines on the long side axle

[bob10]

[QUOTE=uninformed;1873086

No matter which one you get make sure when you are price comparing that If the MD still come with Hi Tough Eng. axles that you allow to add axles to the others. There is a reason Mal Storey only ever sold his lockers with axles....you could not buy them without.[/QUOTE]
MR only quote you with HD axles. My idea is to eventually have the MD rear diff, with Ashcroft atb LSD in the front , Bob

[uninformed]

yes, well as rick pointed out the locking side needs a special axle that comes with it. My point was that Mal Storey (Maxidrive owner/designer/manufacture etc) felt that the standard shafts not upto the task when a locker installed. A much higher chance of failure

[rick130]

yes, well as rick pointed out the locking side needs a special axle that comes with it. My point was that Mal Storey (Maxidrive owner/designer/manufacture etc) felt that the standard shafts not upto the task when a locker installed. A much higher chance of failure

Serg is 100% correct, Mal very much believed that the stock axles weren't up to snuff with any locker as when you lifted a wheel 100% of the torque was going through the axle with traction.
This doesn't happen with an open diff.


I was just being a smart arse with my previous answer, which is very out of character